Queensrÿche Plays EP and “The Warning” in Entirety on “The Origins” Tour
Photography By Jimmy Gubitosi
The Paramount in Huntington, NY was thrown back to 1983-1984 when Queensrÿche took the stage to perform their very first EP and “The Warning” played in it’s entirety for the first time since 1985 (According to singer Todd La Torre during the set)
Supporting Queensrÿche on this tour is fellow metal veterans Armored Saint. Armored Saint hit the stage around 8pm and they were extremely over with the crowd, as they were still filling in the nearly sold out show in Huntington. John Bush’s magnetic and welcoming stage presence hooked new and returning fans, while the rest of the band kicked their asses with the power metal Armored Saint is known for.
Seeing them for the first time was a treat. I’ve known of Armored Saint for a while and I knew of Bush’s history with Anthrax, so I was very excited to be able to see him perform. Both from a fan of 80’s metal and as a photographer, I was blown away by the bands performance and professionalism on stage.
The one downside for me was that they only played for 40 minutes. To me, it was so fun that time flew. Some people will see this as short, others will see this as the band played, melted some faces, and left them wanting more. As an opening act, it’s your job to warm up the crowd for what’s to come, and I think Armored Saint did a superb job at doing just that.
Armored Saint: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X
Queensrÿche took the stage around 9:15pm, to a very very packed and excited house, and since they were doing the EP in entirety first, they started with a bang. “Queen of the Ryche!” Mind blowing. Even though Todd La Torre has been in the band for over a decade, I wasn’t familiar with his extreme talent. I don’t normally venture out past “Empire”.
In my mind- I didn’t know how anyone else in this world could also have such an immense, operatic vocal talent that can carry the songs made famous by Geoff Tate, but oh man was I proven wrong. Easily the greatest vocal talent I’ve ever witnessed live.
That’s just the icing on the cake. The band was incredible. They played in the exact same key as the original recordings in 1984, and they didn’t skip a beat. It was the most solid, exact sounding play through I’ve ever heard. So for a music nerd, hearing songs exactly how they should be is exciting.
Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson are the only original and founding members of the band that are still on the lineup, and they have done such an immense job at keeping the same sound, love and innovation of Queensrÿche alive and well.
I got to see this show with my father, who introduced me to Queensrÿche by showing me “Operation: Mindcrime” and I was obsessed when I was in high school (2009-2012, mind you) so having this experience to both shoot and have that moment with him was a core memory i wont ever forget, I never thought I would ever hear some of these songs live in person.
For those younglings reading this (I say as I’m 29 years old) if you have never heard of the band Queensrÿche, or the song I just wrote above, stop reading, open up Apple Music, Spotify or wherever you stream music, and do yourself a favor and play it. Then go down the rest of their catalog.
The funny thing with bringing up my age earlier in the article, was I was the youngest person in the venue. Music nowadays is not like what I heard during those great performances, hell, most modern rock and metal music don’t even have guitar solos anymore. These shows, these bands, they need to be seen and heard by a more diverse age group because the younger generation doesn’t know what they are missing.
If there’s anything watching the bands reminded me of- is that there are many wonderful bands that will change your life from other generations of the same exact genres you like today.
Just get out of the modern day shell you are in and go back and explore. Even if you don’t think it’s “modern”, to prove you wrong, Queensrÿche put out an album 2 years ago. There’s your modern.
Go support these amazing bands when they come around to your towns, below is the tour poster and the set lists from each band from the show I saw at The Paramount.
