So, yeah, no one has joined our ticket giveaway for tomorrow's Queensryche cabaret show at the Grove. Which is a TOTAL MISTAKE because it will be filled with vestiges of glam rock, acrobats, contortionists and semi-nude women shimmying to “Silent Lucidity.”
In a conversation with Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate, he became interested in developing a cabaret performance to offset the seriousness of their 2009 tour for the political album American Soldier. “I like cabaret performance art quite a bit,” he said. “We're always interested in developing more interesting live shows…we've incorporated theater in our other shows before, so this is just another way to present our music.”
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After you watch the sneak peek of the show above, read the five reasons to watch Queensryche tomorrow.
1. They're not doing this tour regularly. As Queensryche prepare to release their next studio album, they've
scheduled about three to four shows a month across the US until October.
2. It's sort of a “greatest hits” collection of their songs with a storyline. The band considers the show a performance art piece. Tate says, “we took a lot of our music from a lot of
different records and we wrote a story. The music and lyrics tell a
story. So we have acting, dancing and different forms of cabaret–including
burlesque, ballet, aerial acts–interpreting the music.
3. You can celebrate Halloween in July. Audiences have been dressing up in outlandish costumes to watch the Queensryche cabaret. “It's
quite outrageous as a show,” Tate says. He adds, “it's a mix of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Moulin Rouge and New Orleans Mardi Gras.”
Often, Tate says, audiences join the band onstage. “They help propel the story,” he says. “It's a very fast-paced
show. It's probably the most enjoyable performance we've
ever come up with,” he says.
4. It's a class act. Tate says only a few people can do cabaret performances. “It's very difficult to find qualified
people who aren't employed by Cirque de Soleil.” Anyone can burlesque dance to lounge songs, but to Queensryche? I just don't know. “We held auditions to have them interpret the peice of music we wanted them to perform to, and we chose from there,” Tate says of the selection process.
5. You can get Geoff Tate to sign a bottle of his wine, if you're lucky. Tate developed the wine brand Insania, a successful Bordeaux blend he developed with Washinton winery 3 Rivers Winery. “It's all sold out,” he said. “It's pretty successful–even more than the music industry!” he said.
Queensryche perform at the Grove of Anaheim, 2200 East Katella Ave., tomorrow, 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45-$60, or you can win them here.
