Queensrÿche – Mindcrime At The Moore

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publisher

impulse buy

Warner Home Video
Produced by Dave May

Recorded over a three-night-stand on October 13-15, 2006 arguably America’s finest progressive metal band have recorded a live DVD at the Moore Theater in their home town of Seattle for the second time (Live Evolution was also recorded there), this time the entire Operation Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II albums back to back, following the release of the second one earlier that year.

Split neatly over two discs, DVD one contains the entire Operation: Mindcrime performance, while DVD two contains Operation: Mindcrime II, the two-song encore and all of the bonus features. Obviously the main attraction is the mammoth concert performance, and this forms a perfect partner to the Live Evolution set. That one was a chronological greatest hits set (including a few songs from OM1), so between the two you’ve got all the live Queensrÿche you’ll ever need.

For this performance the cartoon videos and live action clips from the original Mindcrime tour are used on the big screen in conjunction with images of war and street battles in the same black and white style as the covers of the two Mindcrime albums. A very enthusiastic Seattle Seahawks “Blue Thunder” drum line joins the band for Anarchy-X (and again at the very end for the close of Eyes of A Stranger) and it’s instantly evident that the band are heavier than ever before.

Their performance is excellent, and besides a few oddities (Eddie Jackson wearing sunglasses the whole time, Geoff Tate’s ridiculous eye make-up and Mike Stone bizarrely wearing a gas mask and hood for the first couple of songs; while he does look undeniably cool, it does beg the question “why?”) it’s easily the best of their four DVDs. Some excellent camera angles and flawless editing, and above all no interruptions, make it a thoroughly involving viewing experience and goes some way towards giving the Mindcrime story the production it deserves.

Geoff Tate’s over-the-top theatrical performance can often make it look like he’s miming, but his phrasing, tone and pauses at certain points shows that he’s not. Equally the new parts in a couple of the OM1 songs and the completely new reworking of My Empty Room couldn’t be mimed from a studio track unless they’d taken the effort to record new ones, which doesn’t make much sense.

The part of Mary once again played by Pamela Moore in her best performance I’ve ever seen with Queensrÿche live or on DVD (vocally that is, her acting is just as ham-fisted at Tate’s). Ronnie James Dio, who sang the part of Dr X on the OM2 album, was present in the form of a video recording during The Chase and, inexplicably, so was Tate also sang via the screen. This is rectified in the special features, though. A bonus performance of this song is included, filmed at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, sees Dio make a guest appearance on stage. Tate also sings on stage this time, strangely using a regular microphone, even though he has the headset on which he uses for every other track.

Interesting plot points are revealed, for the first time on DVD at least, as well. The line in Suite Sister Mary, sung by Mary, “I’ll close my eyes, you shoot” I had always taken to mean shoot a gun, since Nikki had been sent by X to kill Mary, but during the song here she rolls up her sleeve and taps her arms, indicating the shooting of drugs (which the pair had been seen doing together earlier, during Spreading The Disease). Most importantly however, a new acted segment at the end of The Needle Lies reveals the true fate of Mary, a mystery which has long plagued Queensrÿche fans. Electric Requiem also gains additional instrumentation and lyrics (it was previously a short instrumental) to highlight this, plus a new acted part showing Nikki burning the body of Mary.

The other bonus features are a behind-the-scenes Tour Documentary and footage from the “Rock & Ride” charity motorcycle ride for the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. These aren’t that interesting, but after such a tour-de-force of a concert performance, any bonus features are going to be an anti-climax.

Tate is currently looking for a studio to turn his screenplay for the entire Mindcrime story into a movie, but that’s going to be some years off. Until then, this is as close to a full telling of the story as you can get, and the best Queensrÿche concert video to date.

“ heavier than ever before ”

Tracklist:
DVD 1 I Remember Now / Anarchy-X / Revolution Calling / Operation: Mindcrime / Speak / Spreading The Disease / The Mission / Suite Sister Mary / The Needle Lies / Electric Requiem / Breaking The Silence / I Don’t Believe In Love / Waiting For 22 / My Empty Room / Eyes of A Stranger
DVD 2 Freiheit Overture / Convict / I’m American / One Foot In Hell / Hostage / The Hands / Speed of Light / Signs Say Go / Re-Arrange You / The Chase / Murderer? / Circles / If I Could Change It All / An Intentional Confrontation / A Junkie’s Blues / Fear City Slide / All The Promises / Walk In The Shadows / Jet City Woman
Bonus Features: Tour Documentary / The Chase performed with Ronnie James Dio / Queensrÿche Rock & Ride

Written by Andy Lye
More: Live Albums, Live DVDs, Progressive, Queensrÿche