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#GeoffTate

Geoff Tate unwraps classics and rarities with melting pot of musicians

December 25, 2022

Geoff Tate’s love affair with San Antonio, and in particular the Aztec Theatre, continued last Saturday night before a devoted, sometimes raucous crowd of approximately 1,000 fans.

But unlike Tate’s three prior Aztec stops, the Dec. 17 show with special guest Mark Daly spanned most of his iconic 30-year stint as Queensryche’s vocalist rather than singling out albums performed in their entirety. No, Tate’s sixth Aztec visit since 2014 in his last seven San Antonio stops — a 2019 trip to the Rock Box being the exception — featured a cornucopia of hits from various albums during a rocking, and Christmas-y, 1-hour and 39-minute showing.

Eleven months removed from performing Rage for Order and Empire from beginning to end last November (coverage here), and only half a year since requiring open-heart surgery as we discussed in our pre-show interview below, Tate continued to amaze as only he can.

Opening with the title track to 1990’s Empire (setlist in photo gallery), the former Queensryche vocalist dug into his vault on seldom-played tracks “Desert Dance” from 2003’s Tribe, “Sacred Ground” off of 1999’s Q2K (ATM Facebook Live footage here) plus “Cold” from 2013’s Frequency Unknown and the emotionally moving "Bridge” courtesy of 1994’s Promised Land (watch both here).

Other than omitting the entire introductory buildup on 1984 classic “Take Hold of the Flame,” to the point where the start of Saturday’s version was nearly unrecognizable, Tate’s and his band’s performance was nearly flawless. The inclusion of deep cuts mixed with Operation: Mindcrime standouts “Breaking the Silence” and “I Don’t Believe in Love” (ATM footage of both below) plus Empire staples “Jet City Woman” and “Silent Lucidity” made the evening as well-rounded as it could be.

And before one reads this and thinks they don’t need to hear the latter ballad anymore and be perfectly fine with that, let it be known that the best note emanating from Tate’s oft-imitated never duplicated voice came when he sang the “will protect you in the night” part. The last word of that stretch wasn’t held. It wasn’t screamed. It just sounded as perfect as it could get, enough to raise these eyebrows as the ears perked up. It was one of those moments where you just had to be there to see and hear it.

With the exception of a slight backing track on opener “Empire” — a song that calls for it given the abundance of mixes of Tate’s vocals particularly during the chorus — and a brief echo on finale “Queen of the Reich,” the entire show was devoid of distracting, lengthy delays.

In fact, Tate’s reinsertion of “Queen of the Reich,” a tune he had said he couldn’t relate to lyrically anymore — necessitating an elaboration on his part during our interview below — was a pleasant surprise given that he had insinuated fans would never hear him sing that tune again. Donning a Christmas hat and handing out more to his bandmates, Tate and his crew played a metal version of “Silver Bells” prior to ending the night with that first track from the 1983 self-titled debut EP (ATM footage of both below).

The fact that he not only played the song but attempted the patented opening scream on “Queen of the Reich” especially since he no longer tries it on “Take Hold of the Flame,” and specifically at that point in the show and given his open-heart surgery reeked of Tate sending the message to critics: “Yep, you bet your sweet ass I can still do it if I want to.”

And speaking of Tate’s band . . .

Guitarists Kieran Robertson of Scotland, Alex Hart from Boston and James Brown of Ireland, bassist “Smilin’ “ Jack Ross of Scotland, keyboardist Bruno Sa of Brazil and drummer Daniel Laverde from Cincinnati have also been coming to San Antonio with Tate the past several years. Sa, in fact, played guitar during the 2018 Operation: Mindcrime band performance.

On this night, all but Sa and Robertson pulled double duty as Ross, Brown, Hart and Laverde played with opening act Daly.

The Irish singer and guitarist released four-song EP Nothing to Lose two weeks earlier and hooked up with Tate for this tour thanks in large part to having songwriting credits on Tate’s trilogy of Operation: Mindcrime band albums from 2015-17.

In addition to putting on a stellar showing, Daly impressed perhaps even more with his sense of humor and banter with the crowd. Most of it can be seen via ATM’s footage of his Highly Suspect cover of “Lydia” and the EP title track below, so we won’t give it away. But another non-filmed dose of funny came when he introduced the band and got to Brown.

Referring to him as The James Brown, Daly asked his fellow Irishman how he felt. When Brown shrugged and said, “I feel alright,” the crowd serenaded him with tongue-in-cheek boos.

There’s not much left to say when it comes to Tate performing in San Antonio that hasn’t been mentioned in this space previously. He’s a model of consistency that always gives the crowd what it wants yet still has the gumption to mix things up with obscure tracks when he’s already performed the same classic albums repeatedly.

GEOFF TATE

Unlike his past three visits to the Aztec that singled out albums in their entirety, Tate’s set this time borrowed from nearly every one of his Queensryche records.

MARK DALY

Daly demonstrated he’s a talented musician who deserves to be booked again here in the near future.

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Into the Pit: Kurt Deimer & Phil X

September 1, 2022

When it comes to touring the country, Kurt Deimer hasn’t exactly been playing hooky. Then again, that depends on your definition of the word.

No, Deimer and his band haven’t been calling in sick or choosing to do things other than what they’re supposed to be doing. Rather, the self-described “hooky rock band” has been hitting the road providing direct support to some of rock and metal’s best.

And the dates just keep on coming.

Deimer will return to the Aztec Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 15, as part of a string of Texas shows opening for Tesla (tickets here). The trek, with scheduled stops in Dallas, Houston, Midland and Lubbock, follows Deimer’s first major tour last year opening for original Queensryche voice Geoff Tate that included a performance at the Aztec (coverage here) plus a jaunt this past spring that found Deimer supporting Yngwie Malmsteen. The latter tour featured San Antonio’s Jessikill as the opening act.

Fresh off last November’s release of debut EP Work Hard, Rock Hard, Deimer and crew possess a sound different than the current state of rock music, in large part to Deimer’s deep voice that combines singing with telling stories through his lyrics in a talking state, as evidenced in videos such as “Hero,” “My Dad,” and the Pink Floyd cover “Have A Cigar” that can be seen below. In addition, not only did Tate provide Deimer with his first major touring opportunity, but he co-stars on Deimer’s tune “Burn Together” (also below).

Guitarist Phil Xenidis, affectionately known as Phil X, has teamed with Deimer to provide stellar licks throughout the EP and on stage. The Canadian guitarist sports his own band The Drills and took over in some group called Bon Jovi nearly a decade ago when Richie Sambora left that mega-successful band and, to the surprise of many, never returned. Phil also spent time in Triumph and with Aldo Nova.

Deimer and Phil X spoke with me exclusively on Tuesday to discuss these and other topics — not the least of which is Deimer’s forthcoming horror movie project, Hellbilly Hollow, and the two major American actors who paved the way for it.

Click on the video box below to watch and hear our entire conversation.

Kurt Deimer, shown during last November’s tour opening for Geoff Tate, will return with his eponymous band to the Aztec Theatre in San Antonio on Thursday, Sept. 15, to open for Tesla (all photos by Jay Nanda / Alamo True Metal)

Phil Xenidis, better known as Phil X, is also known as the current guitarist in Bon Jovi and one-time axeman in Triumph and Aldo Nova’s band.

Deimer released his Work Hard Rock Hard EP and revealed to Alamo True Metal that a new full-length is forthcoming.

Phil X also runs his own band The Drills.

Deimer’s band was an unknown when it opened for Tate last November at the Aztec, but this time, they won’t sneak up on anyone when they support Tesla throughout Texas.

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Ryche & roll never gets old when Geoff Tate delves deep into vault

November 10, 2021

“It was November 4th . . . it seemed our time would last forever.”

So sings Geoff Tate on the 1986 Rage For Order song “London.” Last Friday night at the Aztec Theatre, the original voice of Queensryche was only off by 24 hours. November 5 was a day fans of the singer and his renowned, yet former, band will remember, well, perhaps forever. Because Tate graced the Aztec last weekend and San Antonio, the third city Queensryche ever played upon the release of its 1983 self-titled EP, by doing something he had never done: perform Rage For Order and 1990’s Empire in their entirety.

And the two-song encore wasn’t half bad either.

Tate’s prior two visits to the Aztec consisted of 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. So if you went to this show simply knowing Tate was in town but not aware of what he had in store, or expecting to hear “I Don’t Believe In Love” again, you may have left the venue a bit underwhelmed. But truly, Queensryche’s first four albums plus the EP, a span covering 1983-90, is what Tate will always be known for. His latest stop meant he has covered three of those records entirely stretching across his last three trips here that just happened to be sandwiched around a global pandemic (see 54-photo slideshow below).

Friday’s performance marked the third time the Rage/Empire coupling was supposed to be performed here, and it definitely was the charm. While there will always be Queensryche fans drawn to “Jet City Woman” and “Silent Lucidity,” Tate’s exhibition gave diehards the chance to hear rarely and never played tracks from those albums such as “Surgical Strike” and the aforementioned “London” plus Empire’s “Resistance,” “Hand On Heart” and “One and Only” (click the links for ATM’s Facebook Live footage).

Supported by opening act Kurt Deimer and backed by Scottish guitarist Kieran Robertson, guitarist Alex Hart, bassist Darren Milsom and drummer Daniel Laverde, Tate played both albums in sequence — the way they were originally meant to be heard 35 and 31 years ago, respectively, and the way albums are supposed to be performed. He didn’t play them in reverse order (talking to you, Metallica, with the black album) or open with the second song on the record so that the opening track could be played last (that means you, Sebastian Bach, with Slave to the Grind).

Tate has performed several of these songs in the past in San Antonio with Queensryche but never as part of the album all the way through. In 2005, on the night the Spurs were celebrating their third NBA championship with a River Walk parade, Queensryche opened for Judas Priest at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in support of 2003’s Tribe but comprised roughly half of its set with Rage For Order songs. In 2009 during the American Soldier tour at Sunken Gardens Theater, Queensryche broke its headlining set into three parts: Rage, the new album, and Empire tracks.

And on Thanksgiving Eve 2012 in the parking lot at Backstage Live, Tate made a solo stop that saw him play several Queensryche deep cuts. Some of them, such as “Until There Was You” — a reissue bonus track from 1999’s Q2K — were so deep, many fans walked out of the show thinking Tate was solely concentrating on his solo career and abandoning his Queensryche past. In fact, it was during a Rage For Order track, “The Killing Words,” that fans were still exiting, causing Tate to address the departing as “pussies” for not recognizing a song not only as a Queensryche offering but a tune that came from one of its popular albums.

But Tate’s undertaking for this tour and show made this visit a little extra special. Check out ATM footage below of “Screaming In Digital” and the rarely played soothing ballad and Rage closer “I Will Remember” as well as Empire closer “Anybody Listening?”

The day after this latest show, Tate revealed on social media that Laverde nearly didn’t make it to San Antonio in time: “Yesterday, our drummer, Danny, had a delayed flight and none of the band or crew knew if he would make it to the show. After several flight changes and a lot of stress, he walked in minutes to show time. He had changed into stage clothes on the plane. Queensryche music is hard on drummers, and we couldn’t substitute just anyone. Danny is one of the best drummers I’ve had the pleasure of playing with. Never have I been so happy to see this young man than before last night’s show. Here’s to Danny and my entire band and crew for handling a very stressful situation and putting on such a fantastic show.” That may have explained why Laverde played a kit resembling an electronic ensemble an aspiring drummer would receive under the Christmas tree. But he made it work through two albums and the encores — not an easy feat under normal circumstances.

Ah yes, the encores. Tate threw a curve ball (surprising unless you like to examine the set list prior to the show, which means you probably like to know what your Christmas gifts are before opening them or how a movie ends prior to buttering your popcorn). He pulled out of his archives the 1990 “Adventures of Ford Fairlane” track “Last Time In Paris” before providing a dose of 1984 full-length debut The Warning with “Take Hold of the Flame” (see ATM footage of both below). The finale was the only track Tate sang at a slightly lower octave than he did on vinyl 37 years ago, and he omitted the introductory part many would argue is the whole purpose of performing the song at all which is punctuated by his patented “Nahhhhhhhh!”

Tate’s selection of “Take Hold of the Flame” was all the more curious given seven years earlier during our interview at the Aztec, he mocked fans who harken for such songs, saying “The past is over” and that he had moved on as an artist and didn’t find himself in a headspace wanting to play those classics anymore (watch here). Last Friday night, Tate sang a different tune, literally and figuratively, telling the audience one of the reasons he pulled out Rage For Order and Empire for this tour was “because I wanted to.”

While the unveiling of both albums played live should not have been unexpected by anyone sporting a ticket, one surprise was the inclusion of opening act Kurt Deimer. Even the Aztec Theatre’s website and event page on Facebook the day of the concert listed Till Death Do Us Part, the band fronted by Tate’s daughter Emily that also includes her boyfriend on guitar, the aforementioned Robertson. Emily played the role of Suite Sister Mary during her father’s previous visit to the Aztec and her band opened that show, so Deimer’s participation this time was something fresh and new.

Deimer didn’t exactly have an easy task warming things up for a crowd hungry for Queensryche classics, let alone given that many didn’t know who he was or that he’d be on the bill. But if the vocalist and his band were nervous about that, they didn’t show it. Deimer also won some fans over by thanking first responders and military members in the crowd as his way of concluding “Big Toe” and introducing “Whatcha Sayin’ '“ (ATM footage of both below).

While the Aztec is one of the few San Antonio venues requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours of the event, the fact it is able to resume hosting live acts such as Tate and Deimer was another sign of life returning to normal even if society is not 100 percent there yet.

So, the balcony was closed for the first time involving a Tate show at the Aztec, and yes, Accept was playing at Shrine Auditorium. But whether it would’ve been the performance of new songs or, in this case, a 31- and 35-year trip down Memory Lane — even the ability to hear Tate’s vocals on the Avantasia song “Seduction of Decay” via the Aztec’s loudspeakers between acts — the sheer opportunity to enjoy live music again with your buddies or significant other, with or without $15 beers in hand, was a victory in and of itself.

Now that Tate seemingly has exhausted the performance of Queensryche’s three most well-known albums, it will be more than interesting to see what he has up his sleeve for his next visit. Some of us can hardly wait.

Bring it on.

GEOFF TATE

The original voice of Queensryche headlined the Aztec Theatre last Friday night, celebrating 35 years of 1986’s Rage For Order and 30 years of 1990’s Empire albums by playing both in their entirety (all photos by Jay Nanda / Alamo True Metal)