Tonight, I watched another man live out one of my fantasies.
No, I didn't get to see a Jessica Alba sex tape, and no, neither Mike Piazza nor Kevin Smith had anything to do with this. I watched another man -- a fan -- come out on stage and sing with my favorite band.
The Sandman Winter Concert Series continued Thursday night as I headed back to the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville for the second time in a month, only this time, instead of a cover band, I saw the real thing. The band that ranks No. 1 on my
list of favorite musical artists of all-time: Queensryche.
After a quick bite, my brother and I headed down to Sayreville poised for a fantastic show, and, as usual, the band did not disappoint. But before Seattle's finest hit the stage, and before the opening act -- a very large Don Dokken -- came and did an all-acoustic set that was simply fantastic -- even if he didn't play "
Dream Warriors," from the movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street IV," he did play "
Along Again Without You," which is a fantastic power ballad -- a couple of members of Queensryche's crew came out to run some contest they'd been holding on the current tour.
Apparently, through some process I didn't quite catch, three fans from around the country are selected to come out before each show and sing a karaoke selection from Queensryche's latest album,
"Take Cover," which is a collection of cover tunes from artists including U2, Steven Stills, The Police and Peter Gabriel.
The first guy came on and did Black Sabbath's "
Neon Knights," and he fucking rocked it. Nailed every note. And this wasn't from Black Sabbath with Ozzy, where you can throw back a bottle of Jack, pop some downers and go out and sing. This was Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio, a man whose pipes are among the best in the business. I was very impressed.
The next contestant did Queensryche's version of Pink Floyd's "
Welcome to the Machine," and also did a fantastic job, albeit on a much easier song to sing. The third guy also did "Neon Knights," and he sucked. He was actually booed to the point they had to cut him short.
Needless to say, contestant No. 1, some cat from Buffalo, was the winner and his prize was getting to come out on stage during Queensryche's set and sing "Neon Knights" with them. That point in the show rolled around at the first song of the encore and after technical problems forced Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate to sing the first verse, the fan was good to go by the chorus and he rocked it even harder to the point where Tate just stood off to the side grinning and nodding as the guy wailed with the band behind him.
Most of you know, I like to sing, and some have even had the unfortunate experience of listening to me bang out karaoke tunes, but to be on stage with my favorite band and sing with them, or even just play drums or guitar or something with them, well, that would be fucking incredible.
Anyhoo, after Dokken rocked, Queensryche came out and blew me away, as usual.
While they played -- surprisingly -- just one song off "
Operation Mindcrime," a record I consider the greatest album ever made, they played plenty of my favorites from among their obscure stuff to make it a memorable evening, like "
The Killing Words," "I Want to Get Close to You," and "
Real World," off the "Last Action Hero" soundtrack -- hey, the movie may have been shit, but the soundtrack kicked ass!
Of course, other than virtually ignoring 'Mindcrime,' they played plenty of other favorites, like "Jet City Woman," "Another Rainy Night Without You," "Empire," and "Eyes of a Stranger," which was the only tune they played off 'Mindcrime.'
NOTE: Queensryche just completed a tour where they played the "Operation Mindcrime" and "Operation Mindcrime 2" records in their entirety, so I guess they were giving that material a rest.
Anyway, the show was fantastic as usual. The place was packed, the crowd was into it, and we had a good vantage point in the general admission venues, complete with a little ledge to half-sit on.
The concert series continues in three weeks when my brother and I will venture back into the world of Christian rock as we take in the
Casting Crowns show at The Rock in Newark. We've got 10th-row seats for that show, so that should be phenomenal.
Also planned is a trip to see a Q&A with Kevin Smith at the Bergen PAC with
Jersey Girl and
The Joker, as well as a summer Rush concert at the Arts Center for the second straight year.
Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks, mothafuckas! Get fired up!
I'm actually considering going out and knocking up some unsuspecting dame just so I have a child I can name "Johan."
