Feb 10, 2014 – What better way to spend a cold February evening than watching great classic rock live? How about two nights! The place, Stewart Maguire’s Landing in Bolton. The Classic Rock this weekend; Supertramp and Queen.
On a snowy Saturday night, Queen Flash a 6 piece band hailing from Montreal graced the stage with local vocal phenom Phil Naro. The band consists of Luc Caron on guitars, Philippe Lemay on Drums, Sylvain Marcoux on Bass, Matthew Coull on Keyboards, and Nancy Harper on backing vocal. If the names sound familiar it might because together with Rich Hamelin and Luc Murphy they are the members of Dreamer, the Supertramp band that played the evening before. See the review here.
The key to a great cover band is recreating the presence, power and musicianship of the act they are covering and Queen’s music and vocals challenge even the seasoned musician. While the talents of Freddie Mercury are well appreciated. Brian May, Queen’s lead guitarist, ranks with the greatest guitarists of all time and together with John Deacon and Roger Taylor play some of rock’s most diverse music catalog. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Queen Flash started with the apropos Flash intro and then right into Tie Your Mother Down. Right from the start, Phil Naro impressed with vocals that had the power of Freddie. WOW. I have seen Phil sing on many occasions and new he would do it admirably. However, I was blown away by the power Phil showed on this night. The adrenalin must have still been flowing from the night before or it could be he is just that good. If you are a rock fan make sure you catch Phil, he is always playing around town.
In between I want to Break Free and Another One bites the Dust, Luc Caron rocked it with a great guitar solo followed by Sylvain Marcoux with the more rare bass solo. Philip Lemay also had ample opportunities to shine on drums include a solo after Crazy little thing called love. There was something for every Queen die-hard fan and casual fan alike. Queen Flash played all the major well know hits and many of the lesser known gems. The talented musicians of Queen Flash did not disappoint and proved they were up to the challenge and those in attendance were very appreciative right from the start.
If there was a disappointment from the weekend, it was that after seeing these musicians perform songs from both Queen and Supertramp, it was the letdown when they were not playing on Sunday night in Bolton. A fitting end to the weekend would have been some Genesis.
Setlist
Flash (intro) Tie Your Mother Down Under Pressure Killer Queen I’m In Love With My Car You’re My Best Friend I Want To Break Free Another One Bites The Dust Spread Your Wings Keep Yourself Alive Stone Cold Crazy One Vision Play The Game Bicycle Race Bohemian Rhapsody Hammer to Fall Somebody to Love Crazy Little Thing Called Love We Will Rock You We Are the Champions Show Must Go OnEncore
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