Queensryche @ Northern Quest Casino October 21, 2021. A Force To Be Reckoned With

Queensryche @ Northern Quest Casino October 21 2021 A Force to Reckoned With.

The first time I ever had the pleasure to see Queensryche live was in 1995 when they played the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA. Geoff Tate was still fronting the band then. Todd La Torre joined Queensryche in 2012 as the new lead vocalist for the band. I traveled from Spokane to Renton, WA to catch the free concert at Renton Harley Davidson the summer of 2014. I was pleasantly surprised how spot on Todd's vocals were to Tate's.

I remember posting videos of the Renton, WA show to social media and getting many positive reactions and comments asking who was the new vocalist. I have attended at least 3 other shows including the most current one on October 21, 2021 since that day at Northern Quest Casino in Spokane, WA and Todd's vocals still amaze me. I have also had the pleasure of meeting Todd and other members of the band. If you were lucky you could have got a glimpse of a couple of the band members at Epic Sports Bar hanging out with a photographer friend of mine after the show.

I ended up with Todd's stage setlist and Michael Wilton's guitar pick that he tossed at me during the concert and binged me in the leg.

Todd was discovered just by chance after Tate left the band it is like a real life Rockstar movie one that reminds me of a Spokane local celebrity that started out playing guitar and became one of Rocks most iconic singers and also had a part in the movie "Rockstar", of course I am referring to the Alter Bridge and Slash singer "Myles Kennedy.

Todd met Michael Wilton at the 2012 NAMN festival held every year in LA. Todd and Michael The Whip Wilton talked about writing some music together. Then later that year Todd joined the band as lead vocalist after the lawsuit between Geoff Tate and the remaining members of Queensryche was settled.

Guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson are the sole remaining original members of QUEENSRŸCHE, Parker Lundgren also guitar joined the band in 2009 and decided to pursue other opportunity's earlier this year. Queensryche has released three albums with La Torre — 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict".

Todd originally started out in the music business as a drummer. His singing career first began when he became the lead vocalist for Crimson Glory at age 35 in St Petersburg, FL where La Torre is from, and later for Queensrÿche.

Queensryche opened the show with, "Best I Can" encore: "Operation Mind Crime", "Digital", and "Empire". La Torre had an outstanding vocal delivery during his performance of "Damaged", which included a screech that might rival the legendary 80's era. Wilton’s whip-fast, finger-burning guitar solo proved that the band is still a force to be reckoned with.

Check out the performance in the video below.

(Damaged)

See full setlist:

Best I Can

Shadows

Prophecy

Blood of The Levant

Damaged

Man The Machine

Lady

Silence

Love

Mission

Silent Lucidity

Jet City Woman

Take Hold of The Flame

Queen

Eyes of a Stranger

Encore:

Operation Mind Crime

Digital

Empire

I was seated in the second row and had a great view of the stage a 2 year old fan and his dad were sitting next to me. About half way through the show La Torre acknowledges the 2 year old fan and made sure to give him a drumstick as a momentum of the show with a fist bump to boot.

Queensryche has 6 more shows on the 2021 tour after the stop in Spokane on October 21st, they went on to the Snoqualmie Casino on the west side of the state on October 23rd, then will finish the tour out in MN. The tour started back on May 21st in Pocatello, ID and after 25 shows will wrap up for the year in Walker, MN on December 10th. Queensryche will start their 2022 tour with "The Monsters of Rock Cruise on February 9th then on to Vegas with The Scorpions on March 26th, 2022 and their residency at Zappos Casino through April.