QUEENSRYCHE’S GEOFF TATE And OPERATION MINDCRIME 1/27/2022 at EMPIRE LIVE in Albany, NY Photos & Write-Up By: Stephanie J Bartik

Thursday, February 27, 2022, Empire Live in Albany was bustling with fans filling the place in anticipation of a 3 band show.

Opening was  Deveria, a power/thrash metal-based from Rotterdam, NY proving once again the high level of talent we have in our local area.
Charles Woodard, the lead singer did not hold back.  Flanked by Oliver Howard and Christian Bivona (bass and guitar) and John Sulski on drums.  Deveria is certainly a band to watch; their next show is April 8 at The Chance, in Poughkeepsie and May 7th, locally at Empire Underground.

The next act was Ivory Lake, a solo performance by Josh Watts.  It seemed strange at first having him sandwiched between two highly energetic bands, but his history as the former drummer for Queensryche, made sense.  He kept the momentum and the fans reacted quite well!

Then it was time for the highly anticipated arrival of Geoff Tate.  He walked to the front of the darkened stage, then was flooded in yellow light, causing a silhouette. The first song was “Walk in The Shadows.”  There was electricity in the air as you can feel the fans’ excitement.
The crowd joined in as they played the most familiar songs, as Jet City Woman.

I have always thought that a whisper grabs the attention of others, not that he needed to grab their attention, but that pause spiked the anticipation.  Geoff told a story and thanked all the fans, then broke out into the highly anticipated Silent Lucidity.  The crowd went wild, with some singing along, throughout the screams of approval from others

I was lucky enough to see Geoff Tate in Poughkeepsie last month, and seeing this band twice did not diminish anything!