By Carl Doy

Date / Venue: Saturday February 17th, 2018 - Spark Arena, Auckland

It was hot and steamy in Auckland last night and it was a relief to get into the airconditioned cool of the Spark Arena.

But it didn’t last long. Queen and Adam Lambert were in town and they got straight down to business with a white-hot opening set guaranteed to get everyone’s attention right from the start. Three of their greatest, We Will Rock You, Another One Bites The Dust and Fat-Bottomed Girls were delivered in quick succession, and only then did the pace relax for a second or two when Adam Lambert welcomed “all the fat-assed bitches of Auckland”, quickly assuring them though that it was meant as a term of endearment.

He needn’t have worried, the audience loved it, but it was the first step in creating a bond between him and the audience, everyone being aware that he had the seemingly impossible task of replacing one of the most flamboyant and charismatic rock legends in history.

He successfully cemented that bond over the next two hours through a virtuoso vocal performance. Is there nothing the boy can’t sing? He delivered Killer Queen in a purple suit sitting on top of a giant robot, informing us afterwards that it gives good head, which, if not actually out-gaying Freddie, certainly put him up there in the same camp.

And while Adam was winning new fans, the stars of Queen were playing to the converted and working their magic to support their new guy. Roger Taylor, one of the great rock drummers, was rock-solid throughout and also gracious enough to have a drum battle with their percussionist, Tyler Warren and bow to his technique.

Star of the show? Has to be Brian May, who has contributed so much to the sound of the band over the years and last night, changing guitars almost as many times as Adam changed suits, he gave us a masterclass in technique, style and sheer stamina. Not content with that, he duettedwith Freddie on Love of my Life and included us all in when he took the biggest selfie in the world.

There’s more, some unbelievable laser/3D effects added imaginative and very often breathtaking visual extras throughout the show.

The band covered every hit last night, saving their biggest one of all for the very end - of course, Bohemian Rhapsody, complete with the original vids and vocal harmonies,

A magnificent show. If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourselves to get a ticket to Sunday's Spark Arena show. Adam isn’t the new Freddie, their talents are too individual, but I’m sure Mr. Mercury would have approved. The capacity crowd at Spark Arena certainly did.

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