I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen Queensryche live; festivals, cruises, arenas, theaters, and now a casino. Growing up in the Northwest and going to shows they’ve been a concert staple. In fact, I saw the second show with singer Todd La Torre when they performed as Rising West in Seattle. One of the fondest Queensryche memories was the signed LPs for ‘The Warning’ and ‘Rage for Order’ that hung on the wall of the Tower Records in East Port Plaza in Portland.
A few things have changed in the ‘Ryche camp over the years: Guitarist Mike Stone is back in the line-up and drummer Scott Rockenfield has taken an indefinite hiatus or is he gone for good? Either was they seemed to have moved on and drummer Casey Grillo has settled in as ‘the’ drummer in Queensryche, of course Todd La Torre front the band and founding members bassist Eddie Jackson and guitarist Michael Wilton round out the band.
The last time they performed a show in the Portland area was a headlining show in the spring of 2023 at The Crystal Ballroom. Prior to that they performed at MODA Center supporting Judas Priest in 2022. We’ve had our fair share of Queensryche, on this 2024 pairing with Armored Saint the Portland area promoters didn’t book a show. Incredible! So Queensryche got a gig at the Iliani casino in Ridgefield, WA. While Armored Saint wasn’t on the bill, Queensryche, surprisingly didn’t deviate from their ‘Origins’ set while including the performance of the ‘Queensryche’ EP and ‘The Warning’ performed in their entirety! It was ‘Queensryche heaven’ for me and most of the attendees as we were treated to those two landmark releases. They could have played it safe and performed a ‘predictable’ hits set, but they took a gamble that fans would be receptive to the ‘Origins’ in this setting and hit the jackpot.
It was great to hear “Queen of The Ryche,” “Night Rider,” “The Lady Wore Black,” “Warning” “Take Hold of The Flame” and “Roads to Madness.” “The Prophecy” and “Walk In The Shadows” concluded the show as the encores. It was brilliantly executed and ‘epic.’