Queen with Adam Lambert Live At The San Jose Arena

I've been a Queen fan pretty much all of my life and looking forward to the show was a no brainer having never seen them before. Missing Freddie Mercury was a given. But I had hopes that although I knew that no one could fill Freddies shoes, I had a suspicion that Lambert may be the one to pull off a great show and rock Queen songs better than anyone else. Being an American Idol fan also, I had always liked Lambert from the first audition when he was all rock and roll and raw. Leather and spikes was what he was about, and it just worked! So I had imagined he'd be a good fit for this role. Playing with Queen brought an Adam Lambert I had not expected.The previous (more raw/rock n roll) Adam Lambert may have pulled it off better for my liking. The new glitzy theatrical Adam Lambert did not add anything for me to the rock and roll music of Queen. Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums were awesome. They brought the goods, indeed! Both Brian May and Roger Taylor having a god like presence....Brain May especially. His guitar was unmistakably what made Queen have those certain signature sounds, and he had enough solos in the show to carry it well. Although Adam Lambert spoke humbly about his own role, and how Mercury was a tough act to follow...he was still filled with way more polish and glitter than was warranted for the Queen image, sound and feel. Lamberts presence was more of a Vegas showgirl than anything that resembled rock n roll. And although I knew before attending that no one could possibly fill Freddie Mercurys shoes, I was a tad disappointed with Lamberts' showgirl persona and performance. He knew all the words but the Mercury passion was definitly missing. And Lambert, in my opinion, did not bring it. Too much glitz, polish and glitter for a rock n roll band like Queen. I may have preferred a backing video of Mercury with May and Taylor performing the music live along with Freddies vocals and performance via video or even hologram perhaps. All in all Lambert was far from bad...it was simply not what I had hoped for...and Freddies shoes ARE impossible to fill for any vocalist. That aside, I'm so grateful I got to see May and Taylor perform Queens music, as they were superb! And May's solos gave me goosebumps!