Bermuda Festival Review: “One Night of Queen”

[Written by Rajai Denbrook and Rennika Trott] They know how to start ‘em, and they definitely know how to end ‘em, the Bermuda Festival of Performing Arts that is.

They promised to ROCK us and Gary Mullen and The Works did that oh so well with their “One Night of Queen”; a non-stop, high energy, evening of flawless covers of all of Queen’s greatest hits, with all of the shirtless prancing, electric guitar wailing, crowd hollering goodness you’d expect from the original!

Don’t be mistaken, this is a rock concert for a crowd of 40,000, which the band is accustomed to playing for, somehow all packed onto the stage at the Fairmont Southampton, yanking concert goers into the relentless, head-banging, and nostalgic two and a half hour set, that these reviewers still don’t exactly know how the band managed to rage the entire way through.

Promo video for Gary Mullen and The Works “One Night of Queen”:

To start the show, We Will Rock You, the best start to any of the festival performances yet, then the second number came rushing in, and with that, so did the wall of lights lining the back of the stage, and the smoke machine, and the band’s sense of sheer fun and skill solidified.

Then some banter from Gary Mullen as Freddie Mercury, calling late comers b******, and promising drinks on them for the entire audience, and band, during the intermission, then pointing out there was room up front to dance and sing…and take all your clothes off (which he partially did by the way).

Next, Somebody To Love, accompanied by one of these reviewers who sang along until his little lungs were dry.

There was no hiding from “Freddie”, the band, or the electricity flying off of them, you were going to get your money’s worth and have fun, whether you wanted to or not.

Up next, a number that caused what can only be described as an exodus to the front of the stage to occur, Another One Bites the Dust.

In a wave virtually all of the audience decided they were going to have an exceedingly good time, left their seats, found a space at the front of the stage, and did just that, and very well too.

Also of note in the first half has to be a solo from guitarists David Brockett, whose brilliance, experience and fearlessness made the show for one these reviewers.

All of a sudden the rest of the band exited the stage and there was Mr. Brockett trying his best to melt the room, somehow not managing too, but certainly managing to make a few people hoarse for sure.

Then after the intermission the band exploded back onto the stage with even more energy than before, abating the anticipation of these reviewers for a drum solo from Jonathan Evans that delivered in every which way we hoped it would.

We won’t go into much more detail, mostly because there are only so many ways you can say “it was awesome, worth every penny, go and see it, especially if you don’t know a thing about Queen like us”, but what we will say is that there was some sneaky guitar playing from Mr. Mullen, some choice moments from Malcom Gentles on the keyboards and Billy Moffat on bass, sweat, lots of sweat, and a rendition of We Are The Champions that made these reviewers feel like they could do anything, including avert World War Two.

Serious congratulations to Gary Mullen and The Works for keeping the legacy of Queen alive in such a wonderfully appropriate way and for reminding the audience how easy, and perhaps important it is, to enjoy some great live music, and have a bit of fun.

Also, big kudos to the technical team for exceptionally managing the show!

You can catch this final show for the Bermuda Festival of Performing Arts 2013 one more time this Saturday evening.

Thank-you to the festival for another great run, and here’s to looking forward to next year!

#BermudaFestival #Music

Category: All, Entertainment, Music