Photos and Review by Jim LaValley
Galleries: Geoff Tate, Till Death Do Us Part
One of the greatest singers of all-time in rock and metal, Geoff Tate and his band Operation Mindcrime, sold out the Greasy Luck in New Bedford for two nights this past week and slayed it. Fans of Tate from the New Bedford area, including myself showed up for the artist they grew up listening to. First time listening to Mindcrime for me was over 30 years ago with a buddy of mine who I hadn’t seen for quite a while. To my surprise, I walked into the show and there he was sitting with his wife, I thought that was cool and ironic.
Geoff had a few bands opening for him, one of them was his daughter Emily’s band “Till Death Do Us Part”. You can definitely tell where Emily got her pipes from because she has a solid gripping tone during her screams. Emily was also very theatrical while fronting the band, including a moment during their tune “Cannonball” where she sings with guitarist Kieran Robertson as he grabs her by the throat. I did notice Kieran also plays with Geoff Tate, working double-time. Emily and the band did a great job preparing the crowd for some Mindcrime.
Tate’s band started the night with AnarchyX and then Geoff came out to “Revolution Calling“. At this point of the night you could appreciate how clear and loud Greasy Luck’s sound system is. Emily Tate joined her dad on stage for the album’s highlight tune, “Suite Sister Mary“. Geoff was in full “Nikki” mode as he played out the theatrics of killing Mary with the back and forth duet with his daughter playing Mary. I especially noticed that Geoff nailed his legendary screams throughout the night, in particular the end of “The Needle Lies” was truly memorable.
Geoff’s band, Scott Moughton (guitar), Kieran Robertson (guitar), Jack Ross (bass guitar), and Josh Watts (drums), killed it with their execution of the Operation Mindcrime album.
Geoff mentioned that this was the first time coming to New Bedford and loved the crowd, it was very apparent the fans loved him by how much the venue was rocking.
Once again, here is another example of the Greasy Luck pulling in world class artists to play in their intimate setting. If you haven’t seen Geoff Tate live, you should treat yourself to his unique vocals anytime he comes around to your city or town.