LIVE: Geoff Tate, Ivory Lake & Deveria @ Empire Live, 01/27/2022

ALBANY – Thursday evening and bitter cold in NY’s capital, as we made our way to Empire Live for a highly anticipated night of music. Geoff Tate, a well-known name especially amongst fans of Queensryche, was here in the Capital Region to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Queensryche’s most commercially successful album – Empire. The evening promised vast amounts of fantastic music as Geoff was not only going to be performing Empire, but Rage for Order as well. Two other acts, Deveria and Ivory Lake were sure to make their cases as well in front of the large audience that had amassed. 

The show kicked off with Deveria up first. Deveria, a power/thrash metal-based from Rotterdam, NY started off strong, coming at the audience with the fast-paced beats of the drum pounding behind the lead singers soaring vocals. The guitar came in, complimenting the vocals with intertwining melodies before switching into attack mode. I will admit that I was not terribly familiar with Deveria when we arrived, but after hearing their set I will be looking out for them going forward. The musical prowess they displayed and their ability to engage the audience truly exemplified the amount of sheer talent around the capital region.

Singer/Songwriter Josh Watts, also known as Ivory Lake headed up on stage next. Josh, a former drummer of Geoff Tate, started Ivory Lake as a solo project, hoping to make music that people enjoy and feel impacted by. Drawing from his most recent Pillow EP, he performed a strong acoustic set full of raw emotion. As he first started, I questioned whether he would be able to keep up the momentum of the show as first started by Deveria, but was pleasantly surprised as the crowd seemed to react quite strongly through the set.

Finally, the moment had arrived. The crowd moved forward as anticipation filled the room. The room went dark before the lights kicked on showering the stage in red in blue lights. Geoff and the band walked on as the crowd cheered on. As they launched into their first song “Walk in the shadows”, you could physically feel the music in the air. The air from the sound moving around you, the pulse of the bass guitar and drums running through every ounce of your body. The audience moved with and sang along with the songs as they progressed through their set, from “I will remember”, to “Jet City Woman”, chugging along through the two classic albums. Before launching into what is unquestionably the most recognized and successful Queensryche song to date (which I’m sure you can guess), there was a brief interlude in which Geoff talked to the audience a bit. Expressing his appreciation over being able to finally perform in front of a live audience after the past couple years of uncertainty, he described a story of him going grocery shopping for the first time in his life. His ability to connect to the crowd whether through music or just telling stories was truly a sight to see.

As the band began playing the beginning notes of “Silent Lucidity”, the crowd cheered as loud as they could, the screams of celebration almost deafening. As everyone in the crowd sang along with the band, you truly got a sense of how much love there was in the room for these songs. Whether it be nostalgia of long-time followers or just an appreciation of the songs as a music lover in general; Geoff Tate delivered on all counts. This show was fantastic, and I will definitely be attending again the next time he comes to the Capital Region.

Photo Gallery by Amy Klemme