A Forty Year Love Story

 Forty years ago I put on my (ginormous) headphones, laid down on my floor, and spent hour upon hour listening to Queen's News of the World album. I studied the lyrics and gazed at the album cover, pondering the meaning of the robot. I lost myself in Freddie Mercury's voice, the lyrics, and the sounds enveloping me. Passion.
 I expanded my appreciation of Queen backward through their catalog and followed them forward with each release.  I put them on a back shelf in my musical interests for awhile, still listening to the singles. I liked some, others not so much. In all those years there was never an opportunity for me to see them in concert. Then Freddie died. I cried through the entire tribute concert as I watched.... The Queen was dead. All the passion I had felt for their music became a part of my story.  Part of that story was that I would never experience them in concert. The possibility was gone.
 Several years ago Queen (Brian May and Roger Taylor, not John Deacon though, he had retired) went on tour with Paul Rogers. It made me vaguely sad that Queen was trying to live on with someone who could never live up to the legend of Freddie Mercury. No way would I go to something so bound to be disappointing and even sad.
 Then a few years later I heard about some guy on American Idol that had Queen play with him on the show. That seemed cheap. Then they toured together. What were they thinking? How could anyone be satisfied with a substitute for Freddie? "It's not Queen without Freddie Mercury". It wasn't just me saying that.... I've heard it many times. Most people express that thought. I didn't think twice about not going to see them in concert when they were here.
 Flash forward to a little over a year ago. Lucius asked to hear that song we played sometimes... he got the name wrong, but right enough that we understood what he meant. Bohemian Rhapsody.  Since that moment we have listened to that song literally almost every single day on the way to school. And on the way home. And randomly at other times. At first I was really really afraid it would make me sick of the song. The kids began watching old concert videos on YouTube. They would say "listen to this version mom. Do you hear the difference?" and sure enough I did. As I listened to Bohemian Rhapsody every day, I began to hear each instrument as its own voice. The weaving and melding of everything into one magical song became more interesting than I had ever realized it could be. There are videos of the instrument tracks separated out from each other. You'd never think how little guitar there is in that song. We watched a video of Brian May talking about the making of Bohemian Rhapsody. Eventually it became a full fledged head on plunge into all things Queen. Lucius even began learning some of their songs on piano (Play The Game), then bass (Another One Bites the Dust). Queen was ever present in our lives.
 And you know what I learned? After all these years? That band was much much more than Freddie Mercury. They were four musicians who had just exactly the right chemistry with each other, and the respect to give each credit where credit was due. They are the only band to have all four members have a song on every album. They are also the only band to have all four members have hit singles.. Two of my most favorite songs are written by the bass player, John Deacon. Brian May is a guitar God, in his own right. Roger Taylor on drums was a driving force in every song and his voice is ever present. My boys taught me more about music, through this obsession, than anyone else in my life.
  So when Queen + Adam Lambert announced their tour, there was zero chance we were going to miss it. Tuesday night, when  the concert started with the giant robot from News of the World smashing through a wall, I was transported back to my bedroom floor 40 years ago. I loved every moment of that night, maybe as much or more than any other concert I've been to, which is saying something because that is a very good long list.  Bye the time the robot waived farewell and the speakers blared "God Save the Queen" (as was their long standing tradition) I had finally seen Queen, live in concert.