WHAT A PERFORMANCE!! | FIRST TIME Watching Queen - Full Concert Live Aid 1985 (REACTION)
Table of contents
- Freddy Mercury's effortless stage presence and emotional connection with the audience make his Live Aid performance legendary.
- Freddy Mercury's effortless talent and stage presence create an unbreakable emotional bond with the audience.
- Freddy Mercury's energy and passion on stage are infectious, making every performance unforgettable.
- There's nothing like the energy of a live show, and Freddie Mercury's passion and showmanship make Queen's performances unforgettable.
- Live music is where you see the true connection between an artist and their audience.
Freddy Mercury's effortless stage presence and emotional connection with the audience make his Live Aid performance legendary.
Ask and you shall receive. Since we started this Queen journey, I've had so many comments that I have to check this out. If there's one thing I watch in terms of performance from Freddy Mercury, it is the Live Aid performance. So guess what? That's what we're going to do right here, right now.
Wow, look at that. The crowd is mesmerized. Freddy's voice is just effortless. I've talked about this before; some people are just born to be on a stage. They take that stage, and there's an aura, an energy about them. Freddy walks out onto the stage, does a couple of warm-up moves—knees up in the air, punching the sky—and that crowd is just melting like butter in his hand. Then, all of a sudden, the silence, and you feel that tension for a quick moment as he gets the keys ready to go and then dives right into it, wasting no time with his voice.
He sings, "Mama, just killed a man," and the crowd is in awe. What an effortless voice. Freddy just knows he has this commanding presence where nothing else matters in space, and the focus is just on him. We just did a breakdown of this and Bohemian Rhapsody, and you guys made some great comments, talking about the symbolism and looking at "I just killed a man" as actually being his own identity and his struggles in the media in relation to his sexuality, being a greater metaphor for all of that. But what I love again is that there are no intros like, "How you doing everybody? How we feeling? What's going on London?" No, it's just straight into it, no time wasted.
Freddy continues, "My time has come, sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go, gotta leave you all behind." And the crowd is with him every step of the way. He adds a little kiss to the crowd, showing his commanding presence. He makes it look so easy, whether he's hitting his power chords or softening it down. It's all effortless.
The guitar solo comes in, and it's like wielding a staff, reminiscent of Gandalf's "You shall not pass" moment. The crowd cheers, and the music transitions smoothly. Freddy sings, "I see a little silhouetto of a man," and the crowd is hoping for the "Galileos," but the transition is smooth nonetheless.
Freddy continues with "Radio Ga Ga," and you can see the passion. The biggest thing music gives you is that emotional connection. If you can emotionally connect with a listener, you've created a lifelong bond. You can see it in the expressions and the way the crowd sings it back. Freddy makes it look effortless, whether he's hitting high notes or softening his voice. Even if you know nothing about music, you can still appreciate talent when it's before your eyes.
Freddy Mercury's effortless talent and stage presence create an unbreakable emotional bond with the audience.
You can just see the passion, right? I think the biggest thing music gives you is that emotional connection. If you can emotionally connect with a listener, then you've just created a lifelong bond. You could just see it there in the expressions and the way they're singing it back. But again, how effortless does Freddy make it look? Just his range—when he wants to go to his power cords, it's easy; when he wants to soften it and drop back down, it's effortless. Everything just seems effortless, and I think even if you know nothing about music, you could still look at and appreciate talent when it's before your eyes.
"You had your time, you had the power, you get to have the finest St... radi... everybody are we here... radi... wow... wow... radi... your... radi you..." I wish I could do it, but I don't know this song. Look how he's just a maestro, turning the crowd itself into instruments, making them just a part of the music. We watch the stage, our videos for hours and hours, we hardly need to use our ear; our music changes through the years. Let's hope you never leave, friend. Like all good things, you stick around because we might miss you when we get tired of all this. "You had your time, you have the car, you get to have the finest..." Just some of these little looks.
As a performer, when you go on stage, you obviously know your venue. Freddy is literally just working every angle. It doesn't matter where your seats are; at some point in time, he's turning your way and performing towards you. Like right there when he turns to the left, even the people in the top rows—he's performing to them. He then gestures to this part of the crowd, then walks along the stage. He is just controlling every single point of this stage. Just an amazing stage presence and fully in control of his movements and mannerisms. It's like how actors are taught in theater—how to conduct themselves on stage and how to perform to different parts of the crowd. Freddy is just doing it while he's singing his heart out right here.
"Here is radio... radio... radio... wow..." These shots are incredible from behind him, to see what he sees. "Radi... radi... radio was... you... radio... I want still love you..." Sounds like some more interesting symbolism in that song, but I want to just appreciate the live performance. I think some of these songs we'll have to go back into and dive into. I'm intrigued by that one—comment below what that was.
[Music] [Applause] Man, that is literally the first words he said in this set to directly address the crowd. I love how he could just jump into this and get them to call back without even instructing them—literally just with his mannerisms. "Go, drop it, stop... just wow..." It's like a puppet master. [Applause] [Music] See, just gestures up—rise, drop it. Woo, what a... [Applause] [Music]
Freddy Mercury's energy and passion on stage are infectious, making every performance unforgettable.
[Applause] [Music]
Alright bro, that is literally the first words he said in this set to directly address the crowd. I love how he could just jump into this and get them to call back without even instructing them, literally just with his mannerisms. Go drop it, stop—just wow, it's like a puppet. [Applause] [Music]
Bastard, see, just gestures up. Rise, drop it, woo—what a moment. [Music] [Applause] [Music]
Alright, alright, hey hey hey hey hey. He just makes you feel good about yourself. I can't sing like that. [Music]
Here we stand, here we fall, don't care at all. Bed like the lady be home tonight, you don't waste no time at all. Don't hear the B but you answer the call. [Music] [Applause]
This dude right here, like to the right of Freddy, it's one of the best seats in the house. Look at him, arms crossed, just chilling, enjoying what a performance. Oh, why not work the camera too now, as if we haven't done enough. [Applause] [Music]
The hammer to fall. Famous by to all I say, oh dark rain is faring through your window baby, now your tres there. [Music] [Applause]
It's almost like strip club meets theater meets rock and roll meets Freddy Mercury. I'd say what's interesting too is just the choice of microphone, right? Instead of like running around with the mic off of the stand, it's not even a full mic stand. It's just literally the pole from the mic stand that he transforms into a guitar, whatever instrument he wants to play at the time. He rises with it, drops it, you know, instead of just walking around with the mic to give him that movement because he obviously loves to move all over the place. Just a different type of choice. Normally, you have the mic stand and then you've got the pole and it just sits in place and you can work with that for a little bit. Then you take the mic out of the stand, walk around with it. No, Freddy's like, I'm taking the whole thing with me.
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud, these can't be just want to screaming louder and louder and louder. What the hell are we fighting for? Surrender and it won't hurt at all. Just our time to stay your praise then it's time for the things that mic can do. [Music] [Applause]
Yeah, one more time, waiting for the... [Music] [Applause]
Give it one more time. Freddy's a naughty boy on stage, you can tell, man, just the way that he plays the crowd. But also, he's just having a hell of a time and I think it's that enthusiasm, it's that passion, it's that energy—it's infectious and you feel it and it really draws you in. Wow, the showmanship. Why are the good ones always going too soon? Pepsi getting that product placement in. [Applause] [Music]
There's nothing like the energy of a live show, and Freddie Mercury's passion and showmanship make Queen's performances unforgettable.
Freddy's a naughty boy on stage, you can tell just by the way he plays the crowd. He’s having a hell of a time, and it’s that enthusiasm, passion, and energy that’s infectious. You feel it, and it really draws you in. The Showmanship is incredible. Why are the good ones always gone too soon?
Pepsi getting that product placement in. Who is that dude? Hang on, switch up the instruments. Look at that outfit! Did you just go to the gym and straight to the show? Gotta love it.
This next song is dedicated to the Beautiful People here tonight. It means all of you. Thank you for coming along and making this a great occasion.
"I just can't handle this show. I get round to it, ready Christ, shakes all over like jelly, like it crazy. There goes my baby, she knows she crazy little." He's got a little bit of an Elvis vibe when he drops down to those bass notes.
"I got to be cool, relax, get on my track, take a long ride." Nice guitars, piano, front man—what can he do? Come on, why not take a long ride on the ready ra?
See, again, he's back to working all angles and all sides of the crowd. Wow.
"I raise your little, I raise your little." I thought I was going to see a smashed guitar for a second. Look at that! There’s listening to a song on the radio or through the speakers, and then there’s just feeling a song and being there live. To me, there’s nothing greater than being at a live show.
A real measure of a band is how they sound live. In the studio, you can make anyone sound better, but how do they truly sound live? How do they connect with their music, and how do they make that connection with the crowd? Here, you just get it. Freddy is a conduit into this world, and it’s all-consuming with Queen.
Make a big in the street, got to be a big man on your face, big disgrace, taking your C all over the W rock you. Yeah, do it!
Live music is where you see the true connection between an artist and their audience.
Do they sound live right being in the studio? You can make anyone sound better in the studio, but how do they truly sound live? How do they connect with their music, and how do they make that connection with the crowd? Here, you just get it right here, just that conduit that Freddy gives us into this world, and it's all-consuming with Queen.
We Will Rock You plays, and the crowd erupts in applause. "Oh my god, I'm an idiot. 'We Will Rock You' is Queen? How did I never know that?" Listen, you guys got to cut me some slack, right? I know you see a white kid, and you're like, "Oh man, he should be raised on rock and all these things," and I get it. But you have to appreciate that I'm from PG County, right? I'm from an all-hip-hop community. I was raised on rap music. I didn't listen to metal; I didn't listen to rock. I barely listened to the radio. I listened to a lot of underground and hip-hop, and that was my life coming up. Battles and all that I went through, that is what I know. I'm sorry if sometimes I surprise people with my uncultured self. Wow, shame on me. God, how many hits do they have?
The performance continues with We Will Rock You, and the crowd is fully engaged. "Mighty Ducks, baby," someone shouts. The energy is palpable.
The pacing of the set is perfect. You know what your hits are going to be, and your moments when you really have the crowd just giving you that energy. It's like riding a wave. There are moments when you kind of drop down and bring them in. It was really interesting to me how we started this. We didn't start with high energy, upbeat to just really bring that crowd in. We started with him over the keys, kind of mellow to set the tone, and then it just built from there. Now, we're going to ride it back down a little bit.
We Are the Champions begins, and the crowd is in awe. "Oh [__], I shouldn't even publish this video. Oh my God, I'm showing myself up." The crowd is fully immersed in the performance. "Look at that crowd, man. Look at them." Another iconic song, and the crowd is loving it.
Freddy's performance is mesmerizing. He has a little sideways look and nod to the crowd, and you can see the connection. He uses the mic to highlight different things, whether it turns into an air guitar or he holds it up to his bandmates. At the very end, he turns the mic to the crowd, letting them take center stage.
"Sorry guys, camera died, didn't even notice it. Goodbye, we love you." And that's the first time he just says "Wembley" instead of at the very beginning. How you doing? Man, I love that. Just straight down to business, but the raw power and emotion make you wish you could have been there. You really get a feeling like this is a classic moment, a classic show in history. You can see why so many people have been recommending this to me since we started this Queen journey.
For me, there is no barrier to it all. It's just his soul connected with the instrumentation, connected with the music, and pouring out to thousands upon thousands of people. The way he orchestrates it all, always in control, whether it's of his own vocals, his own voice, the band around him, the crowd, he just uplifts everyone's energy. Born to be a showman. Wow, that was incredible. Honestly, Queen, you are now certified.
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