Concert review: One Night of Queen at Eisemann Center in Richardson (February 26)

Nearly full house proves that the music of Queen has an insidiously universal popularity.

One Night of Queen

RICHARDSON — The music of Queen has an insidiously universal popularity and reach, dominating everything from high school basketball games to American Idol. But even despite that popularity, it was still almost a surprise on Friday to see One Night of Queen, a Queen tribute show, basically sell out the Eisemann Center in Richardson.

What could attract a full house for such a show? Dallas' own Queen cover band Queen For A Day never drew more than the usual bar crowd at Dada.

But One Night of Queen isn't just any cover act. This show, which stopped last year at Bass Hall and is again touring the U.S., has become an international phenomenon, with a frontman whose portrayal of deceased singer Freddie Mercury has blown many a viewer away.

Singer Gary Mullen was a karaoke aficionado who gained fame in the early 2000s after performing as Freddie Mercury on an English TV show called Stars in their Eyes. Nearly 10 years later, he's fronting a band called The Works and performing at fine halls such as the Eisemann, where his rendition of Mercury was powerful and convincing.

That said, this was still a cover band, one step removed from the passion and charisma of the real thing. But even if Mullen and his band did not fully engross for the duration of their three-hour show, including 20-minute intermission, it didn't matter. For many in the audience, it was enough to hear familiar chestnuts such as "We Are The Champions," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and "Another One Bites the Dust," in a comfortable, seated setting.

The "seated" part was key. The audience was easily the most varied -- and by varied, we mean "people over 70" -- ever seen for what was essentially a classic rock show. The guy sitting across the aisle from me had white hair and a Santa-Claus twinkle to his eye, but there he was, subtly tapping his toes to "Under Pressure." Was Mr. Toe Tapper cognizant of who Freddy Mercury was and what kind of life he led back in the '80s, or was he just grateful that the toilet in the men's room flushed and there were no broken beer bottles on the floor?

A common sight in the crowd were whole families or else people with their parents in tow, such as A.J. Marcaccio, 28, of Grapevine, a drummer in local band Space Monkey.

"I saw them last year; my wife dragged me to that show at Bass Hall and so now I'm dragging her and my parents," Marcaccio said.

Paula Sanborn, 46, of Dallas came with her husband Mike, and their teen sons David and Christopher.

"We wouldn't come to see just any cover band -- the appeal was the music of Queen," she said.

With tickets priced at $40 and $65, this was no small feat. Mullen and co. definitely rocked, with the volume high and with guitarist David Brockett unpeeling blistering solos.

But Mullen was the focus, not only because he was the frontman but because he dove into the role so thoroughly, from his creased white slacks and jacket (which he removed fairly quickly) to his intense physicality: strutting across the stage, climbing on the drum riser, attempting the occasional split, and swinging around his truncated mike stand, a Mercury trademark, which he played air guitar on or hoisted into the air for emphasis.