Posted by Contributing photographer/reviewer, Ms Amanda Packey covers Geoff Tate!!
On Thursday, 10/16/2025, Geoff Tate brought his Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter tour to Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in Patchogue, NY. This tour will be the final time Tate plays Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety, thereby bringing a close to one of the finest eras in progressive metal history.
The show opened with Tomás McCarthy, a musician from Cork, Ireland, whose music is an excellent blend of Irish folk, rock, and blues. McCarthy can hit notes so deep they reverberate through your entire body. The vibe was intense, feeling a bit like sitting in a vibrating massage chair while listening to Mongolian throat singers. For the second song, Clodagh McCarthy (singer, saxophonist, and Tomás McCarthy’s wife) sang Siúil a Rúin, explaining that continuing to sing Irish songs is important because the Irish were in a fight with the English for 800 years and could be killed for speaking their native language. It is through the immense strength of the Irish people that their language has survived, and it is an honor to be witness to its revival. It was a beautiful performance, one that felt powerful and ethereal at the same time. The full set included both original songs, and a cover of Lead Belly’s “Out on the Western Plains” that Tomás McCarthy absolutely rocked with gravelly vocals and intense guitar. At the time of writing, McCarthy’s album Colours has been submitted for a Grammy in the Record of the Year category, and I, for one, hope his music gets the recognition that it deserves.
The one thing I will always say about Geoff Tate, the man knows how to make an entrance. Tate’s set started with his band on stage, a multinational group comprised of Dario Parente (lead guitarist, Italy), James Brown (guitarist, Ireland), Kieran Robertson (guitarist, Scotland), Jack Ross (bass, Scotland), Robert “Baker” (drums, USA), and Clodagh McCarthy (singer/keyboards/Sister Mary, Ireland). They absolutely rocked out to “Anarchy-X,” getting the audience prepped and ready for the vocal experience that is Geoff Tate. When Tate came on stage for “Revolution Calling,” the crowd erupted with cheers, including a few shouts of “Geoff Fuckin’ Tate!!” The whole place felt alive.
As a bit of history, Geoff Tate was the original singer for Queensrÿche, a progressive metal band from Bellevue, Washington. For fans of the genre, Queensrÿche is usually grouped as one of the “Big Three” of prog metal, the other two being Dream Theater and Fates Warning. Tate left Queensrÿche in 2012, the circumstances of which are unclear, as none of the reports I’ve read seem to agree exactly. Some cite creative differences. Some say it was a fight. Personally, I don’t think it’s my business. The details are between Tate and the other members of Queensrÿche. What is relevant is that shortly after the split Tate began touring on his own, bringing original Queensrÿche vocals to prog metal fans all over the world. Which leads us to today, and the final tour of Tate performing the 1988 Queensrÿche album Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety, covering 2.5 years and 66 countries.
And so, there we gathered in a sold out venue to witness the stellar swan song of an album that was pivotal to so many of our lives. As prog metal made up a good portion of the soundtrack to my teen years, hearing Operation: Mindcrime played live was like a journey back in time to the goth metalhead girl in her stompy boots screaming lyrics at the top of her lungs while driving way too fast down the expressway (sorry, mom). Tate made a joke about seeing a lot of gray beards in the audience, but I think for that night we were all 16 again, even if our knees said otherwise after the show.
The Operation: Mindcrime set came to a close with “Eyes of a Stranger,” and Tate followed the album with songs from Operation: Mindcrime II and Empire, including one of my all time favorite songs, “Silent Lucidity.” In my humble opinion, it’s still one of the greatest songs ever written, and Tate still does it justice 35 years later. Tate knows his crowd though, and in a fun moment during “Jet City Woman,” Tate sang the words “Jet City,” and then leaned back with a smile and a “you’ve got this” look toward the audience, where they took his lead and shouted “Wooooooman” as if their lives depended on it. The vibe of the night was all metal, all fun, as the band members seemed to be having a blast on stage, and Tate was connecting with the crowd as the seasoned pro that he is.
For the encore, Tate rocked “Take Hold of the Flame,” which had the audience throwing their fists in the air shouting “Take! Hold!” But then, he ended the night on a more somber note, noting that Ace Frehley, KISS lead guitarist and co-founder, had died earlier that day. He said, “Let’s do one more for Ace,” and played “Queen of the Reich,” which he noted was partly inspired by KISS.
While I am sad to see Operation: Mindcrime venture into retirement, it was an honor to see Tate absolutely nail the album and bring the crowd through their musical memories one last time. I do wonder what Tate has in store for the future, and I hope he has plans for additional solo tours, as his current tour was an absolutely worthwhile experience.
Here are just a few highlights from an incredible night!
Long Island Sounds 