Advance screening on November 1st

Not to brag (except I'm totally bragging/not actually bragging and for real trying to keep it humble and remind myself that I'm super undeservingly lucky), I'll be going to see Bohemian Rhapsody in Downtown Boston on October 31 (in IMAX!), then November 1, I'll be going to see it in Gloucester with Gunpowder Gelatine and my friend George, and THEN official opening night on November 2 back in Downtown Boston!

There have been tons of screenings nation-wide so far, and 99% of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but I'm still waiting for input of hardcore Queen fans everywhere else before I feel secure in that. I tried very hard to ignore one twitter post in particular, but it's been eating away at me, read something to the effect of, "The movie was nothing more than a glorified Wikipedia article"

...

While it didn't feel necessary to screenshot such an astute observation, I hope that person has since been schooled on what a biopic is and how they typically work.

Anyway! I thought that Gunpowder Gelatine performing at the November 1 screening would put the evening well over the top in awesomeness, but then I saw on Facebook that The Cap Ann Cinema & Stage in Gloucester, MA will be selling a *checks notes because I'm not a beer snob* "Raspberry Kettle Sour Ale" from Ipswich Brewery called "Bohemian Raspberry"!

Photo shared with permission

(I think Ben & Jerry's had a limited edition flavor with the same name at some point, but I don't think they'd have a problem with this)

I don't really like beer (I'm more of a hard cider/rum and Coke guy), but I plan on buying one for my collection!

Advance screening in Boston

In today's episode of, "Zander Has Undeserved Luck in the Queen Department," I'm going with a few friends to see an advance screening of Bohemian Rhapsody in Boston on October 31!

I just... Why me?? I have a local Queen tribute band that I can see unless there is a damn good reason I can't go, I'm officially said tribute band's number one fan (their words!) (Gunpowder Gelatine. They're awesome and they're also awesome people), I have a rose that Freddie Mercury touched when he was tossing them into the audience at their show in Maine in August 1980 (this one landed on the edge of the stage, and my friend Tony managed to run up and snag it after the show ended), I've seen Queen Extravaganza, I got to go to the We Will Rock You musical (didn't like it, but it had been on my bucket list since 2002(?), I've met Brian May and gotten his autograph, I've seen Queen + Adam Lambert twice and had kickass seats both times, the movie exists at all, I can make plans with friends to go see it...

I have followers on my social media even though I only sporadically update my blog.

Any day now, my luck will dry up. It has to, right? I just hope I'm striking the right balance between enjoying it immensely and not taking it for granted.

Trailer explosion

So!

It has been eight days since the Bohemian Rhapsody trailer went online (the one from 20th Century Fox's Youtube account has 11,597,185 as I'm writing this, and I think it's safe to say that I've made a significant contribution to that number so far.

The day the film is finally in theaters cannot come soon enough for some of us, as evidenced by people posting wonderful trailer reactions (Sally's, and James', and Cam Deacon's (John's youngest son!!) being my favorites - but you should also check out the rest of their videos because they're awesome) but the 1:30 we've all seen so far has resulted in a couple shit storms as well. I'm doing my very best to avoid or at least greatly limit my exposure because November is six whole months away and I'm not interested in speeding up the process of my hair going gray, but I find myself getting pulled in anyway.

(I don't have a problem with having gray hairs, I just don't need to rush that process when I'm not even 32 yet)

Bryan Fuller, an American television producer, has decided that the film is straight-washing Freddie and completely ignoring the AIDS crisis solely based on that 1:30. I was prepared look into it to see if he had a valid point despite my disagreement with those assessments, but his words hold absolutely no weight with me. At all.

HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO MARY AUSTIN IS BUT FEELS LIKE HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT! THAT'S DAY 1 TRIVIA!

ETA - And there's also that shot at 0:32 of what looks like Freddie in the studio with a guy getting really up in Freddie's space (I'm not sure if that's supposed to be Paul Prenter, as they didn't meet until '77 and this shot looks like '75, but it looks like Allen Leech, who's playing Prenter, so maybe artistic licensing?). I can't usually tell when a guy is cruising me, but this is definitely not just queerbaiting (showing something in a promo that's intended to look queer to drive up interest and viewership, but then it's not actually queer at all in the context of the rest of that scene, and queer people have gotten their hopes up for nothing). Dude is coming ON to Freddie! But that's an easy clip to miss when you're too busy throwing a tantrum to pay attention.

The cast list on IMDB also shows a number of (not necessarily all!) men Freddie will no doubt fuck around with, or try to fuck around with. The jury's out, though, if that includes the guys credited as "Meat Packer One" and "NYC Meatpacker" because I'm honestly not sure if that's a euphemism or not! ... I'm also thinking "NY Clubber/Former Lover to Freddie" is supposed to be Thor Arnold.

(Side note: the question of erasing Freddie's sexual orientation is resulting in a really interesting and much needed discussion on gay/bi-erasure in general, compulsory heterosexuality, and queer history on Tumblr, so there's a silver lining in breaking down what those things mean, but the knee-jerk blowing up without a clue will never not be frustrating all the same.)

And as for "ignoring AIDS":

Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid – the biggest concert in history. But fate and past behaviors throw a devastating obstacle at him, one that forces him to confront then accept his own mortality. Pulling himself up from personal strife one more time to overcome the odds, the band puts on one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day. On Freddie’s terms, not the rest of the world’s. - excerpt from Queen Online's Bohemian Rhapsody page

There is a part of me bummed that the movie won't at least go up to the release of Made In Heaven, but I know in my heart that it cinematically makes sense to stop at Live Aid if you have to pick a stopping place sooner than what we're used to seeing in documentaries like Champions Of The World, The Untold Story, Days Of Our Lives, and The Great Pretender. And I also know that biopics tend to always have a text epilogue at the end just before the credits roll, and I'm sure that text will cover the highlights.

I kind of feel like even the Days Of Our Lives documentary glosses over a bit past Hot Space before focusing a bit on Wembley and Knebworth in 1986, and then glossing again a bit before delving into Innuendo, then the tribute concert, then glosses up to Made In Heaven... etc. etc. And while that specific period had a lot going on for all of the guys individually, I could see that not really translating well to film. Also, Brian's life in particular was a pretty big mess around that time (first marriage ended, his dad had died, Freddie was dying/did die, Cozy Powell died, and he struggled in a big way with his mental health and we almost lost him) and I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to revisit that period.

But anyway! I'm still excited for the film, with the full awareness that artistic licensing will be utilized just like any other film based (key word) on a true story. I've asked a number of my friends to save the date for the theatrical release so we can all go together, and I'm especially excited to see how Rami moves as Freddie in further detail on and off stage (a LOT is resting on his movement coach, Polly Bennet). Being straight, can he play gay well enough to convince me that he doesn't need to try too hard? Will he and Aaron McCusker have good chemistry? Another question I have is, "Who the hell is playing Phoebe?" because Google is failing me. He'd better be in the film, as he's definitely consulted.

Bohemian Rhapsody sneak peak

YOU GUYS!!!

While we've officially been waiting for this moment since 2009, I feel like many of us have been lowkey waiting for it since the 2004 biopic Ray was released because that film really raised the bar for musician biopics. I remember the Days Of Old on the Queenzone forums when people would post wondering who would possibly play Freddie if a movie were to be made.

Contenders came down to Eric McCormack (older promo shot for Will & Grace because that's what he looked like at the time)...

(Side note: He's also a huge Queen fan!)

... And Johnny Depp, who will not be pictured here because he is an abusive prick.

And then we all know Sacha Baron Cohen was actually slated to play Freddie when the film project was hovering just inches from the ground. And then Ben Whishaw, and that five second rumor that Daniel Radcliff was in the running. And finally Rami Malek!

The poster looks great, but I'm not digging the tagline.

But the sneak peak! I HAVE WATCHED IT MAYBE EVERY COUPLE MINUTES OR SO!

I am BEYOND excited for this!! The trailer will finally drop online tomorrow, after being shown at CinemaCon in April. I won't tell you how many hours I spent combing Youtube for a leak... but I'm sure if Youtube were a conscious entity, it would have said at one point, "For fuck's sake, how many times do I have to tell you that the trailer's not here?! Get a life!"

It's cool if you're not looking forward to the movie. It's understandable to be protective of the greatest band in the universe. What fucking kills me is that Rami Malek said that Brian emailed him after seeing the film that Freddie would be very proud of it, but some fans are convinced that Freddie would absolutely despise it. I think I'm going to go with the guy who's known Freddie for 20 years.

FFAD post coming soon

Coming soon... On the outside...

Okay, I'm done.

FFAD in Boston was spectacular! I feel bad that I didn't do all that much but have been taking all week to recover and gather my thoughts. But a post is coming, and hopefully it will be marvelous!

Queen + Adam Lambert, Boston 2017

There are no words that can convey the joy and thrill of seeing Queen and Adam Lambert AGAIN!

My friend George (hi, George!) was originally planning to come with me, but that couldn't pan out, so my friend Allison and I sat together instead. But George and a few of my other friends were definitely there with me in spirit!

I bought two tickets back in February and was fairly certain that me and George would have been at the very last row of our section (Section B), but fate decided to smile upon me again and... well, this was how close me and Allison were to the end of the catwalk!

I had an amazing time seeing them back in 2014, and I really enjoy the pictures I took, but I felt like I had focused too much on getting pictures and not just enjoying the show. So I vowed to do that this time! I took some shots with my cell phone, and they're blurry, but I like them!

One of my favorite parts of the show was Adam calling out the Bastard Queen Fans who like to be pissy because "Adam's not Freddie Mercury." His eloquent response to that was, "Yeah, no shit!" I personally ran into two of those folks before the show. One of them was behind me and Allison at the concert, and he saw my phone's wallpaper (Wembley Freddie) and said, "That's the real singer! Adam's not the real singer!" At some point Allison and I had to turn to correct him when he told the people he was with(?) that John Deacon had died. I was super worried this guy was going to be a repeat of the fucker from 2014 who kept spouting incorrect trivia and talking through "Love Of My Life".

Thankfully, he was very easy to ignore during the show!

To help myself prepare for maximum fun for the concert, I avoided reading setlists, only stuck to reading review headlines (all of which are overwhelmingly positive), and didn't listen to any Queen for a little over a week. I was torn about whether to listen to Adam's new single, "Two Fux", because I didn't know if I wanted to be able to sing along or not. I chose to not listen beforehand in case I'd fall into a tour news rabbit hole. It's a fun track! Give it a listen if you haven't yet!

When Brian made his way to the end of the catwalk and was handed his acoustic, I was able to move a bit closer. I had been waiting for so long to feel that connection between Brian and fans during "Love Of My Life" AND I FINALLY GOT IT! I was finally right in it! And while he wasn't looking my way, I didn't feel any separation from the experience! In between verses, he noticed some folks had their phone lights on, so jokingly asked, "Did some of you bring your mobiles?" and the next thing I knew, fucking EVERYONE'S phones lit up! It's not the same as using a lighter, but it's a different kind of beautiful.

Brian didn't bring out his selfie stick in 2014, and I had thought that was indication that he wasn't having a good time at that show. But when he addressed us this time he spoke with such warmth and sincerity, that I probably worried for nothing. I can't wait for him to post the picture!

I didn't get a super great look at Roger last time, so I made sure to get plenty of shots this time! It was so great getting to actually see him!

The whole show was amazing! I'm so glad I got to go and share it with people!

Marc Martel's cover of Don't Stop Me Now

I'm annoyingly picky about Queen covers, so it's always really fun for me when I genuinely enjoy one! And as the screenshot above indicates, I enjoy calling out Bastard Queen Fans as well!

Confirmation for Queen + Adam Lambert in Boston

:-D

That Guy is 30!

Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes! The weather is actually pretty nice here in the Boston area, so I got an iced coffee, then took a walk while listening to Queen II. Being 30 feels pretty good so far!

I'm hoping to post stuff soon! Thanks for bearing with me!

Freddie's Feltham home got a blue plaque

I'm not going to repeat the story here, but I will say how awesome it is to get to see another piece of Freddie when he was not even "just a person," but "just a fan" as well. It's not particularly an amazing coincidence, but it makes me happy to know that we had that "obsessing over music" thing in common. He was listening to Jimi Hendrix the way I listened to Queen II!

More details on the plaque here. And, for those who missed it, there was a lovely video broadcast as well.

Sorry for the sparse post. Good stuff will hopefully be coming up soon!

Play The Game

While it doesn't lack the odd bug or a few errors, and won't function on my tablet for some reason, the Play The Game app is what I've been craving in Queen trivia for years. Because I'm getting tired of being so rightfully jaded about various quizes and videos online claiming to have "little-known" facts that I've known since childhood. I get that those things are largely for very casual fans, but still...

Anyway! I'm actually learning things so far (especially in the tour section), and I can wait to see this thing continue to develop!

Placeholder and winter holiday present for you

I'm not happy with the quality of the cellphone pictures, but oh well. The next time it's not raining I want to try to nail the exact positions and angles!

Some creative title

Well! A lot's been happening! I got to see Gunpowder Gelatine twice in under six months, which is awesome! I'm still waiting for a hat that I ordered from the QOL store at the end of July (apparently issues with the manufacturers?), which is decidedly not awesome I finally decided to ask for a refund because that's way too long to wait for something. But my collection is being slowly built and re-built! For reasons I won't get into, I'm trying to come to terms with the very real possibility that I'll never get my stuff back from IL. In some ways, it's been... maybe a bit cathartic? For instance, I got a cassette copy of the US Greatest Hits off of ebay! I don't have a tape player anymore, but I'm still excited about it because I feel a lot less guilty for having to throw out my old copy when I was a kid. And that one didn't even have a case to it, which definitely did not help keep the tape itself protected. I also suspect that this reclaimed copy doesn't have a bit of Under Pressure recorded over because someone's brother was being a fucking asshole and wanted to prove that music tapes could be recorded over and didn't want to use literally any of the other dozens of tapes their parents never listened to anymore.

... Yeah.

But anyway! It sits on my shelf now, lovingly protected from harm. Maybe I'll start trying to collect all the cassette copies of albums...

I also got some VHS tapes! I've reclaimed Classic Queen, Champions Of The World, and Magic Years vol. 2 so far. I guess I could technically say the same for We Will Rock You, but this copy is the 1992 re-release. It feels nice to have all three "proper" tapes of the Magic Years series -which is not to say that I'm not appreciative of my taped copies of vols. 1 and 3 that my friend Jen made for me! And for the first time, I have a VHS copy of Live In Budapest, which is really exciting. It's been my dream for many years to own all their VHS releases.

And then in early September, I bought a red military belt and an inexpensive microphone stand so I could dress like Freddie on his birthday. Hopefully I'll eventually find the Adidas with the red stripes (has anyone else noticed that Adidas' shoes are fucking ugly as sin these days?)

You'll notice that my Magic Tour box set is on top of my shelf and blocking one of my posters. My cat kept trying to scratch off the stickers and I'm waiting to re-purpose my current TV stand as a cat-proof display.

I had time to kill yesterday before going to my friend's house for lunch, so I stopped in Newbury Comics in Harvard Square to poke around. As soon as I walked in, I heard Jailhouse Rock and it was very clearly Queen. I talked to who I'm presuming was the floor manager and said that that was a badass pick, and we chatted about Queen for a couple minutes. Then I went to look through their music stuff just to see what was there, and found that Freddie had his own CD section!

This kind of thing never happens in the US, so it's kind of huge for me. Anyway, I looked through Queen's CD section, and found the two-disc set of Live At The Rainbow '74. It took everything I had not to buy it because I'm going to order the Super Deluxe box set. Because if I can make that work, why not?

But Newbury Comics having the CD set marked down from $19.99 did not help matters. I had to remind myself that the Deluxe box set comes with other goodies that I want. And the small bit I heard over the stereo sounded amazing!

I'm also looking so intensely forward to Queen Forever that it's probably a bit concerning to others!

Actually talking about Queen in Boston

Okay! Now that I've regained the ability to think beyond, "OMG THAT TOTALLY HAPPENED!!!!"...

I met my counterpart Audrey at the bus terminal in South Station. I'm really glad I (strongly) suggested that she aim for getting in around 2:30 in case of delays, because that happens all the time. I guess New York City traffic was to blame for her getting in a bit after 3:00, which does but doesn't surprise me. I was so sure Boston would be the clusterfuck it always is.

Thankfully there was still time to get back to my place, drop off her things, and take a breath before heading to North Station. We were meeting Allison (who was wearing the shirt she got from their 1982 Boston concert), Amanda, and their friend Sarah for an early dinner at Boston Beer Works. Before we got there, Audrey and I noticed one of the tour trucks, and we both screamed and began taking pictures. And then other people started stopping for pictures as well. Audrey and I are trend setters! Once at the restaurant, and after intros were done, we got down to business and talked about Queen (duh) and how it seems now that their collaboration with Paul Rodgers has since become something they just don't want to acknowledge if they can help it - like a super embarrassing prom picture. Considering The Cosmos Rocks didn't do as great as we'd all hoped it would, and Live In Ukraine was... well, total shit, it's not too surprising that that would be their reaction.

We would also occasionally bond with passers-by rocking some sweet Queen and Freddie shirts. Turns out the shirt you see me in all the time is really popular!

The doors were opening at 6:30, and Boston Beer Works was within super easy walking distance to TD Garden, so we maybe got there at about 6:45-6:50(?). I swear you could feel the anticipation all the way from the restaurant, so of course it was massively amplified just outside the stadium! We saw Queen fans of various ages walking by and posing in front of one of the promo signs. So of course Audrey and I had to do that as well, because I don't think it would have occurred to me otherwise.

I'd never gone to North Station except for commuting purposes before this, so the construction going on was not making getting to the stadium any less confusing. This also gave my brain time to fill me with dread. "I bet those tickets you got on Stubhub are fake! Some asshole must have fabricated them! TD Garden's layout for stadium concerts says section B only has seven rows, and the tickets say 'row 24'! Etc, etc."

Anxiety disorders suck.

Anyway, There was supposed to be a parting of the ways. Allison's, Amanda's, and Sarah's seats were in the balcony, while Audrey and I had the floor. THANKFULLY the tickets I scored were legit, and we were directed to our seats. And because of the construction, Allison, Amanda, and Sarah got to be moved to the floor as well! They were one row and a number of seats down from us! We were planning on having them move next to us if our row didn't fill up. But it did. Oh well.

The concert was delayed for 45 minutes for reasons I don't know, so this gave Audrey and I time to take it all in and get more pictures (you can see them in my previous post). We even helped a few people who were failing to get decent selfies, because yay human kindness!

Gradually, the ending instrumental from Made In Heaven faded in to let the crowd know that 15 minutes or so from now, shit was going to get real. The time for fucking around was over! At random points, as the stadium continued to fill with people, and as we saw the movement of the crew behind the curtain, we'd all cheer! They do deserve praise for the work they put in, you know! The energy was building just enough to be exciting, but not abruptly so, so it was easy to just ride and enjoy it. And every minute that ticked by was one getting me that much closer to my dream! Finally! The concert started at 8:15! I heard the bass drum and proceeded to lose my shit that they were using Procession as their taped intro! BECAUSE HOW PERFECT IS THAT?! This was also the first instance I screamed too loud and too hard.

Setlists have been posted on Twitter and Facebook since the start of the tour, but I only ever glanced at them because I wanted to be surprised. While the curtain was still up, Procession transitioned to Now I'm Here. It wasn't until Adam started singing that there was zero doubt in my mind about anything anymore. I was really worried based on other performances I'd seen on video where Adam sounded great, but didn't have his footing. But throughout the tour, people kept saying that the concerts were amazing, and as the curtain fell, and hands went up, I knew he had gotten it together.

I honestly think that Adam Lambert has developed into the perfect fit for Queen frontman. He wasn't trying at all to be like Freddie. Like Paul Rodgers, he brought only himself to the table, and there were points where he was right along with the rest of us, staring admiringly, enjoying the show, and getting excited about the most amazing band in the universe. I think it makes a difference, too, that he's a Queen fan that's not a rock veteran. Like me, his introduction to Queen was watching Wayne's World in 1992. There was absolutely no point in the show where he seemed not to think it was a huge deal what he was doing. And he also happened to be massively engaging, armed with a voice that didn't falter. Much like his prettiness, it defies logic.

Seriously. Pictures and videos really don't capture how gorgeous he is. Like, if Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who/Torchwood had a lovechild with Freddie, that lovechild would look like Adam Lambert!

Anyway! There was a hitch for me during Love Of My Life. There was a guy behind me who had been spouting some Queen trivia to his concertmate off and on, and with my processing difficulties, he was just loud enough at this point that I literally could not hear anything else. I turned around and told him to shut up, but I couldn't get into what was happening. Love Of My Life is supposed to be this amazing and intimate moment we share with Brian and Freddie, and - just like when watching concert videos - I was on the outside looking in (except I couldn't hear a lot of it!). I honestly feel like I let Brian and Freddie down, and I will probably never forgive that guy.

He started up again during Last Horizon, telling his concertmate, "I think this was on The Miracle..." It took everything I had not to tell him how wrong he was. Because seriously?????!!!!!

But the rest of the show continued to be amazing. The times Freddie came on the screen was nothing like watching the DVDs at home. Obviously, it was video, but it was sort of like getting to see him on stage, too. I can't explain it properly.

The band was pressed for time, so they couldn't perform The Show Must Go On. It would have been awesome if there was time, but Audrey and I - at least - didn't feel like the set was lacking during the show.

Despite their living on the North Shore, Amanda and Allison gave Audrey and I a ride back to my apartment. It was nice to keep the momentum going while not having to deal with public transportation. We sang along to Play The Game and Princes Of The Universe :-)

I plugged my camera into my desktop computer to import the pictures I took. I was sure I took maybe 100 at most, so imagine my surprise that it was 505! I glanced at them to get a general idea of what was good enough to be posted online while Audrey looked through my Queen stuff. It was really nice getting to appreciate those things with her in person (which obviously means I should have Queen fans over more often)!

Audrey and I ordered a pizza and popped in disc 2 of Greatest Video Hits 2 to watch the One Vision documentary, followed by going on Youtube via my Roku box to watch VH1 Legends. This was special to us because it was the first thing the both of us had to look forward to as die-hard Queen fans. We finally crashed around 2am!

Before taking the bus back to New York, I brought Audrey to a hole-in-the-wall record shop near Harvard Square. The only Queen stuff we could find were two copies of A Night At The Opera on vinyl for $20 each, which I think is too expensive. But I did find a copy of Greatest Hits III on CD for $4. I'm slowly coming to terms with most likely never getting my stuff that's still at my father's house, so I'm rebuilding those parts of my collection where I can. I also got a CD copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico, and the soundtrack to the film, Magnolia, because Aimee Mann is awesome.

Audrey managed to get a good haul of stuff on vinyl - including some records she got for her sister. Then we walked to Harvard Square to see if we could get her a copy of July's Rolling Stone for the awesome Queen article. Apparently Out Of Town News no longer carries Rolling Stone, but they now have Classic Rock. Dammit.

I'm glad that this was able to happen! To say the least! I would do this again and again in a heartbeat! This wouldn't be possible if Stubhub didn't exist. Some guy named Steven Radchenko originally bought the tickets I got, so thanks Steven!

Queen + Adam Lambert in Boston

YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DID THAT REALLY FOR SERIOUS REALLY HAPPEN????????????

Bonus cell phone picture:

YES IT MOST DEFINITELY DID HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also! To the guy behind me who insisted on spouting (wrong) trivia to his concertmate during Love Of My Life: Fuck you. You ruined for me what was supposed to be a beautiful moment. Seriously, Fuck. You. I think I may literally hate you, and I am not at all exaggerating. I'm proud of me for restraining myself enough to simply say, "Shut up! I'm trying to hear!" WHO THE FUCK TALKS DURING LOVE OF MY LIFE??!!

(ETA - I have difficulties with audio processing. The guy was loud enough that I couldn't ignore him, and I literally could not hear Brian at all until that jackass shut up)

And a fun bonus conversation between me and a Freddie purist:

Him: We All know u saw Queen with Adam lamturd

Me: No, sweetie. It's spelled "Lambert", and he did a fucking good job. If you don't want to know that, then cool, but there's no need to rain on other people's parades. I know you're only 19, but grow the fuck up.

Him: Don't fucking call me sweetie where men [Audrey thinks he might have meant to say "we're"] ... U hear me ... Besides take s joke

Here's why that shit's not funny: First, it's immature as all fuck. Second, claiming to be joking in an effort to backpeddle and cover one's ass doesn't erase the fact that what was said was not a joke. Freddie purists are relentlessly aggressive toward anyone who sings Queen and isn't Freddie. "Hostile" and "joking" are not synonymous.