Queen was my first 'fave' band when I was a teen and I saw'em live and up close about 4 times back in the day... I was up so close that on the 'acoustic set' they used to do with the 'Bicycle Races/Jazz' tour, I and some others wound up INSIDE the floating stage that descended for the set. I stuck my fingers through the ventilation holes to 'dance' along with 'Dreamer's Ball" and Freddie stepped on my fingers. I was pretty happy about that, actually. Nowadays all anybody'd be thinking about are the lawsuits.
I think Queen totally rocked live, and it's hard to think anyone who saw'em would care to debate it. Sure they ran off stage for the operatic part of BoRhap. But to me that's a smart decision - would you rather see a scaled down a cappella 3-part harmony version? Not me. And then they run back on stage in new outfits, flashpots blazing as they launch into the hard rokkin' finale... It was damn awesome. I remember being so close one time I got sunburn from the 'splosions.
Freddie was a consummate entertainer, but the one disappointment in their live show was that he couldn't really sing most of his studio parts. He'd split octaves all over the place to save his throat, and sometimes Roger Taylor would chime in here and there for a single high note to finish a line. That said, it didn't much matter. With songs, arrangements and a band that good you could forgive a little reworking of the melodies. I'd much prefer it to the sterile 'sounds just like the CD!" experience the Eagles always put on.
For me, the most impressive part of the show was seeing how valiantly Brian May recreated his multi-tracked guitar parts live using a variety of stomp-boxes, echoes, and good ol' fashioned virtuosity. And as a drummer, I was more than happy to watch Roger Taylor like a hawk, trying to figure out everything I could about his kit, his technique, and how his hair never caught fire with all those aircraft landing lights right behind him...
I've been to plenty of concerts since then, but Queen still stand out as the absolute pinnacle. Prince was a close second (especially the LoveSexy tour). Sure he can play his diminutive purple butt off; but nobody worked a crowd like Mr. Mercury. And somehow flashpots just don't have the same impact on 'Lil Red Corvette'....
As for all the jumbo-tron assisted, sequencer enhanced vari-light choreographed stadium shows to come along since, well -