I hadn’t realized that Queens of the Stone Age had as hardcore of a following as Soundgarden or Pearl Jam but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to find a line of folks waiting to get to the rail in the general admission pit going around the corner of The Capitol Theatre. The band’s tour on the backs of …Like Clockwork, which was released in 2013, has included shows at venues of all sizes at least in the New York area. Around the album launch, QotSA did a small private show at the small Brooklyn Masonic Temple and then later dropped by the Barclays Center for a sold-out arena show. So seeing them visit smaller theaters at the end of a tour run was a nice treat and it meant fans would want to line up to get up close and claim Josh Homme before the band trekked off to Europe for shows.
This was actually my first time seeing the full QotSA show, and they didn’t disappoint at all. Their rock was as aggressive and distinct as the bands I mentioned above and I enjoyed the longer tunes that stretched into territory Tool might explore. Outside of the music itself, the highlight of the evening had to be QotSA’s Homme giving a fan in the front row a verbal smack-down for holding an iPad up to capture the “moment”; the fan lowered the device begrudgingly it seemed but he did. This was early on the band’s set, when I could capture a picture of the fan (see below for Facebook link) and after Australian Brody Dalle opened the show with a hard hitting set. Having played in at least a couple other bands, The Distillers and Spinnerette, Dalle now fronts her own and can also lay claim to Homme himself as his wife.
The same week as the show, the last Ramone, Tommy had passed away and Homme paid tribute to him with a dedication before “The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died” and he also recognized the dedication and the level of inebriation of the band’s fans when Homme noted, “Fuck the set list. I just wanna have a good time. This isn’t work. This is getting drunk and having fun.”. And I had fun watching them play a lot off of …Like Clockwork and other hits like “No One Knows” and “Little Sister” which solidified my resolve to see them again their next go around.
View larger images over on Facebook!
Brody Dalle:
Queens of the Stone Age:
Setlist:
You Think I ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel like a Millionaire
No One Knows
Avon
My God is the Sun
Smooth Sailing
I’m Designer
I Sat by the Ocean
The Vampyre of Time and Memory
If I had a Tail
Turnin’ on the Screw
Little Sister
The Fun Machine took a Shit and Died
In My Head
Fairweather Friends
Sick, Sick, Sick
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Better Living Through Chemistry
Go With the Flow
[break]
Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
A Song for the Dead