For something a little different, Queens of the Stone Age recruited Mark Ronson to produce their latest album, Villains, their first since 2013’s …Like Clockwork. Ronson helped give the new record a tighter sound as well as a bit of groove (likely no surprise from the producer of “Uptown Funk”). And as Josh Homme and the band, including Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, Dean Fertita on keys, Michael Shuman on bass and Jon Theodore behind the drums, begin their tour, Queens of the Stone Age are sure to draw fans old and new to their shows with this album.
At their tour kick off at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre in early September, Queens of the Stone Age shared the stage with openers Royal Blood, a two-piece from the UK who will be with them for their October dates too. Royal Blood (Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher) produce a grungey sound that sounds far more powerful than one might expect a duo to produce. The band played a smattering of songs from their two releases, 2014’s self-titled debut and this year’s How Did We Get So Dark?, walloping the audience with their sonics and their strobes. I was pleased to hear “Little Monster”, my favorite of theirs, in their set.
Queens of the Stone Age took the stage after a longer than expected transition but the wait was easily forgiven as the band kicked into “Feet Don’t Fail Me”, the first track on the new record. It’s “crunching yo-yo of a riff” (as we said in our album review) had the crowd instantly “going up and down”. I’m not sure if there was moshing right then or not, given I was taking photos and the crowd was behind me for the first few songs, but it wouldn’t have surprised me. Throughout the night, moshers raided the general admission floor for some rigorous thrashing.
The strength and consistency of seven songs from Villains were mixed into the band’s 100-minute set and felt as readily polished (regarding performance) alongside their older, rawer (in terms of sonic quality) music.
At one point in the night, Homme paused the performance to toast Ferita, celebrating his birthday that day. Homme joked, “Dean is 75 years old” as he raised a glass. Homme later pretended that no one would know what song he was introducing as he openly claimed no one would know this next song. “No One Knows” urgency let an already wild audience release a little more steam. It was an undeniably thrilling night, both to hear the new music live and to see Queens of the Stone Age in a smaller setting.
Queens of the Stone Age, including more dates with Royal Blood, will resume touring in October. Photos from their Capitol Theatre show, as well as some video, setlists and their tour dates are below.
Royal Blood
Queens of the Stone Age
TOUR DATES
10/07/17 – San Bernardino, CA — CAL JAM 17
10/09/17 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/10/17 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks
10/12/17 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody
10/13/17 – Kansas City, MO – Crossroads KC
10/14/17 – Saint Paul, MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium
10/15/17 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
10/17/17 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
10/18/17 – Indianapolis, IN – Old National Centre
10/20/17 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
10/21/17 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
10/22/17 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
10/24/17 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
11/04/17 – Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena
11/05/17 – Vienna Austria – Stadthalle
11/06/16 – Zurich, Switzerland – Samsung Hall
11/07/17 – Paris, France – Accorhotels Arena
11/09/17 – Oberhausen, Germany – Konig-Pilsener Arena
11/10/17 – Munich, Germany – Zenith
11/11/17 – Berlin, Germany – Velodrom
11/12/16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
11/14/17 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Tap1
11/15/17 – Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle
11/16/17 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportspaleis
11/18/17 – London, UK – Wembley Arena
11/19/17 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena
11/21/17 – London, UK – The O2 Arena
11/23/17 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall
11/24/17 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
Queens of the Stone Age Setlist
Feet Don’t Fail Me
Turnin’ on the Screw
My God is the Sun
Domesticated Animals
Smooth Sailing
Un-Reborn Again
You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
First It Giveth
Fortress
Little Sister
Leg of Lamb
I Appear Missing
Villains of Circumstance
If I Had a Tail
The Way You Used to Do
I Sat by the Ocean
The Evil has Landed
No One Knows
A Song for the Dead
Royal Blood Setlist
Where Are You Now?
Lights Out
Come on Over
I Only Lie When I Love You
Little Monster
Hook, Line & Sinker
Figure It Out
Ten Tonne Skeleton
Out of the Black