Queens of the Stone Age Concert Review [biased]

Vultures of Culture Tour

"Duluth" Leg

It's not a big secret that QOTSA is one of my favorite bands. I've seen 'em about 4 times and it's always a VERY satisfying show, each and every time, without fail. I saw them with Turbonegro. With Coldplay and Zwan. With Nine Inch Nails and Death From Above 1979. That last show goes down as my favorite show of all time. An incredible, dream come true line-up for me---as those three groups are in my top 10.

This time around they brought Dax Riggs and Howlin' Rain out with them and they both were just all right. Didn't really do anything for me. Straightforward throwback blues rock with a more riffy approach. Good stuff though, don't get me wrong.

QOTSA on the other hand... They were in top form. Tighter than I'd ever seen them. They had a guest bassist, Michael Schuman, from Wires on Fire. He complimented Joey Castillo's intense drum efforts VERY well. It was cool to see such an aggressive rhythm section offsetting Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen's mellow "we make this look easy" guitar wizardry. They were all fused and it showed.

They decided to forego many of their popular singles and go for body rockin' tracks. Popular singles, 'No One Knows' and 'Go with the Flow', setlist mainstays, were pushed aside to make room for a lotta the dancy/groovy tracks off their newest album. 'Turning the Screw', 'Sick Sick Sick', 3's and 7's, Misfit Love, 'I Wanna Make It Wi Chu', along with an extended version of 'You Can't Quit Me Baby', from their first album. These were all played back to back-- all VERY dancable, all still very heavy. . . Their new approach is hard dance rock and somehow it totally works. Thumbs all the way up. I loved 'Burn the Witch'. I love how that song slowly builds up to a foot-stomping marching anthem. They also played a b-side called 'The Fun Machine Took A S*** And Died'. Awesome jam. They closed with 'Song For the Dead'. A track they kinda ruined for me, only because I REALLY LOVE the original recording, with all it's different parts, solos, timed stops, and attitude. Being ever-"progressive"-- they played a souped up, dumbed down, "get'r done" version of the song that disappoints me every time I hear it. I wasn't so bummed this time because I was becoming uncomfortably exhausted and I needed a break after the seemingly endless, neck-breaking, slam dance portion of the show that raged for the final 30+ minutes. What a rush though.

Maybe it's just me, but they get better every single time I hear/see them live. The venue was smallish yet perfect for the kinda show they created. They had these huge chandelier-esque light rigs hanging over every band member. They were programmed to match the mood, tempo, and intensity of every song.

If you made it this far down, THANKS, and enjoy a couple blurry pics taken from the pit. . .