Live And In The Flesh
Queens of the Stone Age - August 22, 2007
2007 saw the return of Queens of the Stone Age to the scene with their 5th studio album – Era Vulgaris. I had been a pretty big fan of Queens for quite a few years and knew that I couldn’t miss my chance to catch them out on the road again. It had been a couple of years since I was lucky enough to see them opening up for Nine Inch Nails back in 2005, so I was about due for some live Queens!
There were only a couple of east coast Canadian dates on their tour, with their first stop landing them in Toronto at The Guvernment, and the second taking place in London, ON at Centennial Hall, my old college stomping grounds. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make my way down to London for the show as it had been about a year or so since I had been down there last (for a 2006 Nine Inch Nails show actually). Queens were scheduled to play on a Wednesday night, so a few of us had decided to go with some reserved seating for the show so we weren’t dealing with any pressure to get down there early for a decent spot in general admission. I had actually attended my very first A Perfect Circle gig at this very same venue, so I had a pretty good idea of the setup, and knew that there wasn’t a single bad seat in the house. We scored some tickets before the show could sell out and the wait for August had begun!
This was only my second headlining Queens of the Stone Age concert, so I was pretty pumped that we would be getting a full set from Josh Homme and his crew; Troy Van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo on the drums, and Mikey Shoes and Dean Fertita joining the band on the road for their first time. Queens decided to bring along a relatively new rock band as a supporting act which we had been hearing quite a lot about who went by the name Cage the Elephant. A bluesy alternative rock band from Kentucky seemed like a perfect opener for the band, and it didn’t take them long to have the crowd up and moving. This was actually the band’s first tour after being signed to a major label and you could tell they were pulling out all of the stops to attract some new fans out on the road. They finished up their set which lasted about a half hour and left us all waiting impatiently for Queens to take the stage.
One could only speculate what Queens of the Stone Age had up their sleeves for the night. What were they going to open up with? Were they planning on playing much of their older material? We were all pretty eager to see them finally make their way out. The lights finally went out and the crowd started with their cheers as Troy, Alain and Joey made their way out followed by none other than their ringleader, Josh Homme! Monsters in the Parasol, from their 2000 Rated R release fired the set up, and it had the crowd pumped up in no time! I was surprised that they were reaching so far back with their opener, as I was expecting some Era Vulgaris tracks right out of the gate. It wasn't until after they finished Burn the Witch (one of my personal favourites from 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze), that the band would start to showcase some of their latest material.
Misfit Love was the first to be played, one of the more powerful jams from Era Vulgaris. They followed it up with Into the Hollow, River in the Road, their latest single 3's & 7's while throwing in a few more Lullabies tracks to help mix things up a bit. You Would Know was the only track from their debut self-titled effort that made the cut for the show, we took what we could get! It was amazing to hear the band winding through one of their old school jams. The crowd loved every minute of the show as the band soaked in all of the positive energy. The chandelier-like lighting above each of the members really helped highlight each member's madness as they wailed away on their respective instruments. We were treated to a few tracks from their critically acclaimed Songs for the Deaf; Go With the Flow and Do It Again before they took us for another trip down memory lane with I Think I Lost My Headache from Rated R. There were only a couple of Rated R songs played that night, and I have to admit I Think I Lost My Headache is one stellar jam live! I could watch them play that song at every show and it would never get old. I was surprised that they came out and played one of the b-sides, and the title track from Era Vulgaris that night in London. The track never made it onto the initial release of the album, and it also featured Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. Unfortunately, Trent wasn’t there to pick up his parts within the song (even though they were minimal), it still would have been amazing to see them up their jamming together.
Queens of the Stone Age started to wrap their regular set up with their other single from Era Vulgaris, Sick, Sick, Sick, before finishing us off with their 2002 chart topper No One Knows. The band exited the stage briefly to the screams for more, encore! Encore! Encore! A minute or two had passed before they made their way back onto the stage. The crowd was going wild, everyone was on their feet applauding for just one more song. Josh thanked everyone for coming out and then dove right into A Song for the Dead! If Queens had a song to send us all away on a high note, this was it! Certainly one of the deadliest jams they have in their catalogue. The moment where they all become really quiet with their instruments into silence basically, and then picking right back up into the song simultaneously is mind-blowing. Queens of the Stone Age blew the roof off of Centennial Hall by the time they wrapped up their 16 song setlist. My second headlining Queens gig was one for the books, and definitely wouldn't be my last. Little did I know that it would only be two short months until my next one!