Thursday, March 31, 2005
Queens of the Stone Age
Webster Theater, Hartford, CT, 3/26/05
After having my review of the new Queens of the Stone Age CD rejected by the Daily Campus (see below), I decided I’m probably done with the paper. At the very least, any reviews I planned to write are much less of a priority. I didn’t bother writing a review for the QOTSA show at the Webster Theater, since I had no idea if they would run it. But this show was incredible, so I feel the need to get something on here about it.
I first saw QOTSA at Lollapalooza in 2003, as well as Audioslave and Jane’s Addiction. With that trio, it was one of the better shows I have seen, and QOTSA sounded damn good. But their performance that day/night does not even compare to the show they put on last Saturday. I can’t say it’s the best show I’ve seen, but it’s not far behind my 4 Pearl Jam and 5 Jerry Cantrell shows.
They played for just about 2 hours, longer than I expected. They managed to get through plenty of songs (23 – setlist below), but still featured quite a few extended guitar solos/jam sessions. They did more from the new album than anything else (9 songs, 1 new cover), but more than half the setlist was of older material. When a band has 4 excellent albums there are always songs you want to hear but don’t. That being said, I can’t find any fault with this setlist.
I was incredibly pleased that they opened with some older stuff, “Mexicola” and “If Only” in particular. Everything sounded great, as the band was extremely tight, yet able to seamlessly take songs in different directions. Its nice to see a band stretch out and take some chances, and do it so well. Josh Homme is one of the top frontmen around, but everyone in the band had their moments. Alain Johannes filled in capably for the fired Nick Oliveri, Joey Castillo sounded good on drums, and Troy Van Leeuwen was great on rhythm, lead, and slide guitar, as well as bass and keyboards.
For me, Mark Lanegan’s performance was definitely one of the highlights. I’m a big fan of him from his Screaming Trees days, and he’s also done some really cool solo stuff that I’ve discovered over the last year or two (I recommend his latest, Bubblegum, or the mellower Whiskey for the Holy Ghost). I spotted him wandering the streets of Hartford and hopping in cab prior to the show, but he was ready and in top form when he finally came out (my brother was in a convenience store with him, but he opted to not bother him, as I did in my brief encounter with Cantrell a few years back). His role in QOTSA is unchanged – he appears on stage, sings a few songs, then just walks off without saying a word. He came out twice Saturday for a total of 7 songs. I was in the front row against the gate, directly in front of Lanegan. They redid one of my favorites, “God Is In The Radio” – not sure if I like it better than the original, but it was pretty badass live. “Song For The Dead” was also one of the best songs of the night, even heavier and more intense than the album version. These were probably Lanegan’s two best moments, but he also did a nice job singing with Homme on other songs, their distinct styles compliment one another well.
The newer material was sharp, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear “You Got A Killer Scene There, Man” and “Long Slow Goodbye,” in addition to the more obvious choices (“Little Sister,” “In My Head,” etc.). They started out with bang, and never let up the entire night. I cannot think of more than handful of bands better than QOTSA right now (Pearl Jam, maybe Audioslave…). Wish I had made an effort to get to the Boston show, I just hope they swing back towards the east coast on this tour. Not much else to say, I really cannot convey how impressive their performance was, Queens of the Stone Age are not only as unique as any band out there, they’re just as talented. The message board has gone unused and spammed…but feel free to chime in…I’ll probably review Sunday’s Black Label Society show here as well (also at the Webster), check back.
Oh yeah, Throw Rag blows. Saw more of their singer than I ever needed to. Playing the spoons is amusing for about 2 minutes, not an entire set. Anyway, here’s the setlist:
Queens of the Stone Age
Hartford setlist, 3/26/05
Intro (Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?)
Mexicola
How To Handle A Rope
Everybody Knows That You Are Insane
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
Leg Of Lamb
(Josh yelled at security guard, mocked girl who twice tried to bum money off me)
Little Sister
(Lanegan enters)
Hangin’ Tree
In My Head
God Is In The Radio (new version)
Burn The Witch
(Lanegan exits)
Long Slow Goodbye
Tangled Up In Plaid
If Only
(Lanegan re-enters)
Precious And Grace (ZZ Top cover)
Song For The Deaf
Song For The Dead
(Lanegan exits)
“You Got A Killer Scene There, Man”
Skin On Skin
Go With The Flow
I Think I Lost My Headache
No One Knows
Someone’s In The Wolf
Webster Theater, Hartford, CT, 3/26/05
After having my review of the new Queens of the Stone Age CD rejected by the Daily Campus (see below), I decided I’m probably done with the paper. At the very least, any reviews I planned to write are much less of a priority. I didn’t bother writing a review for the QOTSA show at the Webster Theater, since I had no idea if they would run it. But this show was incredible, so I feel the need to get something on here about it.
I first saw QOTSA at Lollapalooza in 2003, as well as Audioslave and Jane’s Addiction. With that trio, it was one of the better shows I have seen, and QOTSA sounded damn good. But their performance that day/night does not even compare to the show they put on last Saturday. I can’t say it’s the best show I’ve seen, but it’s not far behind my 4 Pearl Jam and 5 Jerry Cantrell shows.
They played for just about 2 hours, longer than I expected. They managed to get through plenty of songs (23 – setlist below), but still featured quite a few extended guitar solos/jam sessions. They did more from the new album than anything else (9 songs, 1 new cover), but more than half the setlist was of older material. When a band has 4 excellent albums there are always songs you want to hear but don’t. That being said, I can’t find any fault with this setlist.
I was incredibly pleased that they opened with some older stuff, “Mexicola” and “If Only” in particular. Everything sounded great, as the band was extremely tight, yet able to seamlessly take songs in different directions. Its nice to see a band stretch out and take some chances, and do it so well. Josh Homme is one of the top frontmen around, but everyone in the band had their moments. Alain Johannes filled in capably for the fired Nick Oliveri, Joey Castillo sounded good on drums, and Troy Van Leeuwen was great on rhythm, lead, and slide guitar, as well as bass and keyboards.
For me, Mark Lanegan’s performance was definitely one of the highlights. I’m a big fan of him from his Screaming Trees days, and he’s also done some really cool solo stuff that I’ve discovered over the last year or two (I recommend his latest, Bubblegum, or the mellower Whiskey for the Holy Ghost). I spotted him wandering the streets of Hartford and hopping in cab prior to the show, but he was ready and in top form when he finally came out (my brother was in a convenience store with him, but he opted to not bother him, as I did in my brief encounter with Cantrell a few years back). His role in QOTSA is unchanged – he appears on stage, sings a few songs, then just walks off without saying a word. He came out twice Saturday for a total of 7 songs. I was in the front row against the gate, directly in front of Lanegan. They redid one of my favorites, “God Is In The Radio” – not sure if I like it better than the original, but it was pretty badass live. “Song For The Dead” was also one of the best songs of the night, even heavier and more intense than the album version. These were probably Lanegan’s two best moments, but he also did a nice job singing with Homme on other songs, their distinct styles compliment one another well.
The newer material was sharp, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear “You Got A Killer Scene There, Man” and “Long Slow Goodbye,” in addition to the more obvious choices (“Little Sister,” “In My Head,” etc.). They started out with bang, and never let up the entire night. I cannot think of more than handful of bands better than QOTSA right now (Pearl Jam, maybe Audioslave…). Wish I had made an effort to get to the Boston show, I just hope they swing back towards the east coast on this tour. Not much else to say, I really cannot convey how impressive their performance was, Queens of the Stone Age are not only as unique as any band out there, they’re just as talented. The message board has gone unused and spammed…but feel free to chime in…I’ll probably review Sunday’s Black Label Society show here as well (also at the Webster), check back.
Oh yeah, Throw Rag blows. Saw more of their singer than I ever needed to. Playing the spoons is amusing for about 2 minutes, not an entire set. Anyway, here’s the setlist:
Queens of the Stone Age
Hartford setlist, 3/26/05
Intro (Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?)
Mexicola
How To Handle A Rope
Everybody Knows That You Are Insane
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
Leg Of Lamb
(Josh yelled at security guard, mocked girl who twice tried to bum money off me)
Little Sister
(Lanegan enters)
Hangin’ Tree
In My Head
God Is In The Radio (new version)
Burn The Witch
(Lanegan exits)
Long Slow Goodbye
Tangled Up In Plaid
If Only
(Lanegan re-enters)
Precious And Grace (ZZ Top cover)
Song For The Deaf
Song For The Dead
(Lanegan exits)
“You Got A Killer Scene There, Man”
Skin On Skin
Go With The Flow
I Think I Lost My Headache
No One Knows
Someone’s In The Wolf
