Let’s get one thing straight right now: I was 80% sober when making this decision, and no drugs were consumed, so this should help you evaluate the kind of person I am. What-ever that means.
Cutting out the story of HOW I ended up going to NYC at 1am
on a Tuesday, I’ll just say a friend invited me because his band was playing
that following Sunday, and why the fuck not. The only issue I had was Orion Festival was that weekend. FUCK.
However, passing up a chance to see Queens of the Stone Age live on the Ed
Sullivan Theatre for a private-ish performance would be like returning Rupert
Murdoch’s wallet if you found it at a bar. Translation: the stupidest thing one could have done.
Now, let me explain my thoughts on Queens: I FUCKING LOVE
THEM. No, really. I went on a tangent about how their music videos are a direct
reflection of how insane the music is, to the point where it’s not telling a
story, but it’s a visual reflection of what the music would “look like”. For
like, an hour. Josh Homme is one of the most talented musicians alive today and
coherent enough to still produce quality content. The sound of that man in the bathroom after eating salsa for a week and then getting the flu would be nothing short of a masterpiece.
This is what shows up if you Google "Josh Homme toilet". Go ahead. Try it.
But I'm going to be mad honest: I wasn’t fond of my first run through of
the new album. I listened to each song as it was officially released, and each
time I was underwhelmed. I just felt like the passion wasn’t there like it had
been on previous albums. To this, I will comment on again in a few.
When we got there, we were treated like fucking kings. They
walked us to the front of the line, then lifted up the velvet rope so we could
be in the first 2 front and center rows. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but
I’m totally tooting the SHIT out of this horn. I also got to meet the previous
producer of the show, as well as the current coordinator, who were both oddly
wonderful people given their status and profession….and the fact that they live
in New York. Ugh…(Honestly, how is NYC the “Greatest City in the World”?!
Really though. The public transit is a hot mess, half it never works,
absolutely EVERYTHING smells like piss and sewage, a bottle of beer is $900 and
it takes at least an hour and a half to go about 3 miles. Oh, and the cost of
living is complete fiscal rape. Go ahead, pay $2500 a month for a “studio
apartment” the size of my bedroom. I’ll just stand over here and laugh in your
face. Fuck that city.)
We stayed in the tip. Just the tip...
Anyway, THE SHOW: Pretty much played the entire new album.
“My God Is The Sun” turned the place up a few notches, then Josh brought it
down with his simple yet captivating piano playing on “Fairweather Friends”. I’m not going to illustrate the whole show for
you, because you honestly need to watch it for yourself. But what I MUST talk
about is what they closed with (before the encore), which was the track “I
Appear Missing”. MIND = BLOWN. That’s not even an exaggeration. My pants were
close to being shat in by the end of that song. I have seen well over 1,000 shows in
my life, yet I have never watched a band come together and unify such an
intricately polished wall of sound before in my life. They made a mockery of fuckery,
in the most eloquent way possible. And the new drummer? His stage presence and
style fits Queens 100%. This band has been and continues to be unstoppable. When
the song ended, all I could do was slam my fist up in the air and scream “HOLY
FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!”
Kind of like this. Sans mustache. Sort of.
At the end of the day, this show completely gave me a new
perspective of ‘…Like Clockwork’. And
no, not because I’ll never hear better sound in my life ever again; because live, it translates much differently. I
honestly wish the album was laid out in the order they played the songs that night . If you
have had any reservations or qualms about this record thus far, you really need
to check out the Letterman Live performance. The passion I didn’t think was there, TOTALLY is.
It boils down to a conversation we were having on the 12
hour drive into the city: when a band has left such an impact with their
previous work, they are both hindered and liberated by it through the fans.
This is because those of us that really love a groups music end up critiquing
it in an unabashed manner, so much so that a band can’t evolve without getting
shit for it. You can tarnish your own career by growing musically, which is
mentally trying to think about while still continuing on normally as artists. No
band is in the same place in their lives or careers year in and year out; shit
changes, and therefore your music is going to reflect that. The problem can
also lie with an extensive lull in the production of new content, much like in
Queens case. They were on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations more times than we
can count during that time*, yet not much of a peep was uttered about new
material.
"These heads really tie the room together, do they not?"
9/10 Toronto – Air Canada Center
9/12 Detroit – The Fillmore
9/13 Cincinnati – PNC Pavilion
9/14 Pittsburgh – Stage AE Outdoors
9/15 Columbus – LC Pavilion Outdoor Amphitheater
9/17 Indianapolis – Old National Centre
9/18 Louisville – Louisville Palace
9/19 Charlotte – TWC Amphitheater
9/20 Asheville – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
10/5 Grand Prairie – Verizon Theatre
10/7 Nashville – Municipal Auditorium
10/8 Fayetteville – Arkansas Music Pavilion
10/9 Tulsa – Brady Theatre
9/12 Detroit – The Fillmore
9/13 Cincinnati – PNC Pavilion
9/14 Pittsburgh – Stage AE Outdoors
9/15 Columbus – LC Pavilion Outdoor Amphitheater
9/17 Indianapolis – Old National Centre
9/18 Louisville – Louisville Palace
9/19 Charlotte – TWC Amphitheater
9/20 Asheville – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
10/5 Grand Prairie – Verizon Theatre
10/7 Nashville – Municipal Auditorium
10/8 Fayetteville – Arkansas Music Pavilion
10/9 Tulsa – Brady Theatre
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