Queens of the Stone Age @ The Anthem - 10/20/2017
Josh Homme is rocking the cool dad aesthetic with swagger these days (cool dad level: playing a 6th-grade graduation party). And why shouldn’t he? Twenty-one years after Queens of the Stone Age’s debut, he’s still hoisting the rock n’ roll flag high above the rest and he knows it. The critical acclaim that the band has received since their breakout 2003 hit “No One Knows” has allowed them to experiment with their riff-heavy sound in new, sleeker directions. The addition of producer Mark Ronson for their latest album Villains (released through Matador Records, their first after their departure from Interscope) said as much. There’s no doubt that Homme and company wanted to get people dancing more than headbanging this time around, but with their stop at The Anthem, there was more than enough of both to go around during their two-hour set.
Josh Homme and Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age (Photo by Mauricio Castro / @themauricio)
Those that entered The Anthem without earplugs were in for a very, very loud show. (On a related note: don’t come to The Anthem without earplugs.) QotSA’s mission is to pummel fans with a barrage of deafening and dominant guitar riffs. Songs like set closer “Song for the Dead” received a heavy dose of effects pedals, even more so than the studio version on Songs for the Deaf. Newer songs like Villains lead single “The Way You Used To Do” was a perfect marriage of Homme’s slick, silky vocals with danceable blues-inspired riffs in a way that seems like it should have been done long ago in hindsight. As Homme laid down infectious guitar riffs, bassist Michael Schuman explosively flailed around back and forth on stage, coming in contact with many of the light poles that comprised their stage show. If people left the show with one crucial takeaway, it’s that seven albums and twenty-one years haven’t fazed Queens of the Stone Age one bit. Their stage show and energy is still a force to be reckoned with. And judging by all the devil horns that were thrown up in the air, the fans seem to agree.
Royal Blood opened the night with heavy blues-rock that has already helped them sell out the 9:30 Club multiple times in the past. Unlike QotSA’s cast of able bandmembers, Royal Blood makes due in spades with just a drummer and bassist. Yes, the guitar-like heaviness delivered on stage was, in fact, a bass guitar with an army of effect pedals. And not content with playing just the bass, Mike Kerr delivered a performance on both the drums and bass during “Out of the Black,” where one hand delivered powerful hammer-ons and pull-offs on the bass and the other was smashing the cymbals. But even if he didn’t pull out that skillful party trick, the fierce delivery of his vocals and his effects-upon-effects musical style was sure to get everyone furiously banging their heads for their upsettingly-short 45-minute set. If Queens of the Stone Age are the established kings of rock n’ roll, Royal Blood is next in line to the throne. Their latest album How Did We Get So Dark? is out now through Warner Bros. Records.
