Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Thursday August 30, 2018 :
Four years after their first visit, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE had a triumphant return to Newcastle. Many other fans were as awed as I was that one of the world’s leading rock bands would grace our humble little city with a show, something which frontman Josh Homme humorously acknowledged at a few points in the show. The sound mix for tonight’s show deserves a special mention; every member’s parts could be heard clearly (which must be very tricky with 3 guitars on stage) and made the show great. Full disclosure: I am a die hard Queens fan and would probably love this show even if Josh kicked me in the face.
Most of the band’s newest album Villains got played tonight, but the band managed to cover most of their back catalog over the next 2 hours. They opened with deep cut ‘Song for the Deaf’ and then ‘Sick Sick Sick’ before kicking into new songs ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me’ and ‘The Way You Used To Do’. Josh then welcomed us to the gig and reminded us that he’d been extremely sick during their last show here (not that anyone had cared that time), before kicking things up a notch with ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar But I Feel Like a Millionaire’ and ‘No One Knows’ back-to-back. Drummer Jon Theodore got a chance to show off with an extended drum solo and by this point the crowd were well and truly warmed up.
‘In The Fade’ slowed things down a bit (in the right ways) and was the only song from Rated R to get played tonight. ‘Make it Wit Chu’ was another highlight and Josh showed off his guitar mastery, and delivered some sage advice about “making use of our boredom” since we are from such a backwater town. He compared Newcastle to Darwin (where they played last year) and noted that QOTSA were more Australian than us, since only 4 people in the crowd had ever been to Darwin compared to the band’s 5 members. Never change Josh.
The band brought an impressive light show with them on this tour, and the band made use of the phallic light poles set up around the stage which flopped back and forth when a member would pull it. Subtle. Bassist Mikey Shoes is cool as fuck and is an absolute weapon on stage, and deservedly got a few moments to show off. Following ‘Little Sister’ Josh preached to the crowd about his experiences through life, and his frankness and seemingly genuine words were warmly received. At one point Josh threatened to bring down a light rig at side of stage during a song which brought a lot of cheers in classic rock star fashion. The band finished up the main set with ‘Go With The Flow’.
After a short break the band returned to finish the night off with the devastating ‘Song For The Dead’, and thus ended the best gig to come to Newcastle for a long time (4 years ago to be exact). Hopefully more bigger acts will follow QOTSA’s example and come to our great city, at least until QOTSA return.
Reviewer : Matthew Glen
Photographer : Kevin Bull
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
CW STONEKING
THE CHATS
