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Review by: Todd
Queens of the Stone Age
The Paradise, Boston MA June 1, 2002
The very short and not so secret QOTSA tour landed in Boston on a pretty warm Saturday night. What happened later can only be described as HOT.
The band took the stage shortly after 10pm. As you faced the stage Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle) was to the right. Troy was the mulit-man (guitar, slide guitar, keys) then working your way left was Josh, then an empty mic, Nick and tucked in the back on the drums was Dave Grohl.
There was a lot of talk about Dave Grohl being on drums, both pro's and cons. By the conclusion of Monsters in the Parasol any nay sayers will silenced. Dave has an amazing presence and he can hit the drums HARD. The hard core fans were worried their beloved QOTSA would be tainted by not "real fans", lurkers there to see the former Nirvana skin man and Foo Fighters leader. I even asked myself is someone were to ask me "are you a fan of Dave or QOTSA, or "are you here for Dave or QOTSA" I'd have to answer "YES!" to both. It was an added treat is how I looked at it. So it sold a few tickets but the new fans will be a great addition.
The band kept the banter to a minimum. Josh said "Hello Boston, we are Queens of the Stone Age" and "It's good to be back". That was about it except for an "I love you" banter with an overzealous fan.
The set opened very hot with Monsters, Feel Good and Quick and to the Pointless. The fans were all ravenous for the "oldies" and heads were swaying as you'd imagine. "Dead" was the first "new" song we heard. It rocks VERY hard. The stop start intro is going to really grow with each play. This will be a show staple and will probably get extended in to a long jam. Dave POUNDS the drums and is only breaks he'd shower himself with water. Nick and Josh would sip a beer and it was right back to the music.
Mark Lanegan appears from the shadows to sing "Hangin Tree". Another great song. The vocals, a bit muffled at first, seem to come full circle. Its hard to knock Marks stage presence. He stands there and holds on to the microphone almost like he is going to fall off if he lets go. That being said, he has a stunning presence. The moment he walks on he seems to take control. The whisky howl fills the room...then he walks off. No nod, no wave, no introduction.
Mark would return later for an extended Walkin on the Sidewalks. As the band explodes behind him, he hangs on. The room is swaying, heads bounce and fists pump.
Dave would get some attention. He did what he could to "avoid" the spotlight but the lights would shine on him at the end of the songs and at one point even the band stopped and turned around to look at him. Dave seemed excited and gracious to be there. It must be hard as he just wants to drum but there is so much attention just on him.
All of the new songs were great and the old songs sound VERY full, almost produced to be performed live. The band is very tight and its hard to think this will all be over after just 14 shows. Troy fits in fine as the "go to guy". A replacement drummer will be hard to fill in more ways than one. Stage presence and sheer aggression will be missing, but the band will make up for it.
The Paradise in Boston is famous for being the first place that U2 played in the USA (it wasn't) from this point forward, although it was not QOTSA first Boston show, historically speaking it may be a close second as huge moments in the clubs history go. |
Review by: Jim Sullivan/Boston Globe
Queens reign supreme at Paradise show
Queens of the Stone Age - the four-year-old group led by guitarist-singer Josh Homme and bassist-singer Nick Oliveri - is giving its fans a little treat in advance of their third CD, "Songs for the Deaf," due Aug. 20 [sic]: They're on an 11-date tour of American clubs - they played the sold-out Paradise Saturday - and the venues they're playing now are smaller than the ones they will play the next time around. (They're slated for Avalon in August.) This lends more intimacy, more buzz. Adding to that buzz is the Queens' ever-shifting lineup, which now includes former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters guitarist Dave Grohl, shirtless and back on hard-hitting drums, and former Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan on occasional lead vocals and stoic showmanship. (Guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen fleshes out the current quintet.)
What the Queens delivered in Boston during their 90 minutes on stage: Songs that don't end when you think they might. Songs that twist and turn, meander and burn. Grooves that snake their way into your body, hooks that bubble up over the grunge. Semi-gorgeous vocal harmonies that float over (or under) dirty rock. A genre-busting set that puts brains and brawn together. Eight impressive songs from the upcoming disc.
The straight-looking Homme and the satanic-looking Oliveri shared lead vocals; Lanegan came on to sing on a few, including the first new one, "Song for the Dead," a long, dark thrasher, and "Hangin' Tree," another cheery number.
The Queens began with "Monsters in the Parasol" and followed with their breakthrough hit of 2000, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," from the disc "R." "Summer" connected with its low-end throb and a dry yet celebratory laundry list of drug and alcohol excess, an addictive song of mixed messages. Soon came "I Think I Lost My Headache," with Homme's speedy guitar licks ripping across Oliveri's deep bass lines.
The new "No One Knows" was a mean riff-rocker with an insistent hook and a semi-bounce. Another new one, "Gonna Leave You," recalled Nirvana in its blend of pop and metal smarts. During an encore, Grohl laid down a Gary Glitter glam-rock beat on "Do It Again" as the band cranked up the skronk. Lanegan came back to sing about paranoia. He left, and the Queens uncorked "Millionaire" and "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" - bits of melodic bliss and wild noise, control and chaos. Said Homme: "Dave Grohl's Jesus and Nick is God." That was no doubt ironic. There are no stars in Queens of the Stone Age. It's a sound-and-vision thing. |
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