Queens of the Stone Age
December 21, 2005 – The Wiltern LG, Los Angeles, CA

Queens of the Stone Age is an interesting band. Everyone can hum along to their catchy radio-friendly singles, especially when Indie 103 and KROQ do us the favor of playing them into the proverbial ground. Regardless of their singles�?? infectiousness, however, I was always on the fence about said band. Although Filter Magazine featured Josh Homme of the Queens alongside the two frontmen of the Mars Volta in their issue regarding �??the immaculate resurrection of art rock�?�, and Homme came off as a truly driven artist with sincere integrity and a glowing sense of humor, I was still not a decided fan of the band. However, all that would change that cold evening in LA, when the eight-foot redheaded Elvis would rock the damn Wiltern harder than I had ever seen it rocked.
I will do everyone a favor and pretend there wasn�??t an opener. It wasn�??t that they were terrible, but they were grating and impatience was boiling over in the room full of black tattoos and hair-dye. We mulled about through their excessively loud set, watching the eclectic scene of thugs and rock and rollers that couldn�??t wait to slam dance the hell out of the floor. I was glad we had already dibbed our place far from the pit on the third tier of the lower level (I recommend it highly, though only in the middle. If you position yourself off to the sides of the stage, the vocals sound a bit muddy). Finally, and triumphantly, the Queens of the Stone Age appeared before us, and the eerie forest of illuminated trees behind them only added to the black magic of it all. Homme was his typical unabashedly bad-ass self, but he was not alone in said bad-assedness.
Joey Castillo, the Queen�??s most recent drummer, was an unbridled beast behind the kit, and in now way was that a distraction. His drumming was so deliciously energetic that it punctuated every song in a way that album recordings did no justice. For anyone that was disappointed that Dave Grohl didn�??t make an appearance had completely abandoned their dismay as he beat the hell out of �??Burn the Witch�?� (Josh Homme�??s proclaimed favorite song off the new album), and �??Everybody Knows That You�??re Insane.�?� As for the guitar work, Mark Lanegan was actually not present (much to the dismay of the Screaming Trees fan in me), but all of the guitar work was actually artistically stimulating. During the guitar solo on �??Little Sister�?� (latest single, featuring a cowbell), both Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen attacked it aggressively and simultaneously, creating a rich and agile sound. Homme�??s vocals were dead on, and his falsettos sent chills down my spine. He was the epitome of a perfect frontman, and even when a bunch of meatheads started slam dancing towards the front of the stage (like they do), he commanded that they cease. �??None of that, no one needs to get hurt here. This is about dancing and having a good time,�?� Josh ordered, and they dutifully obeyed.
Other interesting characters came and left the stage, including a seductive keyboard player named Natasha Shneider and a surprise for any Kyuss fans in the audience (Kyuss was Homme�??s band before QOTSA). John Garcia, the former lead singer of said band, appeared before us during the encore in full ecstatic glory. Apparently this was the first time that Homme and Garcia had performed together since the band broke up, and the vehement fans in the audience ignited with the realization that they were getting a special treat.
They rounded out the show with �??Go With the Flow,�?� the only one of their old hit singles that they opted to play. The concert had, in fact, focused mainly on the latest release, but due to the fact that the new album is SO DAMN GOOD, I appreciated it thoroughly. I would later equate watching a Queens of the Stone Age show to pounding an �??Irish Car Bomb�?? (a Guinness beer in which a shot of whiskey/Irish cream is dropped and chugged). At first, it tastes how you expect it to and it is exactly what you ordered. As you drink on, it starts to seem a bit more overwhelming and you don�??t think that you are going to make it all the way through. However, when you finally do make it to the end, you are left with a delightfully sweet and addictive taste in your mouth�?� I haven�??t taken their �??Lullabies to Paralyze�?? out of my CD player since.

-Christina Gubala