Live Review: Queens Of The Stone Age, CW Stoneking
"Tonight was only about guitars, drums and good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll."
Fresh off the Australian bayou (perhaps billabong is more appropriate), CW Stoneking manages to get a large turnout of music lovers to knock off work early, beat peak-hour and make it to the Riverstage in time for his bluesy set of swinging tunes. In full big-band style, he was joined on stage by back-up singers, double bass and a brass section, and captured the audience with his American South by Northern Territory charm and token gravel tones. Singing his praises later in the evening, Josh Homme best summed up the set by saying that he had “never seen someone break a string so cool before”. “He’s a national treasure,” Homme said adoringly and we’d have to agree.
It’s tricky to review a band like Queens Of The Stone Age. After the ‘Homme kicks a photographer’ incident in the not so distant past was followed up with what many described as a bullshit excuse/non-apology, Homme and the band have lost a lot of fans. Perhaps this isn’t the forum to get into the whole, ‘Can you separate art from artist debate?’ though, and a packed out Riverstage in Brisbane on the first stop of their tour was testament to the fact that tonight was only about guitars, drums and good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll.
Coming out to the classic Singin' In The Rain, we were immediately bombarded with blinding strobes and heavy guitar distortion before Homme and co launched into If I Had A Tail from ...Like Clockwork, cranking the trademark groove up a notch. The stage is decked out with light posts and smoke, and Homme addresses the crowd telling us that “it’s absolutely wonderful to be with you tonight”.
There's a “you can do whatever the fuck you want to do, as long as you are good to each other” comment from Homme that, despite surface niceties, does make us question where kicking photographers falls on the spectrum, but the crowd doesn't seem to be dwelling and the statement is met with a rousing reception.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
Fan favourite No One Knows goes down a treat and is only topped by an epic drum solo from Mr Jon Theodore who according to Homme has “been surfing his fucking ass off for the past two days”.
Between combing his hair and playing the hits from an illustrious career, Homme found time to introduce the rest of the band, including bassist Michael Shuman, who's birthday it apparently was. A drunken Riverstage crowd followed that up with a mess of a Happy Birthday singalong to the band’s delight: “The other night when I said it was his birthday it was a mess, but that was way worse and that’s why I love you.”
Make It Wit Chu is a highlight and dedicated to their love of Australia, a point Homme continuously makes throughout the night; not looking for kudos but rather calling it their home away from home. “Fuck we even went and played Darwin for fuck’s sake,” he laughs. “None of you have been to Darwin but I fucking have.”
An epic two hours of a solid rock show comes to a close with Little Sister followed by Go With The Flow before the band come back for an encore and tell the crowd they were just informed off stage that their album, Songs For The Deaf, came out 16 years ago to the day. Homme then asks the crowd, after saying they were gonna play Sick, Sick, Sick, whether they want to hear that or You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire. As the drums from Millionaire kick in and one crowd member shouts jubilantly, “Oh thank fuck,” we think they’ve made the right choice. Let's pour one out for rock'n'roll.
More From Our Network
