Queens Of The Stone Age
April 11, 2011
@ Fox Theater, Oakland
Better than: Getting stoned in your bedroom and watching TV.
Remember that scene in True Romance when Alabama Worley is reflecting on her day of blood, death, and mayhem with her husband, Clarence? And she says that the three words running around her head during the chaos were simply "You're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool"? Well, it's difficult not to start this evening doing the same thing while you watch Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. He might have a tendency to resort to a fair amount of clichés while talking to the crowd tonight ("You know what you should do? You should do whatever the fuck you wanna do!" he announces at one point before proudly smoking a joint), but -- gosh darn it -- you'd struggle to find a cooler human anywhere. And at one point this evening, he manages to inhale smoke; sing an entire sentence, note-perfect; exhale quickly; and then carry on singing without missing a beat. That's practically a magic trick. Josh -- also swigging regularly from a large bottle of vodka -- isn't the only one smoking, either. As you enter the grand doors of the Fox, the smell of weed hits you immediately. And as you get further into the venue, you realize that the fog in the room isn't a smoke machine, it's the audience getting stoned. It's a good job they're doing so, because this evening's set is aimed squarely at the stoners Sure, there is incredible depth and power throughout the show -- "How to Handle a Rope" is particularly impressive, for example -- but it's difficult to appreciate that gargantuan wall of spiraling, rhythmic, multilayered, echoing noise for an entire set, when the tone never gets switched up and the pace never changes. It's just too easy for slow burn to turn into fizzle. Is this a perfect soundtrack to a night on a bong? Absolutely. But, for the nonsmokers here, it can get pretty repetitive -- even "Monsters in the Parasol" is lacking some oomph tonight.Sure, there are rockable moments, but they're largely saved for the two encores. By the time the perfectly fiery "Go with the Flow" and the wonderfully cowbell-driven "Little Sister" happen, it's an enormous relief just to hear the band pick up the pace a bit. Another encore highlight comes when an audience member requests "Burn the Witch" and actually gets it -- we're glad she did.
Ultimately then, this is a patchy evening. It's solid musicianship, delivered with few surprises. It's mostly good -- some great -- songs, delivered by men who are too laid-back to blow our hair back. It's a celebration of intoxication, rather than a band truly engaging with an audience. Oh, and the sporadic tendency to descend into self-indulgent guitar wankery remains unnecessary.
Yes, Josh Homme is still so cool. And Queens is an undoubtedly impressive band. But are they truly engaging tonight? Only sometimes. And that's just not enough. Critic's Notebook:Fun Exchange of the Evening:
Josh Homme: "Remember a few years ago when Judas Priest got sued for writing a song that someone said made them want to kill themselves?"
Crowd member: "Yeah! That was awesome!"
Josh Homme: "I thought it was bullshit. Judas Priest could never write a song that made you want to do that. Milli Vanilli maybe, but not Judas Priest ... "
