Live Reviews

Live Review: Queens Of The Stone Age at the Roundhouse in London on 17 May

By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 26 May 2011

To hear the recently resurfaced Queens Of The Stone Age debut album performed in its entirety live was a treat in itself, but we all knew from the beginning that there would be more. As soon as ‘Regular John’ kicked off, there was a definite sense of anticipation and hope. After all, ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’ clocks in at just over forty-five minutes, and QOTSA are scheduled in for a two hour set. Surely Josh and his bandmates couldn’t fill an hour and a quarter with banter?

Banter is had, of course, between the bass-heavy riff-ripping album that produced such stellars as ‘Mexicola’ and ‘I Was A Teenage Hand Model’. It’s Josh’s 38th birthday tonight. Cards are passed up to the stage and Josh reads them off between songs, and, just as predicted, requests begin to be played towards the end.

I don’t normally like to moan about venues, but if you’re a short fry like me, you really aren’t going to see anything at the Roundhouse unless you’re right at the front or upstairs. This would normally spoil my evening, and I almost let it – for about two minutes. After the initial discomfort, everyone seemed to loosen up and there was a genuine sense of camaraderie amongst the fans, reflected by the attitude onstage. Another personal note of squee-age: Troy Van Leeuwen is pretty much on top form tonight; he and Josh really do work beautifully side by side.

Note perfect and heavy as hell, ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’ is run to the end, bonuses played and requests filled, such as the more recent ‘Little Sister’ (I’m a sucker for that cowbell), ‘Monsters In The Parasol’ and ‘Make It Wit Chu’. Everything here is for the fans, and that’s what makes this gig so bloody special. We’re all part of the Queens family.

So guys, my only question is, when are we getting together again to get to hear ‘Rated R’? TW