By Eleni P. Austin
Homegrown Desert Rock legend Josh Homme and his band, Queens Of The Stone Age, wowed a sold-out crowd at The Joshua Tree Retreat Center Friday night. Anyone expecting a raucous Bacchanalian happening, hasn’t been paying close enough attention to this band.
QOTSA’s most recent project was a live, primarily acoustic set performed and filmed in the Paris Catacombs, that featured a string section. Pithily entitled Alive In The Catacombs, it was released on limited edition vinyl and quickly sold out. The first portion of the show recreated the set in it’s entirety.
“Running Joke/Machete” kicked things into gear. After an extended cricket sound intro, Josh emerged in a bespoke suit, delicately crooning “When I was a little boy…” and the band fell in behind him, along with the gossamer touch of the string section.
Displaying a newfound measure of fragility, Josh worked his way through the set, which included a stunning “Kalopsia,” the loquacious “Villains Of Circumstance,” and a foreboding take on “Suture Up My Future.” He wrapped things up with the flickering denunciation of “I Never Came.” The crowd wasn’t jaded, and we certainly didn’t hate it. Josh wandered into the audience, brandishing a meat cleaver, as he serenaded us up close and personally. If Frank Sinatra had ever collaborated with Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, it may have sounded like this.
The show was broken into three acts. The second act began with the cacophonous crunch of “Someone’s In The Wolf.” Clanking, industrial percussion collided with skronky guitars and the string players were now augmented by a horn section. Josh resembled a clean-cut Sweeney Todd, as the band segued into the guttural throb of “Keep Your Eyes Peeled.”
Momentarily abandoning the dramaturgy, he took time to welcome the audience and went on to wax rhapsodic about the desert (high and low), displaying a self-deprecating and lacerating wit. Then the band launched into an epic version of Them Crooked Vultures’ “Spinning In The Daffodils.”
By the third act, Josh strapped on an electric guitar and the band got down to business. First up was the hypnotic hang of “You’ve Got A Killer Scene.” That folded into the metallurgic space-age stomp of “Hideaway,” as Josh uncoiled a bit of jabberwocky: “I’m all dressed up no one left to blow, the diction, the friction, these you wrote, left with the taste of flesh and bone, it’s a beautiful day in the U.S.A.” Moving to piano, an elegiac fanfare signaled the start of “The Vampyre Of Time And Memory.” The song was framed by bleating horns, a wash of keys and bendy guitar licks, sinewy bass and a kick-drum beat.
Taking a minute to remember fallen comrades like Mark Lanegan and Natasha Shneider, both of whom had played with QOTSA, and have since moved on to a different astral plane, Josh playfully announced, “this guy is still with us.” Out strolled original QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri. The enfant terrible of Desert Rock entered stage left in a dress shirt and tie, no less. The crowd was on their feet as the band attacked the familiar opening notes of “Auto Pilot.” The camaraderie they shared on stage offered a sweet moment for fans that have followed this band since the late ‘90s.
The final couple of numbers included the unreleased relax-fit Flamenco of “Easy Street.” Directing the audience to punctuate each verse with a flutter of handclaps, Josh exhibited a disarming vulnerability as he sang “I’m chandeliering, now I’m feeling the worst, I hang from the ceiling, hear you pray for my curse, those supposed to love me the most are breaking my heart, wish I could share a bit more, too petrified.” He dedicated a poignant “Fortress” to Camille. Closing out the show was the desolate heartbreak of “Like Clockwork.” Swelling strings and flange-y guitar surged on the break, before Josh reclaimed the spotlight with his high lonesome moan. It was a majestic finish to an ambitious show. As the crowd hooted, hollered and stamped their feet, Josh returned solo, accompanying himself on sleigh bells as he serenaded the audience with “Long Slow Goodbye.” It felt wildly apropos.
The Joshua Tree Retreat Center deserves a big round of applause for providing a seated show under the stars, surrounded by Joshua Trees. The production and promotion of this sold-out event was simply flawless. It was a magical night.
