Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme seems a different person these days. He used to be quite a tough guy, even on stage, but ageing and a horrific experience during knee surgery a few years back changed him. When the world seems to be on fire, he and his band respond with a Mark Ronson produced record to dance to and forget about all the worries for a moment. So on a Sunday night we head to the Ziggo Dome to join Homme and his friends for a dance.
Queens of the Stone Age at Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, November 12 2017
This is exactly what Homme tells us during his little speeches in between songs. "Tonight is Saturday night" and "I want you to dance, drink and shagg". He wants us to forget about yesterday and to not think about tomorrow. He looks very relaxed and in a good mood. With a cigarette and a drink he declares his love for this country and city once more, calling it “the true land of the free”.
Surrounded by flexible light poles, the band cuts through their catalogue, playing a tight rock show like we're used of them. Homme's voice is clear, Troy van Leeuwen's guitar playing sparkling and the rhythm section is killing it. A few years ago when we saw drummer Jon Theodore join in for the first time, it felt completely natural and now it seems as it never was any different. What an incredible drummer that guy is and together with bassist Michael Shuman it is a killer combination. Dean Fertitia is the one who's filling up the missing pieces, adding guitar and keys.
Indeed the new songs are perfect for dancing and it is simply impossible to resist the catchy grooves of 'The Way You Used To' and 'Feet Don't Fail Me Now'. They have a more poppy sound and a lighter touch than the older material but it's not so far from a song like for example 'If I Had A Tail'. With a career spanning over twenty years, the band has evolved a lot, but still the songs from the seven albums go well together. Old ones mix perfectly with new ones and golden oldies like 'Avon' sound just as good as ever.
Homme is in a chatty mood tonight, although not all of his stories make sense. He gives out some advise or tells about what drives him now he's older. The man who is the image of cool tells us being cool is actually caring about something instead of pretending not to care. It proves the way he changed and it suits him very well. This relaxed attitude flows back into their music on their latest LP Villains and in their performance tonight. It is good to see that this band has grown so big for a good reason and I'm sure have plenty up their sleeves for many years to come.
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Setlist:
01. If I Had a Tail
02. Monsters in the Parasol
03. My God Is the Sun
04. Feet Don't Fail Me
05. The Way You Used to Do
06. You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
07. No One Knows
08. Avon
09. The Evil Has Landed
10. Turnin' on the Screw
11. Smooth Sailing
12. Domesticated Animals
13. Make It Wit Chu
14. I Appear Missing
15. Villains of Circumstance
16. Little Sister
17. Sick, Sick, Sick
18. Go With the Flow
Encore
19. Head Like a Haunted House
20. Un-Reborn Again
21. I Think I Lost My Headache
22. A Song for the Dead
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