Review: Queens of the Stone Age at Red Hill Auditorium

Queens of the Stone Age at Red Hill Auditorium
Saturday, February 10, 2024

Prevailing against the omnipresent heat that hung around the outdoor Red Hill Auditorium following a sweltering 40+ degree Perth summer day, the tireless rockers from the desert, Queens of the Stone Age, delivered a stone cold killer rock set to the delight of the sold-out venue. In town to kick off the Australian leg of their The End Is Nero tour in support of their recently released eight studio album, In Times New Roman, the Califronian rockers showed off their desert soul in the dry open air with a well-oiled and muscularly tight set.

Support for QOTSA on the night had the eclectic Melbourne-based art-punk meets new wave six-piece, Gut Health, opening proceedings before local dandy stalwarts Pond got the crowd up and dancing with their unique blend of glam-psych and disco-infused rock.

Gut Health are fronted by the charismatic Athina Uh Oh, who never stopped moving during the band’s set and was not at all afraid to get up close and personal with the receptive audience. The sextet's songs were equal parts catchy as they were angular and edgy. The group's first single, 2022's Inner Norm, was a standout in the set with its bouncing bass and Devo-esque keys, while the longer rave-up Stilleto allowed the group to show that they know their way around a groove.

After being out of the public eye for the majority of 2023, Pond looked refreshed and happy to be back on stage. The local lads used their return to debut two new songs, including the recently released single Neon River, that featured elements of fuzz-laden classic rock as well as shinier glam-rock moments. Across the band’s set, Allbrook was in touch with the music, throwing moves like Jagger across the stage that never marooned him amongst the band of five. Early on, America's Cup got the crowd bobbing their heads along to the track's infectious grooves, while the psych-laden dreaminess of Sweep Me Off My Feet and set closer Giant Tortoise were greeted with raucous cheers and applause from the crowd.

With the moon starting to glow amongst the stars in the night sky, it was then time for the headliners to take the stage. Led by the charismatic and enigmatic Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age hit the ground running and never looked back. Sonically, the sound was perfectly balanced, which allowed the tones and musical crispness of each of the musicians on stage to shine. Troy Van Leeuwen and Dean Fertita were dynamic with their versatile guitar and keyboard work, while Michael Shuman on bass was as solid as a rock, locking as tightly as possible in with Jon Theodore's drum grooves.

Stopping to take in the environs of Red Hill around him, Homme told the audience that “this place reminds me of where I grew up, kind of raggedy,” before adding, “and you are a bunch of drinking, partying motherfuckers. That means we are going to have one hell of a night,” to the delight of the crowd, and particularly the heaving mosh pit.

Of the group's latest work, the tracks sounded simultaneously new as well as classic QOTSA. The first track of the group's most recent effort, Obscenery, was an early standout in the set with its phaser-drenched, staccato muscular riffage, while the track's vitriolic and snide lyrics, such as “And you're caught in the middle of what you made/ In the division of thighs/ From the hole where the empathy used to be,” are a stark indicator of where Homme's mind has been since his last visit to these shores.

While not one to be too public about his private's affairs, Homme's divorce from fellow musician Brody Dalle in November 2019 and the subsequent bitter custody battle that engulfed the pair and their children have found their way into the frontman’s work. It is in this context that the Homme that stood in front of the audience at Red Hill in 2024 is changed compared to the one on stage at RAC Arena in 2018 for the Villains tour, as he is now not just a performer but also a recipient of the therapeutic elements that music elicits.

Evidence of this comes with each Times New… track included in the set, with first single Emotion Sickness lyrically skipping around the two's former home, while Carnavoyeur depicts his platitudinous response to the drama that has drawn in around him: “And there's nothing I can do/ Except enjoy the view/ When there's nothing I can do, I smile.” Homme is not asking for empathy in these lyrics, but rather it appears he is using it as a necessary catharsis to return to a happier mental state, with such raw authenticity serving to enhance the connection between him and the audience.

Elsewhere, the band gave in to a request to play Mexicola in celebration of a birthday, which was greeted with much applause and good cheer from the crowd, while Theodore's drum solo towards the end of God Is in the Radio was a magical moment due to its mind-mental brutal ferocity and adept musicality.

As the set came to an end, Homme told the crowd that he didn't want to go through the charade of the audience requesting an encore and told the crowd to “just pretend we left and cheer really, really loudly” at the conclusion of Go With the Flow. This was hardly a challenge for the already rapturously applauding crowd, who only went into overdrive when the group launched into a ferocious version of A Song for the Dead for their ‘encore’.

In what can only be described as a masterclass in rock and roll, Queens of the Stone Age’s return to Perth showed that they still wear the crown in their field of choice. With perhaps the only fault being that the band were not able to fit in all the tracks the audience were chasing, Homme and co. will be welcomed back anytime they choose.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Stu McKay