Queens Of The Stone Age at The Capitol Theatre (July 16, 2014)

With …Like Clockwork, Queens Of The Stone Age released one of the best albums of 2013. They are still touring hard in support of the album, bringing their tour to Port Chester this Wednesday to play a sold out show at the historic Capitol Theatre. It is always a beautiful place to see a show, and a rather intimate place to catch an act like Queens Of The Stone Age, one of the biggest bands in rock and roll. Australian artist Brody Dalle opened the show, and is known better for her work with The Distillers and Spinnerette.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, you don’t mess with Josh Homme. That means doing right by him if you choose to partake as an audience member in his crowd. Not like the fan in the front row who was holding up an iPad right in front of Homme, who couldn’t help but take notice, and comment. “You’ve got to be kidding with that thing man.” he told the audience member, urging him to put it away and just be present in the show. Honestly, about damn time someone called an iPad holder out on that. There’s simply no need for that at a show. This brutal honestly is what I love about Homme. During the show he spilled some honest truths by telling the crowd “Fuck the set list. I just wanna have a good time. This isn’t work. This is getting drunk and having fun.” With an attitude like that, it makes sense that the guy is one of the brightest minds to grace rock and roll in the last decade or so.

As expected, the setlist was heavy on …Like Clockwork material. But they still gave plenty of room to their many greatest hits of sorts, such as “No One Knows”, “Go With The Flow”, and “Little Sister.” They also kept it interesting with choice cuts such as “Turnin’ on the Screw”, “Better Living Through Chemistry” and “The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died”, which Josh dedicated to the late Tommy Ramone.

Over the past year I have seen the band three times. Prior to that first performance of the three, I had never seen the band live. Each performance has been as solid as the last, if not an improvement. There’s no question that they’re one of my favorite rock bands, but also one of the best that we have going at the moment.

Setlist:

1. You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
2. No One Knows
3. Avon
4. My God Is the Sun
5. Smooth Sailing
6. I’m Designer
7. I Sat by the Ocean
8. The Vampyre of Time and Memory
9. If I Had a Tail
10. Turnin’ on the Screw
11. Little Sister
12. The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died
13. In My Head
14. Fairweather Friends
15. Sick, Sick, Sick
16. The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
17. Better Living Through Chemistry
18. Go With the Flow