Queens of the Stone Age at the OC Fair

The Queens of The Stone Age self titled debut album is a classic. I bought it when it first came out on Loose Groove records which was run by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam fame. I have seen Queens of The Stone Age numerous times back in the day at the Troubadour and have witnessed their ascension to a seasoned rock outfit. I didn't think Lullabies to Paralyze was a strong effort from them. Era Vulgaris is a better step in the right direction but ultimately I think the loss of Nick Oliveri has had an impact on the band.





The Eagles of Death Metal know how to rock. The Eagles play a brand of sleazy garage rock slathered with innuendos and oozing with the sexy. Dave Catching(Guitars) was doing his best rock poses with his Gibson Flying V but Jessie Hughes (Vocals/Guitars) was the pulling all the limelight along with the crowd's attention to himself. Jessie would swagger across the stage coaxing the audience to get up and dance as they kicked down some serious rock n' roll tunes. Some of the highlights from their set included "Cherry Cola", "I Only Want You" and "Stuck In The Metal". Jessie and the rest of the band took a bow at the end of the show and in between songs I could hear Jessie let out some screams of excitement because he was rocking out so hard and the crowd was eating up all of it.




Queens of The Stone Age came out of the gate limping. I mean that literally in relation to Josh Homme's(Vocals/Guitars) knee problems as he shuffled out with the help a cane. Queens stole the show at the KROQ Weenie Roast this year, but didn't seem as tight compared to that prior show. It probably was due to the sound mix which was uneven throughout the night and the overall volume of the show was low. Queens need to be heard loud and clear. "Battery Acid" was extremely caustic as Michael Shuman (Bass) dominated his Gibson Grabber bass and turned that song instantly to one of my favorites off the new album. The set felt very short clocking in at barely over an hour. They should have played for at least an hour and a half but it could have been due to the Orange County curfew or the fact that Josh probably shouldn't be up there in the first place with his knee and all. Josh showed off some of his improvisational skills with the incorporation of the Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone"  into the break down of "The Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Troy Van Leeuwen (Guitars) was business as usual rocking out in his suit and hovering over his keyboards at times. He used to play in Failure in case you forgot. I look forward to seeing them in Las Vegas at the Vegoose Festival.


Queens Of The Stone Age setlist at the Pacific Amphitheatre for the OC Fair (7/22/07)
"Monsters In The Parasol"
"Burn The Witch"
"Misfit Love"
"In My Head"
"Do It Again"
"Feel Good Hit Of The Summer"
"Sick,Sick,Sick"
"Go With The Flow"
"Into The Hollow"
"Make It Wit Chu"
"Little Sister"
"Battery Acid"
"3's & 7's"
"No One Knows"
"Song For The Dead"