I was taken by surprise when I discovered Queens Of The Stone Age would be making an in-store appearance at the local Best Buy before their show at the Diamond Ballroom. It seemed out of character for a band of their caliber, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to catch a free show from them. I’m cheap like that.

I arrived early enough to secure a spot in the front row, nestled within the appliance section of the store. The crowd grew steadily until the band took the – er, stage, and meanwhile, I couldn’t help but think that I’d hate to be on an emergency dishwasher purchasing trip at that time. The mess of sound equipment didn’t stop folks from checking out the newest Frigidaire, however. The band finally arrived and played a casual acoustic set, taking requests from the audience while frequently joking about playing in a Best Buy appliance section. “I think we deserve a refrigerator after that song.” said frontman Josh Homme. They played through acoustic renditions of “3’s & 7’s”, “Leg of Lamb”, as well as “Wanna Make It Wit Chu”. Afterwards the band stuck around to sign autographs and take photos with the fans. I managed to chat with Homme for a bit about his side project, Eagles Of Death Metal that he started with his childhood friend Jesse Hughes (aka J Devil, aka Boots Electric):

DE: I’ve met you once before in Dallas when you were touring with Eagles of Death Metal.
JH: Really? What was I doing? Besides drinking?
DE: You were opening for Placebo on that tour.
JH: Oh right! That was the very first tour of the band, and that was the test to see if Jesse could make it (in a touring band).

I then explained to him how my friends and I met Hughes when EODM came to Norman in March of 2006, and how we kidnapped him, making him do beer bongs with us while wearing a feather boa.

JH: Really? That’s strange because… Jesse doesn’t drink.
DE: Erhm…
“Maybe he will if you make him wear a boa.” chimed one of the other band members. I hope I didn’t get Jesse in trouble.

That night I made my way down to the Diamond Ballroom, a lonely honky-tonk in the middle of a gravel lot that has always been my favorite live music venue in Oklahoma City. No “beer tickets” here, folks. The heat wave Oklahoma residents have been suffering through was no match for the sardine-packed autoclave that was the venue within. My god, it was wretchedly hot, but that’s the language of rock n’ roll.

The Gasoline Angels opened the show, comprising of brothers Karim Chatila (vocals & guitar) and Kasey Chatila (drums & keyboards). Although they put in a solid set, their sound seemed awfully dated, and I couldn’t help but think they would have been better suited opening for Fuel or The Verve Pipe ten years ago. The crowd seemed to enjoy them, however. Perhaps I’m being unreasonable, but I really hope these guys expand their musical scope because they have the musical chops to make it big.

Homme promptly took the stage thereafter, his 6’4 frame clad in lumberjack attire resembling a red-headed Paul Bunyan, and his band mates followed in tow. They opened their set with a new rendition of “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire”. Hearing this as a fan was bittersweet, as this song was always performed by ousted band mate Nick Oliveri, whose lyrical screaming was the perfect counterpoint to Homme’s Elvis-like vocal inflections. It’s a new band since Oliveri’s departure, however, and new renditions of old songs are always preferred over them being shelved for good.

The entire set yielded no shortage of their epic numbers such as “I Think I Lost My Headache” as well as the hurdy-gurdy frenzy of “The Fun Machine Took A Shit And Died” (I’ve always loved their song titles). Some highlights of the show were the spiraling “Better Living Through Chemistry”, as well as the imperial death-march rhythm of “Era Vulgaris”. This was a show strictly for the fans, as better-known numbers such as “No One Knows” and “Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” were notably absent from the evening’s set list. They closed up the show with the frantic mosh-friendly tune “Song For The Dead”, and when the house lights came up, the audience looked like they had just finished ten big-ass triathlons.

During the show, Homme mentioned that this would be the last stop of the “Duluth Tour”, which consists of playing smaller cities to promote their new album “Era Vulgaris” before playing the larger cities on the next tour. With a show like this, I’d say we lucked out, big time.

MP3: Queens of the Stone Age - “Sick Sick Sick”

VIDEO:
“Wanna Make It Wit Chu” Live - Queens Of The Stone Age

“Era Vulgaris”

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