By Seamus Simpson
So after hearing a few months ago that the Queens of the Stone Age were doing a First Album tour I told myself “Seamus, you need to see this show.” Then I forgot about it and never got tickets. Fast forward to Wednesday night and there I was on the way home from work, going to meet a friend and standing in front of the Wiltern looking up at the marquee that read, "QOTSA– Sold Out." I was kicking myself in the butt as hard as I could, but then out of the corner of my eye I spot him. The guy has no reason to be hanging out in front of the venue other than he was selling tickets. So after some deft negotiations and a quick trip to Ralph’s there I was holding a ticket. [See Losanjealous for live photos of the show.]
Well, knowing that drinks at all venues are overpriced I headed to liquor store to get the engine revving before venturing in. Which, truth be told, was an adventure in itself. Suffice to say this Korean liquor store was very strict about its “No card. Cash only.” policy to which I say, “Move into the 21st century, please.”
Buzz procured and ticket in hand I headed into the venue. Turns out my tickets were on the last row on the upper deck, but I didn’t let something a simple as seat placement get me down at this point. I was going to see QOTSA play material they haven’t played in years—before I ever got a chance to see them.
The opening band, whose name I never got as the lead singer garbled it once into the mic between songs but not in a way any human ears could decipher it, was a strict mix of rockabilly and blues. [The Dough Rollers--ed.] For the genre they were not bad, but having grown up in Texas, the land of rockabilly and blues bands, I have seen this a dozen other times to varying degrees better and worse. Which is to say they played their instruments fine, played on time and dressed the part. But if you have seen one rockabilly band you’ve seen them all, with the exceptions of the Stray Cats and the Rev. Horton Heat.
So after they were done I downed a couple of overpriced beers and headed back to my seat in anticipation of what I knew was going to be an amazing show.
Let me tell you I was not disappointed. From the first strum on “Regular John” I knew I was about to see something I would not likely forget anytime soon. What can I say? The songs, while over 13 years old, sounded as if they were brand new all over again. Highlights include hearing “How to Handle a Rope,” “Mexicola,” and “You Would Know.” The best for me personally was the medley of “I Was a Teenage Hand Model” into “You Can’t Quit Me Baby,” which went for long past the album version's six minutes.
Not one to let their fans down, seeing as this was the last show of the tour, the band did not one, but two encores. Which included “Sick, Sick, Sick,” “Turning the Screw,” “The Sky is Fallin’,” “Go With Flow,” and “Burn the With,” but the cherry on top of the whole show for me was when they ended with “A Song For The Dead.” If any complaint could be made about the show it would be that they didn’t trot out anything from Rated R, but maybe that will be the next album tour. All I can say is that I heeded the noteworthy advice of friend Kevin Bronson, “When in doubt, go anyway.” I am glad I did.
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