The usual lifecycle of a band goes something like this: create some rough ideas of songs, share them with band members for their input, and then schedule a few recording sessions to make a finished product. Once that’s nearly hatched into the world, the touring end of the business kicks in with press releases and tour announcements. What follows is the band playing various cities that feature some of these new songs, along with a majority of well-known songs from their prior catalog. It’s a proven method, and people get used to it. They’ll sit in their seats or stand in ther spots long enough to hear the stuff they know really well.
But every once in a while, a band decides to drive off the well-maintained road and head straight to a dirt road, discovering surprises and unexpected twists along the way. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats did this last year with the heavily giallo-influenced Nell’ Ora Blu record and accompanying tour that felt more like a play than a concert. Queens of the Stone Age didn’t necessarily say “Hold my glass of red wine” but their recent journey to the famous Parisian catacombs yielded a snappy five song EP and the impetus for Josh Homme and the band to give a proper rendition on the road, despite wrapping up a major tour just a few months ago.
Encouraging ‘creative dress’ for attendees (and the band certainly led the way; I bet there were as many wardrobe cases as guitar road cases on this run), the band booked a handful of ornate theaters to present their vision, and Boston was one of the lucky dozen or so American stops with the booking at the Wang Centre. Before anyone came out on stage, a scrim covered most of the stage, leaving just a few feet to the edge. That was enough real estate for the band to set up camp laterally, along with a string trio. Bathed in pale blue light, Homme stalked the stage with a mic in one hand and a task light in the other, occasionally swinging it or holding it under his chin to create the kind of shadows one might find in a candlelit crypt.
Quietly brushed drums and moody strings, the evening’s atmosphere was set instantly as the band cruised through the five songs that comprise the record (if you waited, the five thousand copy run has sold out but there’s always hunting through the secondhand racks or more likely, hanging on the wall). “Villains Of Circumstance” in particular sounds like it could have been performed in a smoky cafe in the Le Marais arrondissement.
The second act started with the scrim falling to the floor, revealing a brass section to augment the strings, with the band members taking hold of their usual instrumentation. Now bathed in red, Homme grabbed a butcher’s cleaver from a small cutting board and kept in motion, coming down into the crowd at one point. The music was not as sparse as the first act, but kept the theme of unexpected songs with unique arrangements. The strings and horns on “Mosquito Song”‘s studio version was a perfect fit for the evening, but did anyone not peeking at setlist.fm see “Spinning In Daffodils” coming? It’s a safe bet that the supergroup of Them Crooked Vultures isn’t materializing any time soon so hearing that track was like finding a splinter from the cross.
It was around this point where the two people next to me finally figured out that “No One Knows” or “Go With The Flow” or “Make It Wit Chu” wasn’t coming their way and they decided to leave. A few others made this fairly insane decision, but the theatre was mostly full of diehards who understood what the band was going for and were fully appreciative.
For someone who’s been in guitar-centric bands since his beginning, the third act finally saw Homme play one, but that absence just underscored what a confident and controlled singer he’s become. Played a mere seven times prior to this tour, “You’ve Got A Killer Scene There, Man…” delivered the slinky, sensuous rock music without any strings or horns, just the core band. (Maybe my ersatz friends should have stuck around). Bassist Mike Shuman got to sing Nick Oliveri’s lead vocal part from Rated R’s “Auto Pilot” and Troy Van Leeuwen continues to be an essential part of the band with his smart and compact playing.
The regular set concluded with two of my favorites, songs I hadn’t expected to hear. Villains was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but the vulnerable “Fortress” was clearly the highlight, Homme’s keening vocals carrying the chorus. I admit to being a late comer to the band, and often times the first record one hears from a band becomes their favorite, in opposition to diehard views. For me, … Like Clockwork is their best work, a raw wound unafraid to take on the world with what’s left of its defenses. The title track distills that feeling to its essence, and a brilliant delivery with Homme’s soft piano and naked vocals soaring through the room. The encore was even starker, just Homme later joined by Shuman for an apt “Long Slow Goodbye.” Don’t sleep on the chance to see this tour if possible, it’s highly unlikely to make a return.
For a person with a famous father, Paris Jackson certainly doesn’t mimic Michael’s musical vision. Seated alone on a low chair with just an acoustic guitar in front an indifferent and filtering in crowd is not a position of strength, but Jackson made the best of it with her homespun acoustic offerings.
