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Queens of the Stone Age, Canadian Tire Centre, Reviewed April 12, 2024
Queens of the Stone Age landed in Ottawa on Friday as part of The End is Nero tour, and while it wasn’t the biggest or wildest show of their swing into Canada, it was a night of loud, cathartic fun, with frontman Josh Homme in a chatty mood between songs.
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“The whole point is to have a good time,” he said towards the end of the concert. “Life is so f—ing short and so difficult. If you can just have one moment where we’re all together, one moment where everyone all over the place is just happy together … That’s why we’re here.”
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On Friday, that moment came with the impromptu addition of Mexicola, a blistering song from the band’s 1998 debut album that wasn’t on Friday’s original setlist, but was played as an encore in response to a collective request from the crowd: “Don’t yell it at me, chant it,” Homme demanded, fulfilling the request anyway.
It was the cherry on top of a satisfying, not-too-polished performance by a veteran band that continues to enjoy a strong following almost 30 years after forming in Seattle. Although hard rock isn’t exactly the top-selling genre these days, Homme and his bandmates have never wavered from that path. In fact, last year’s album, In Times New Roman … is one of their most ferocious, full of the emotional aftermath of Homme’s recent personal struggles, including a messy divorce, a bout of cancer, rehab and the deaths of several friends.
Having weathered all that trauma, it’s no wonder the 50-year-old bandleader seemed happy to be on stage, his searing voice and snarling guitar licks set off by a killer group that included long-time guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita on keyboards and guitars, and thunderous drummer Jon Theodore, arguably the hardest-working person on stage.
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In their first Ottawa show in a decade, the band kicked off with a pair of deeply grooving older songs, Regular John and No One Knows, and moved through the catalogue, seamlessly integrating a handful of tracks from the latest album, but also touching down on some of the big hits, including Make it Wit Chu and Little Sister, to the delight of fans.
The stage setup was uncluttered by video screens, but enhanced by an overhead arrangement of lighting rigs that shot out beams of colour. Opening the show were British glam-rockers The Struts, who introduced themselves with an intense blast of theatrical energy, a muscular rhythm section and an engaging frontman, Luke Stiller, with a flair for the dramatic.
As for the crowd, estimated at close to 6,000, the mosh-pit energy on the floor may have been lacking, but people followed QOTSA’s every move and knew most of the words, at one point joining Homme and his bandmates in turning the passionate Emotion Sickness into a harmonious singalong.
Beaming, Homme was filled with pride as he marvelled at the diversity of subcultures and demographics represented in the audience.
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“I look out and see goth chicks and stoner kids and old people and their f—ing grandkids … and weird oversexed chicks and dumbass dudes,” he declared, noting his love for everyone, even the dumbass dudes.
“I don’t want everybody, I just want the good people from every clique,” he added.
“After 27 years, they’re a good-looking bunch.”
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