Live Review: Queens Of The Stone Age - Logan Campbell Centre (+ Photos)

When the Queens of the Stone Age last played Logan Campbell back in 2011, it was a strange affair. A sweltering show plagued by technical issues and illness in the band. Regardless, they ripped handily through a good part of their 1998 debut record, playing some tunes for the first time in years (even opening with side 1, track 1 'Regular John') but leaving others off an abbreviated set list. It was all a bit flat. 
The next day was February 22nd. Christchurch shook and the country froze in place. QOTSA’s tour was cut short and what songs were or weren’t played at a show suddenly didn’t matter. If there were any demons to be exorcised from that show however, tonight put them well and truly put to rest.

On one of the coldest nights of the year, a sold-out crowd dodged the icy rain and crowded into the confines of the Logan Campbell Centre in time for the sprawling shoegaze of local act, Eyes No Eyes. The fact that their first single was released just months before opening for one of the biggest bands on the planet did not phase the band at all as they confidently won the crowd over.

If they hadn’t been warmed up yet, they would be within a few minutes of Josh Homme and crew storming the stage with a furious take on Like Clockwork’s ‘My God is the Sun’. It’s immediately obvious the band are up for this one and the fans are happy to oblige, singing and fist-pumping along as the band rip through a series of favourites.

While ostensibly, the first show in support of new record, Villains (out August 25th), the set list only features two new songs including the funk infused single, ‘The Way You Used to Do’ and the proggy ‘The Evil Has Landed’. The remainder of the set is dominated by tracks from Like Clockwork and the seminal Songs for the Deaf which get five songs a piece. The band themselves are sounding phenomenal. Well-rehearsed, but not staid. Loose, but not sloppy.

For his part, frontman Homme conducts and feeds off the audience throughout the show like a rockabilly preacher, stalking a simple stage, which spends much of the show bathed in a blood red glow. At one point he expresses his love for New Zealand (‘this place in the middle of nowhere’) and reminisces about the legendary 2003 Big Day Out show cut short by a power outage that forced the band to a later time slot on a smaller stage – Something he’s never forgotten. Judging by the smiles across the crowd, there are more than a few of us who hadn’t forgotten either.

In a show full of highlights, it’s difficult to pick just a few. The relentless industrial rhythm of ‘Misfit Love’? The elongated solo breakdown of ‘Little Sister’? Maybe the sexy swagger of ‘Make it Wit Chu’ or the relentless ‘No One Knows’? Certainly the frenetic encore, ‘Song for the Dead’ which rounds out an incredible set and sends us home in raptures.

Take your pick. It’s the feel good hit of the winter.

Review by Paul Larsen. Check out some great photos of the show courtesy of Connor Crawford...