It had been some time since the Air Canada Centre bore witness to the type of pure, no frills rock show that the Queens of the Stone Age delivered at the venue on Tuesday night. In front of 8,000 passionate fans, the Queens took a few risks but generally delivered the goods over the course of an energized set as part of their …Like Clockwork tour.
Risk number one came in the form of the venue itself. The band is accustomed to playing smaller halls (their next show takes place at Detroit’s 2,000-seat Fillmore), so taking on an ambitious arena like the ACC proved somewhat daunting. While the arena certainly wasn’t full (numerous sections were left empty or blocked-off entirely), the energy of those on hand made for a more intimate, lively feel that took away from any lingering sense of emptiness.
Risk number two was the playlist, with fan response dipping noticeably during some of the lighter fare off the recent album. Songs like “Kalopsia” and the album’s titular track deflated some of the show’s electricity and took some of the wind out of the sails of a crowd that was firmly in an uptempo mode.
Fortunately for the crowd (or, perhaps, because of it), uptempo was the order of the day more often than not. Starting off with an explosive trifecta of “My God Is The Sun,” “You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire” and “No One Knows,” lead singer Josh Homme wasted no time in getting fans amped up and on their feet. Beyond a few sidebar comments between songs (including an admission that he had spent the past three days on a bender through Toronto), Homme let the music do the talking for him and carried momentum from one song into the next.
Dystopian cartoon illustrations often served as the backdrop, but they never took away from the quintet’s full-throttle sound. New drummer Jon Theodore, introduced to a loud ovation late in the set, enjoyed a brief moment of individual spotlight but mostly blended seamlessly into the band. During the night’s best moments, the band connected harmoniously with the fans, who were more than willing to offer full-throated song lyrics on “Burn the Witch” and “I Appear Missing.”
All told, the Queens of the Stone Age show wasn’t a perfect offering, but its few down moments helped further accentuate the fantastic frenzy and hysteria of the predominant times when things were really rolling.