Queens Of The Stone Age are the best in the world according to Dave Grohl, “when they hit the stage, they’re the best rock band in the world. Like, nobody even gets close… Everybody in the band is a fucking badass, and they know it.”
And that's exactly what the 7,000 strong at Spark Arena got. The best band in the world for 2 glorious hours.
Every single thing the band does just drips cool. Even little things like when Josh Homme introduced Troy Van Leeuwen (guitarist and multi-instrumentalist), the 54-year-old with slicked black hair and a stripe of silver just stared into the crowd unfazed and waved as if the queen would. Effortless.
Jon Theodore on drums got food poisoning the night before the show. He was throwing up hours before taking the stage. Jon gave us a Michael Jordan flu game type of shift on the drums. The dude was sensational. Halfway through the gig, Josh Homme stopped down after a song to say, “he’s been throwing up all day, and man, he’s the baddest mother-fucker on the planet.” Jon played a wild drum solo during the encore to put the cherry on the top of his ‘flu game’.
Josh recently said, “Bands that don’t want to play their big song or their big songs, I always think it’s a little cunty to do that.” How fitting that they opened their show with ‘No One Knows’, and from the first guitar riff, and that first thump of the drums, you just knew it was gonna be a special night.
Josh Homme is rock n roll’s greatest cowboy, and he was in a helluva good mood all night long. “You won't believe how much I wanna have a good time,” he said to a chorus of cheers and screams. Josh stands a solid 6 foot 5, for most of the night he was accompanied by a durry, and on a few occasions showed us that men can multi-task by ripping back a malboro while singing. Talent. Josh has this larger-than-life bravado, but he also has this gorgeous softness, and that was on show during Thursday's gig. When he sauntered around the entire arena he stopped by a couple, he basked in the moment, and made sure they felt his full attention and love. He then sauntered back to the stage before saying, “Come dance with me you mother-fuckers.”
Throughout the entire show, Josh talked about being in the moment, “We're here together & this is the only moment we get.” It was such a nice reminder to stop, look to your left and right, appreciate the people you came with, and appreciate the moment.
Over Zoom, Josh told the Morning Rumble, “The setlists are gonna be insane on this tour, they're gonna be all over the place… and of course be my guest, and as you know I’ll give you a night you’ll never forget.”
Thank you so damn much to Queens of the Stone Age for coming to our little island in the Pacific. Josh, Troy, Michael, Dean, and Jon thank you for giving us a night we won't forget. So very grateful. The smile on my face ain’t going away anytime soon!
Queens of the Stone Age are making their way through the country with 2 shows left on their tour. Playing at TSB Arena, Wellington on Friday 1st March, before wrapping up with a gig in Christchurch at the Wolfbrook Arena on Sunday 3rd March 2024.
Side Note
I’ve always met really lovely people at Rock gigs. During the Queens gig i was in the mosh colliding, and I met a guy called Brad. he asked if I wanted to go on his shoulder for ‘Make It Wit Chu’ an offer I couldn't resist. Thank you Brad, man, that was one of the most special moments at a gig I've ever had, taking it all in, and singing along.
After the gig I met a lady out the front of Spark Arena, we struck up a conversation. She is going through cancer at the moment and brought her two identical sons along to the gig, and they had a rad time. She found out she was pregnant the day after seeing Limp Bizkit in 2001. Fast forward to 2023, she was once again in the mosh pit to Limp Bizkit, this time with her children by her side. What a special moment, and what a special memory.
Matt Pledger
