Queens of the Stone Age Build Anticipation for ‘Villains’ Tour at Capitol Theatre

For something a little different, Queens of the Stone Age recruited Mark Ronson to produce their latest album, Villains, their first since 2013’s …Like Clockwork. Ronson helped give the new record a tighter sound as well as a bit of groove (likely no surprise from the producer of “Uptown Funk”). And as Josh Homme and the band, including Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, Dean Fertita on keys, Michael Shuman on bass and Jon Theodore behind the drums, begin their tour, Queens of the Stone Age are sure to draw fans old and new to their shows with this album.

At their tour kick off at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre in early September, Queens of the Stone Age shared the stage with openers Royal Blood, a two-piece from the UK who will be with them for their October dates too. Royal Blood (Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher) produce a grungey sound that sounds far more powerful than one might expect a duo to produce. The band played a smattering of songs from their two releases, 2014’s self-titled debut and this year’s How Did We Get So Dark?, walloping the audience with their sonics and their strobes. I was pleased to hear “Little Monster”, my favorite of theirs, in their set.

Queens of the Stone Age took the stage after a longer than expected transition but the wait was easily forgiven as the band kicked into “Feet Don’t Fail Me”, the first track on the new record. It’s “crunching yo-yo of a riff” (as we said in our album review) had the crowd instantly “going up and down”. I’m not sure if there was moshing right then or not, given I was taking photos and the crowd was behind me for the first few songs, but it wouldn’t have surprised me. Throughout the night, moshers raided the general admission floor for some rigorous thrashing.

The strength and consistency of seven songs from Villains were mixed into the band’s 100-minute set and felt as readily polished (regarding performance) alongside their older, rawer (in terms of sonic quality) music.

At one point in the night, Homme paused the performance to toast Ferita, celebrating his birthday that day. Homme joked, “Dean is 75 years old” as he raised a glass. Homme later pretended that no one would know what song he was introducing as he openly claimed no one would know this next song. “No One Knows” urgency let an already wild audience release a little more steam. It was an undeniably thrilling night, both to hear the new music live and to see Queens of the Stone Age in a smaller setting.

Queens of the Stone Age, including more dates with Royal Blood, will resume touring in October. Photos from their Capitol Theatre show, as well as some video, setlists and their tour dates are below.

Royal Blood

Queens of the Stone Age

TOUR DATES

10/07/17 – San Bernardino, CA — CAL JAM 17

10/09/17 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex

10/10/17 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks

10/12/17 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody

10/13/17 – Kansas City, MO – Crossroads KC

10/14/17 – Saint Paul, MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium

10/15/17 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom

10/17/17 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre

10/18/17 – Indianapolis, IN – Old National Centre

10/20/17 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

10/21/17 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena

10/22/17 – Portland, ME – State Theatre

10/24/17 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

11/04/17 – Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena

11/05/17 – Vienna Austria – Stadthalle

11/06/16 – Zurich, Switzerland – Samsung Hall

11/07/17 – Paris, France – Accorhotels Arena

11/09/17 – Oberhausen, Germany – Konig-Pilsener Arena

11/10/17 – Munich, Germany – Zenith

11/11/17 – Berlin, Germany – Velodrom

11/12/16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome

11/14/17 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Tap1

11/15/17 – Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle

11/16/17 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportspaleis

11/18/17 – London, UK – Wembley Arena

11/19/17 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena

11/21/17 – London, UK – The O2 Arena

11/23/17 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall

11/24/17 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena

Queens of the Stone Age Setlist

Feet Don’t Fail Me

Turnin’ on the Screw

My God is the Sun

Domesticated Animals

Smooth Sailing

Un-Reborn Again

You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire

First It Giveth

Fortress

Little Sister

Leg of Lamb

I Appear Missing

Villains of Circumstance

If I Had a Tail

The Way You Used to Do

I Sat by the Ocean

The Evil has Landed

No One Knows

A Song for the Dead

Royal Blood Setlist

Where Are You Now?

Lights Out

Come on Over

I Only Lie When I Love You

Little Monster

Hook, Line & Sinker

Figure It Out

Ten Tonne Skeleton

Out of the Black