With strings, a cleaver, and Matt Berry on the organ, the band delivered a spellbinding, once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Queens of the Stone Age transformed their final UK and European ‘Catacombs Tour’ show into a breathtaking theatrical event at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The band traded their typical hard-rock bluster for a spellbinding, stripped-back performance that unfolded in three distinct acts.
The show began with an intimate, blue-lit atmosphere, featuring acoustic instruments and string sections.
Frontman Josh Homme acted as a “slightly psychotic jazzy bandleader,” crooning and prowling through the audience, even while brandishing a meat cleaver.
The performance gradually intensified, building through a blood-red second act that included a soaring orchestral version of ‘Mosquito Song’ and a cover of ‘Spinning in Daffodils’ by Homme’s side project, Them Crooked Vultures.
Bassist Michael Shuman took lead vocals on ‘Auto Pilot’ and the debut of a catchy new song, ‘Easy Street,’ which featured flamenco rhythms and David Bowie-esque guitar work.
The night culminated in a stunning encore of ‘Long Slow Goodbye,’ performed a capella by Homme and Shuman and backed by the hall’s massive pipe organ, played by special guest Matt Berry.
Homme dedicated the emotional performance to his late friend and collaborator, Mark Lanegan.