Queens Of The Stone Age reunited with former bassist Nick Oliveri on April 24 at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center in Joshua Tree, Calif. This marked the first time the two founding members performed together in 12 years. The reunion happened during the band’s Catacombs Tour.
According to NME, lead singer Josh Homme introduced Nick Oliveri as “one of the people that I love dearly” before performing “Auto Pilot” from the 2000 album, Rated R. Oliveri handled vocals only for this one, singing with Homme and current bassist Michael Shuman.
The performance marked the first time Queens Of The Stone Age had played “Auto Pilot” live since 2014. In the early 1990s, Homme and Oliveri both played in the stoner rock group Kyuss. After that band broke up, Homme formed Queens Of The Stone Age. He brought Oliveri into the group in 1998.
Oliveri appeared on Rated R in 2000 and Songs for the Deaf in 2002. These records helped define their sound. The group fired Oliveri in 2004, but he contributed backing vocals on “If I Had a Tail” from the 2013 album, Like Clockwork.
In 2022, Oliveri talked about his departure from the band, saying his time with the group had “run its course” but that he and Homme were “still friends,” according to NME. “We did so much in a five-year period, in a concentrated period, so much work, that we kind of burned out on each other,” he said. “So, it is what it is, and he kind of wanted the band to go in a different direction anyway, so he’s taken it there, and that’s where he wants it to go, and it’s great for him.”
The Catacombs Tour wraps up on May 1 in Lincoln, Calif. After that, the band will head to the UK and Europe for shows beginning in late June. Then, they’ll join Foo Fighters on a North American stadium tour starting in early August.