What I experienced at the Nokia Theater was simply phenomenal. Scary in good ways as well as bad. A sign of things to come and remembering the way it used to be.
Setting the tone for the evening, Mastodon opened up and played a very heavy and very evil set that had the crowed frothing at the mouth for more mayhem. Queens of the Stone Age gave more than anyone could have asked for. A great venue for a band known for their extended hypnotic jams, it is possible that on Monday night they even outdid The Boss (who was playing down the street). The acoustics at the Nokia Theater brought this show to a higher realm of reality. It seemed as if all the sound collected at the roof of the venue and would come raining down on all of us in torrential bursts that no one could hide from. Frat boys and business men head-bangied their highs away side-by-side. We were in for a treat as the band was glad to be back in LA, giving us a proper show for the first time since their Lullabies to Paralyze tour, with head honcho Josh Homme mentioned several times how excited he was and how he "he was drinking about it all day."
The extra-heavy set of songs kept the crowd in a dazed riot throughout. The band behaved like a group of caged animals set free to tear apart the universe by means of massive amounts of head banging, guitar feedback solos and around-the-body, hula-hoop style guitar-swinging contests. Deep album tracks and obscure B-sides were the theme of the night. "I Can't Quit You Baby", "Into The Fade", and "The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died" were stellar. Josh and company formed a cohesive, well-oiled rock-n-roll machine. Loyal onlookers studied the show as if it contained encoded messages vital not only to survival, but also instructions for how to have a good time and get laid as much as possible in the process.
Queens gave everything they had, and I could heard a collective cry bellow out from the crowd, begging the Rock Gods to listen to us and not let Nokia Theater-types take over our beloved concert experience. The brand new venue located next to Staples Center, was transformed form from an over-polished corporate music money pit into a sacrificial sound stage and Homme was the executioner. Massive black walls that tower far above each side of the stage were reminiscent of something from The Wall. Maybe, just maybe, Pink Floyd was onto something there.
Some of the most ferocious energy of the night came from the band's new material off their Era Vulgaris release. They recklessly and masterfully maneuvered through "Sick, Sick, Sick", "Misfit Love", "Battery Acid" and "3's and 7's". By the time they encored, ending with "A Song For The Dead", they had nothing left to say and simply strutted off stage. Guitarist Troy Van Leewen slowly sauntered off with the band , but before he left he poured a little of his drink out. Maybe this was for the homies or for the rock-n-roll experience we lost when the Nokia Theater was built, but that pretty much summed up the night. The times they are a-changin'.
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Comments
There are 8 comments posted for this article.
Where did you sit/stand? We were 3 rows behind the sound
board (which you would think would be the prime spot, right?)
and the whole shiw sounded like tinny ratt piss, loud as hell
also. I couldn't hear drums the whole night. No bass
whatsoever. If there was any real intensity from two of my
favorite rock bands, it was lost from where we were. Maybe
they'll play some secret smaller places? Maybe not.
Posted on October 30, 2007 6:13 PM by mike
I was in the center section, half way down the orchestra, so it sounds like I was in a lucky spot. Sorry to hear the sound was shitty where you sat. Lets hope for a secret show, as being confined to a seat at all during a QOTSA show is a crime of its own.
Posted on October 30, 2007 6:20 PM by Ryan
Yeah, I was two rows behind the sound board and the sound was horrible. I love Queens, I know they kicked ass, but I couldn't enjoy it. It was loud in a harsh, bad way. It made me sad.
Nokia is Space Mountain and Embassy Suites combined manned by Stepford Wives.
Posted on October 31, 2007 7:13 AM by marystan
I was in the pit. I couldn't hear any vocals but the strings made up for it. It's almost one or the other. Would you rather hear him sing or hear his guitar? Those in the pit chose the guitar. Anyway, the pit was well behaved despite a little shoving here and there. People around me felt it "odd" but couldn't complain. As for me, it was the first time in a long time that I was in the pit and had a perfect view of all the artists on stage (I am 5'1).
Posted on October 31, 2007 8:49 AM by jocey
I sat in Row JJ towards the center and the sound was mediocre at best (the levels were far too muddy). I've seen the Queens many times, and this was a sub-par show for sure (Josh played a bit sloppy - due to drunkenness probably - and I believe Troy poured his drink on the stage out of annoyance). Plus their set was only 70 minutes long - that is a travesty considering how long we had to wait for them to start. I spoke with the Nokia management and they could have played longer if they wanted to. I don't sound bitter do I?
Posted on October 31, 2007 3:03 PM by colin
sucks about the bad sound......... Usually the board is the spot. I bet the board guy must have been pissed too! I sat in the somewhat front section on the right just below the huge mile high speakers and just got my hearing back today. The vocs were great, drums were insane, guts were mean. No complaints at all. I also herd somebody in the bathroom say the drums sucked. I kept to myself on that one due to me disagreeing. Great show but would have been better outside with all the watts available. The hanging lamps were cool.Just also saw the Muse and what a light show!! And what who and where was that first band from? I still cant figure out what she was saying.Or he???!?>!?
Posted on October 31, 2007 6:50 PM by rich
That first band was Jaguar Love... and yeah they were garbage, well the singer was anyways. I'm thinking of going to a hypnotist to erase the memory of he-she's screeching!! Since this was my first time seeing QOTSA live (and being a huge fan for so long) I have nothing to compare it to so I'm going to say they KILLED-IT... by comparison listening to the CD's on the way home sounded so f***'n plain! I agree with Colin on the short set and Troy being annoyed but I think it had to do more with the crowd not giving enough love... I heard QOTSA on a KROQ interview refer to venues like NOKIA as STARBUCKS so next time they come to the Ventura Theater I'm going to sell my girl for tickets!
Posted on November 5, 2007 7:22 PM by rey
uh - yeah... I think you were at a different show. Sound sucked unbelievably bad and nothing made up for the schiestery atmosphere of the corporate rock amphitheater. QOTSA and Mastodon are amazing - but I will never go to the pathetic Nokia theater again.
Posted on November 9, 2007 8:23 AM by ce