Queens Of The Stone Age at the Kia ForumJosh Homme hit some of his finest high notes as Queens of the Stone Age's "The Endis Nero" tour wrapped up in 2023 in the man's home state of California. One of the lasttrue rock stars and artists, Homme & Co. delivered a show in all caps. As manyhardcore Queens fans did attest following the show at the Forum, it was the band at theheight of their creative and raw power.

Even when Queens goes a little more stylistically slick, as they did on their previousalbum, "Villains," it's not all polish and sheen, especially live. One of the highlights ofany Queens shows, which this writer attended three of this year, is discoveringnewfound love for many of their tracks, thanks to the helluva live experience. "Villains ofCircumstance," made for such a disturbed, moving moment as Queens were drenchedin darkness. The melancholia behind the thunder was volcanic. A redundant reminderQueens can pull at the heartstrings when desired. As for the tracks off the new album“In Times No Roman,” such as the pained lyrics of “Time & Place,” continue to grow likeflowers under an acid-powered sun in a live setting.

Thunderous is exactly how to describe the work of dapper guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen,triple threat Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), mega-fingered bassistand energizer bunny Michael Shuman, and the mild-melter drummer, Jon Theodore.Talk about a group of singular artists playing together in such extreme harmony. Whenthese guys are all on stage together and let it rip – most notably in “God is in the Radio,”in which Theodore’s solo drums out the rest of the world – it’s a hard-charging, no-brakes pumped 100-minute or so experience.

If it isn’t clear by now, Queens goes hard. What’s been particularly wonderful about thistour, though, which reached another peak on a wild night in Glasgow, Scotland, was thepeace and love behind the chaos of it all. Josh Homme pontificating about love? Beinghere and now? Well, the tour was called “The End is Nero” for a reason, and duringthese apocalyptic days and daze, Homme’s "let’s love each other, man" attitude provesinfectious. If the end is truly near, at least Queens of the Stone Age are providing thesoundtrack.

Queens Of The Stone Age

qotsa.com