Queens of the Stone Age rocks out during a hectic time at downtown arena By: Alan Small Posted: 12:04 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 6, 2024 Last Modified: 10:42 AM CDT Monday, Apr. 8, 2024 Updates

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This article was published 06/04/2024 (543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Queens of the Stone Age put a loud exclamation mark on a week that has left Winnipeg music fans gasping for air.

Frontman Josh Homme, bedecked in close-cropped blond hair, led the five-piece rock group Friday night and ground out the percussive rhythm to their 2002 hit No One Knows to a roar from the crowd, which included a multitude of rockers packed shoulder to shoulder on the standing-room-only arena floor.

A pyramid of lights that shaped the stage setup lit up the giant mosh pit, which percolated to the band’s heavy groove. It changed colours all evening but began in cherry red, making the stage resemble a submarine on red alert.

The wild lighting created a glitter that complemented the Queens’ bass-heavy attack that could be felt to the base of your spine, especially during Paper Machete — as harsh a breakup song you’ll ever hear — from the band’s 2023 album In Times New Roman….

It was the third concert in four nights at the Canada Life Centre, which is in the midst of its busiest week since it opened 20 years ago.

The downtown arena couldn’t get any busier; in between Friday night’s show, Wednesday night’s performance by country superstar Chris Stapleton and buzzy folk-rocker Noah Kahan on Tuesday, there were two Winnipeg Jets NHL games.

The AHL’s Manitoba Moose take over the rink Saturday and Sunday.

That’s a lot of setting up stages and lights and tearing them all down again to set up the ice again in a week.

It’s almost enough — almost — to forget about how the COVID-19 pandemic kept people away from rocking out to shows at the arena for large portions of 2020 and 2021.

Postponed and cancelled shows were a fact of life then, and fans of Queens of the Stone Age got a reminder of those awful times earlier this week.

The Seattle rock band cancelled their Tuesday show in Edmonton at the last minute — openers the Struts had already performed before the audience was notified — much to the ire of rankled fans, some of whom took to social media to vent.

If there was any sickness among the band — Homme’s health is a concern because the QOTSA vocalist underwent treatment and surgery for cancer just last year — it was difficult to notice on Friday.

Homme, the last holdover of a band that emerged from the grunge scene into the mainstream, was full of fire on Friday, howling lyrics into the mic and kicking his right leg into the air along with the forceful beat provided by his four bandmates, who packed a wallop of guitars, drums and keys that often overpowered his vocals.

He was physically strong, even if the songs he sang were filled with pain and rage, such as Emotion Sickness, another new track. The band turned down the volume for a moment — just a moment — to emphasize the chorus “Baby don’t care for me,” perhaps referencing Homme’s recent acrimonious divorce with ex-wife Brody Dalle.

Make it Wit Chu and its pop sound was a nice change of pace and gave a chance for Homme to wail on guitar and interact with the crowd, who sang along with its chorus late in the band’s main set.

The encore included a stirring rendition of God is on the Radio, from its 2002 breakthrough album Songs for the Deaf, which let Homme and the band and the pumped-up audience — yes, there were crowd-surfers — to let loose.

The Struts, a four-piece outfit from Derby, England, got the Friday night party started with a bouncy 45-minute set. Vocalist Luke Spiller pogo-ed about the stage regularly when he wan’t directing the crowd in a shout-and-response bit like a 21st-century Cab Calloway.

He was dressed in waistcoat and tie, pretty formal garb for a evening that wavered between hard rock and heavy metal, but he had the vocal power during songs such as Pretty Vicious and Put Your Money on Me to crank up the crowd in preparation for Homme and the Queens.

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

X: @AlanDSmall