Queens Of The Stone Age...

On Wednesday night,8/8... myself, my three son's & the bassist from their band, Stoning Cain, made the two-hour jump up to Little Rock, AR to see Gasoline Angels & The Queens Of The Stone Age at The Village.

We're right in the middle of a heat wave in this part of the south, and The Village is an old panoramic-screen theater from the days before I-Max which was converted into a music venue... so I knew we were in for a hot & sweaty time in that intimate venue.

True enough, it was beastly hot...but the youngsters seemed not to mind...LOL! After an hour wait in the line outside, we were actually in the first hundred to get inside, so we had the pick of the seats. My first purchase was two large bottles of H20, as I knew with all the perspiring I surely didn't want to go straight for the "other" cold beverages...LOL!

I stayed up on the 1st level off the floor slightly left of mid-stage, while the guys of STONING CAIN braved the floor for the entire show. Even though it wasn't filled to capacity , there was a big crowd of folks there. That's probably a good thing, too...had it been totally packed, I believe some folks would've passed out from heat prostration!

The Gasoline Angels from L.A. were a pretty decent opening duo. The two brothers put out a pretty huge sound for just a guitarist/vocalist, and a drummer. Not especially my type of music, but it was entertaining & very well done. I talked to the guys & their agent for awhile outside in the "smoker's pen", and found them to be very amiable & laid-back people. I'm glad I got a chance to meet them.

QOTSA put on a killer show, just as we all anticipated, and expected! They came right on stage, and proceeded to blow the roof off that sucker, performing a montage of songs from their first CD up to the present, as well as some improvisational variations by Josh & Troy.
Get It Done, Mexicola, Sick,Sick,Sick, & No One Knows were my personal favorites of the night, but to be truthful...it was all good! I was blown away by the music...the sound was loud, but well-balanced for that building with it's subterranean floor & rotunda ceiling. These features, combined with the amount of people inside made for a good sound mix.

I was surrounded by the Arkansas chapter of NORML where I was located, so everybody there was chilled out & mellow...before it was over, I was pretty mellow myself just from being in close proximity...LOL! It wasn't long before I was dancing & groovin' right along with 'em! We met some really cool people in the line, and at the show itself, and that made it an even more pleasant experience.

The guys from STONING CAIN spent the entire time on the floor, center stage...right down in the middle of the mob. QOTSA are one of their favorite bands, and being youngsters of ages 21,18,16 & 17 years of age...they had no problem wading into the crush...LOL! I think I had the most fun watching them enjoy themselves.

One of the best rock shows I've been to in a long time...can't wait to do it again.


http://www.myspace.com/thevillagelive
http://www.myspace.com/queensofthestoneage
http://www.gasolineangels.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thegasolineangels