Live Review: Queens Of The Stone Age, Ecca Vandal

Ecca Vandal has played big stages and supports before, but never Hordern Pavilion. "It's been a dream to play at this venue," she admitted after powering through a blistering set. Truth To Trade left the Vandal 'virgins' wide-eyed. A couple of new tracks popped up, which have been teased recently, promising more frenetic and visceral electro-rock to come. Battle Royal rounded out a tight support set, further building Vandal's live reputation.

A 45-minute turn-around was always going to be a stretch, but after hearing Afternoon Delight for the fourth time, the crowd was getting restless. Finally, the lights dimmed and Queens Of The Stone Age entered with lead man Josh Homme brandishing a walking cane and taking a final drag from a cigarette. If the 44 year old was trying to show his age, he has a lot of work to do, still looking, acting and singing with the body of a youngster.

Era Vulgaris opener Turnin' On The Screw started the night, which basically became a greatest-hits set. Homme simply owned the stage and the crowd. With his trademark strut and a smirk, we were transfixed by his performance even as he welcomed us. "Hello, Sydney, how the hell are ya? Let's have a drink together."

Sick, Sick, Sick, with its pulsing rhythm, was accompanied by equally pulsing lights and the crowd was in a frenzy. It flowed into Feel Good Hit Of The Summer, which blew our tiny minds. Homme cheekily segued into Amy Winehouse's Rehab before making us sing along and blowing the roof off the Hordern. 

"It's all about being here. Right now. Together." It's a mantra that consumes Homme's life now. Despite not playing that fateful night at the Bataclan in 2015, Homme recognises that life is precious and encouraged the crowd to be present, interacting with us throughout the night.

We got just two songs from Villains, with the release date only a month away, but we were pretty happy with the old ones. We sang the guitar part to Burn The Witch, the solos in Make It Wit Chu were killer and My God Is The Sun was a huge highlight.

When the band rocked out hard and tight we got to see how good QOTSA can be. However, the lights were huge, but the sound was not. As always, the sound was a little lost in the cavernous Hordern. We were also delivered a festival-length set, which was a little disappointing as there were rarer songs we would have loved to hear.

No One Knows rounded out the main set and we wondered what the encore would be. A Song For The Dead was a ferocious end to a victorious show from one of the best live acts in the world. With this the second tour since their last album, hopefully a return will not be far away.