Live Review: Queens Of The Stone Age, Ecca Vandal

It's totally not Ecca Vandal's fault, but the crowd assembled in GA stand motionless throughout the duration of her set as if they have the following thought on loop in their minds: 'What time does QOTSA start?' The South African-born artist doesn't let this put her off her game, however, and delivers a blistering set fronting her killer band. The drummer is a standout and Vandal whips her two-tone mane back and forth while caterwauling across this stage's wide expanse. Vandal embodies rock'n'roll with a red flanno tied around her waist and Chuck Taylors on her feet. An absolute star in the making.

Afternoon Delight repeats several times over the venue sound system as we brace ourselves for the incomparable majesty of Queens Of The Stone Age. Josh Homme saunters out with the aid of a walking stick before posing with it behind his shoulders, grinning like a song and dance man. Instantly, the sound is crisp and QOTSA effortlessly pump out their menacing voodoo magic. The hypnotic, circular You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire riff blows our faces off and then the drum demolition throughout No One Knows sees us shaking our heads in admiring disbelief. As for Homme: nobody does it better; his rock'n'roll essence should be bottled, sold and snorted. That falsetto during Smooth Sailing! 

Sometimes Homme limps a bit when walking in between songs, but once the rock'n'roll kicks in he's a supernatural, immortal beast. When are they gonna cast The Ginger Viking in Game Of Thrones? As for Sick, Sick, Sick, the song's title pretty much sums up its greatness. There's no running across the stage, it's always stalking and prowling. Homme may have a dodgy knee, but there's nothing wrong with those gyrating hips. "I'm here to do it with you," Homme teases. Feel Good Hit Of The Summer is a relentless riff barrage and when Homme inserts a snippet of INXS's Devil Inside we absolutely lose our shit. If I Had A Tail continues the demonic theme and Homme's insouciant delivery ("I wanna suck/I wanna lick") is sexual. By Little Sister we're actually powerless. "My lady's from Melbourne, she's from Fitzroy," Homme shares. "Did you just say, 'Shut up'?" he asks a punter, before quipping, "That's just what your mom said last night, she was like, 'Josh, shut up and just fuck me.'" 

When Homme takes a seat at the piano for The Vampyre Of Time And Memory, his towering stature makes the instrument look like a toy. There's a deafening singalong during Make It Wit Chu as we sing with gusto. Homme hilariously chastises a punter: "Don't fucking boo, either, you dumb dick!" before introducing new track The Evil Has Landed. "Fingers crossed that Troy does not fuck this up," he jokes of guitarist Van Leeuwen. Homme tells us he just learned Queens Of The Stone Age have existed as a band for 30 years. "It ain't good bye, it's just good night," Homme promises and the band's main set closes with Go With The Flow. 

But it ain't over yet. "This man smells fucking terrific and he looks fantastic," Homme gushes of guitarist Dean Fertita. The frontman is in fine spirits, announcing, "Hi, everybody, I'm your fucked-up uncle! I'm Joshua!" A Song For The Dead completely finishes us off - these musicians start and stop on a dime. Homme climbs gingerly up onto the drum kit for the finale and we're truly not worthy. It's as if QOTSA's instruments are having sexy conversations.

Queens Of The Stone Age, you beautiful bunch of freaks. Rock'n'roll just doesn't get any sexier than the sounds this band lovingly wrench from their instruments and these skilful players perform with a synergy that proves they're a band of brothers who genuinely rate each other. You can't help but feel aroused while experiencing Queens Of The Stone Age live. Thanks, QOTSA, we're now all lubed up and ready to go.