SPILL LIVE REVIEW: QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE w/ THE ARMED @ BUDWEISER STAGE, TORONTO

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE w/ THE ARMED

@ BUDWEISER STAGE, TORONTO

AUGUST 4, 2023

It’s been a long six years since Queens of the Stone Age was last in Toronto and their new album, In Times New Roman, is a bit of a departure from their previous work in the 2010s. It’s heavier, grittier, and more stripped-back. With that being said, the rock ’n’ roll legends turned the Budweiser Stage into a frenetic dance party.

Detroit noise ensemble The Armed got the festivities going with a high-energy performance that included band members hopping into the mosh pit with everybody. Their music was equally as hardcore and aggressive as it was catchy.

The five-piece stoner rock band started their set off fiercely with the tracks “No One Knows” and “Sick, Sick, Sick” and then plunged into more recent material such as “Smooth Sailing”, “If I Had a Tail” and “Carnavoyeur”.

IN TIMES NEW ROMAN ALBUM REVIEW

It didn’t seem like the band was confined to a setlist as they took song requests from the audience constantly throughout the night, some of which being “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire” and “Time & Place”. Even with this spontaneity, a nice balance was struck between headbangers such as “The Evil Has Landed” and more elegant moments such as Joshua Homme’s falsetto vocals on “I Never Came”.

“Make It Wit Chu” was quite the highlight and a moment the crowd was anticipating. Homme had everyone sing along for him, although he didn’t even have to ask. At one point, the track flawlessly morphed into a rendition of “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones, it was super catchy and fit perfectly as an interlude.

The group dedicated “God is in the Radio” to the late Mark Lanegan, and performed an epic jam session culminating with a fervent guitar solo from Troy Van Leeuwen on a double-neck guitar. They ended the night with a bang, playing hard-hitting “Go With The Flow” and “Song For The Dead” before knocking over the drum set along with other equipment and walking off stage.

(Photography by Cory Barter)

Queens Of The Stone Age Photos

The Armed Photos

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