At Last - QOTSA

So, after buying tickets for 2 cancelled shows, I finally got to see Queens of the Stone Age at Brixton last night. Sad to say, after all that wait and anticipation, it was all a bit of a disappointment.

I mean, it wasn't dreadful or anything, but the sound was crap from where we were standing - about 30-40 feet from the stage - and the lighting was very dark. Josh Homme put on a good show, but I missed Mark Lanegan popping up to do guest vocals like he used to.

It was nice to see Natasha Shneider back on stage. She is a total rock chick who is now playing keyboards with QOTSA. I first saw her years ago with Chris Cornell's band. I remember I posted something about her to the Chris Cornell website the next day, and some guy who works for her main band, Eleven, sent me one of their CDs all the way from America for nothing. What a nice chap!

On the way to the venue, Malcolm and I were discussing how, when we were kids, gigs always seemed really loud and your ears would ring for the whole of the next day. We were trying to figure out if gigs are quieter now or if we have just shot our hearing through too much rock n roll. I strongly suspect the latter. I hate people that turn up at shows wearing ear plugs, though. I mean, what's the bleedin point?!

Earlier in the evening I went for a few drinks with the lovely Sammy Jo at Retro. It was pissing with rain and he turned up wearing flip flops cos he'd sent all his luggage on to Ireland in the Scissor Sisters' tour bus. Ha! Silly boy!