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Queens of the Stone Age
w/Phantogram and The Armed
Thursday, August 3rd 2023 / Freedom Hill
Amphitheater, Sterling Heights, MI
The much-anticipated U.S. tour by Queens of the Stone Age, following the release of their latest LP, In Times New Roman…, launched last Thursday in Sterling Heights drawing an enthusiastic and nearly sold-out crowd. Expanding a bit on the festival sets they’ve been performing since May, the band dug a bit more into deep cuts while continuing to include most of their biggest hits and bits of their new album as well. The evening began with a 30-minute set from The Armed, which featured their most recent single, “All Futures,” and 40 minutes from indie-alt duo Phantogram which included their biggest hits to date such as “When I’m Small,” “Black Out Days,” and “Fall in Love.”
QOTSA ripped through a strong set in just under two hours that leaned hard on songs from two of their best and most successful albums, Songs for the Deaf and …Like Clockwork, such as “No One Knows,” “My God Is the Sun,” “If I Had a Tail,” and an extended jam on the deep cut, “God Is in the Radio,” dedicated to late vocalist Mark Lanegan who sang it originally. Fan favorites “Go with the Flow” and “A Song for the Dead” provided a strong ending, but hardcore fans were treated to a mix of classic deep cuts and more inclusion of new songs such as recent singles “Carnavoyeur” and “Paper Machete.” "Emotion Sickness" was on the set list but swapped during the show for "Make It wit Chu" at the request of a poster-waving couple who were celebrating their anniversary. The band’s earliest albums continue to be neglected as has been the case since their return to the road in May, with no songs included from their self-titled debut album and only one from their second, but where they had been playing the quasi-hit “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret,” at most festivals, they switched that out for the spacey “Better Living Through Chemistry” in Sterling Heights instead.
For a band that famously rotated members through its first 10 years, the current players have been in the group steadily for the past 10, and most for the last 15 which has led to a reliable comfortability both on stage and in the recording studio. Front man Josh Homme continues to dazzle with amazing guitar riffs, leads, and solos, and each member was given opportunities to show off throughout last Thursday’s performance, most notably for guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and drummer Jon Theodore. Multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita, a Detroit native, received a warm hometown reception as well. Queens will continue to tour for at least another year behind their new album, so many other audiences will be rocked in the near future, but it was a treat to be there for the start of the run.
Queens of the Stone Age set list:
Peggy Lee-“Smile” (intro tape)
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No One Knows
Do It Again
Smooth Sailing
My God Is the Sun
Carnavoyeur
The Way You Used to Do
If I Had a Tail
Negative Space
Paper Machete
The Evil Has Landed
Better Living Through Chemistry
I Sat by the Ocean
Time & Place
Little Sister
Make It wit Chu
God Is in the Radio
Go with the Flow
A Song for the Dead
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Gov’t Mule
w/Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening
Wednesday, August 2nd 2023 / Pine Knob,
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob, arguably Michigan’s most famous amphitheater (and no longer known as DTE Energy Music Theatre), has seen a great run of summer shows as usual, and fans of southern jam rock and classic rock alike were treated to a fantastic night of music with Gov’t Mule, originally an Allman Brothers Band side project, and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, fronted by the son of late Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham. In addition to the excellent opening set of Zeppelin covers from Bonham and his band, Gov’t Mule themselves featured mainly a strong list of Pink Floyd cover songs, with the show advertised in advance as “Dark Side of the Mule,” named after their 2014 live album. Singer/guitarist Warren Haynes and company are known for including excellent covers along with their own songs and have performed Floyd-centric sets in the past, but they wanted to give fans one “last” chance to see these songs featured live before refocusing on their original material moving forward, of which only six songs were performed at Pine Knob, including strong takes on the rocking opener “Game Face,” on the equally riff-driven “Larger Than Life,” and the bluesy ballad, “Beautifully Broken.”
The rest of the night was all Floyd, and it was a delight. Songs were mostly grouped by era, but fans were treated to more than half each of the Wish You Were Here and Meddle albums and all but the last 5 minutes of Dark Side of the Moon (as the band curiously cut away from the classic song cycle after jamming on the psychedelic instrumental, “Any Colour You Like”). Drummer Matt Abts also provided lead vocals on “Have a Cigar,” adding to the authenticity compared to Floyd’s original who was sung by guest Roy Harper rather than any of the familiar voices from the band. The Meddle section of the night started with a rocking "One of These Days," continued with a fantastic rendition of “Fearless,” and concluded with the second half of the sprawling “Echoes” (only 13 minutes or so of it, ha!) which especially highlighted Haynes’ personal twists on Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s signature style. Another long jam on “Comfortably Numb” followed as the band’s first encore, after which they wrapped up with “Wish You Were Here” in the second. As is their style, each show of the tour features different combinations of songs (both their own and Floyd’s), so every night is special.
Mule are a tremendous group of musicians who could jam on almost anything and make it sound amazing, and the work of the great Pink Floyd is no exception. No doubt their fans and the players themselves will enjoy getting back to a traditional mix of their own songs and other covers in the near future, but all who have the opportunity to catch them on this tour are in for an absolute treat.
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening set list:
In the Light (intro jam)
Good Times, Bad Times
The Ocean
Ramble On
Over the Hills and Far Away
Thank You
Black Dog
Misty Mountain Hop
Whole Lotta Love
Rock and Roll
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Gov’t Mule set list:
Game Face
Larger Than Life
Beautifully Broken
Peace I Need
After the Storm
Thorns of Life
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Shine on You Crazy Diamond (pts. 1-5)
Have a Cigar
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Speak to Me
Breathe
On the Run
Time
Breathe (reprise)
The Great Gig in the Sky
Money
Us and Them
Any Colour You Like
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One of These Days
Fearless
Echoes (pt. 2)
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Comfortably Numb
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Wish You Were Here
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Kiss-“Detroit Rock City” (outro tape)
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Green Jelly
w/Lazy D, The Living Flesh, Chad, Nuskin, Gutter Swamp,
and Pink Pout
Saturday, July 8th 2023 / The Music Factory,
Battle Creek, MI
The ridiculous rock and roll spectacle that is Green Jelly and friends rolled through Battle Creek last month and brought with them a night of engaging craziness that rocked long-time fans and newcomers alike. Rescheduled from earlier this year, The Music Factory (formerly Planet Rock) hosted with several local warm up acts including Nuskin, Gutter Swamp, and Pink Pout, and the show was produced by the team behind Battle Creek’s annual Michigan Metal Fest. Green Jelly performed at last year’s fest but had four times as long on stage this time around, so they were able to play their full show rather than giving a 30-minute summary. Having said that, it was comical to see how exactly they chose to fill two full hours considering their own material might not hold up for quite that long.
Green Jelly’s live appeal blends over-the-top rock show with costumes, comedy, and audience participation throughout. Think of a sarcastic, lower-budget Gwar that leans more into punk than metal and refuses to take itself seriously and you have an idea. Front man Bill Manspeaker, the group's only static member since 1981, now leads groups of franchised, regional musicians who meet him at various venues throughout the U.S. and Canada to perform rather than a traditional collective of players who all travel together to every show. As many of those regional players are also members of other projects, the first 45 minutes of the show featured mini-sets of songs by some of those other bands and song writers prior to their participation in the main Green Jelly performance. A performer introduced only as “Chad” started this segment with a few originals and a cover of Michigan-based proto punk rockers The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” which got some in the crowd singing along followed by three freaky rock songs from The Living Flesh and a few from rapper Lazy D. Green Jelly also included jams and teases of various Tool songs throughout the night, which may have come across as disrespectful to those who don’t know the two bands’ histories or that members of Tool were also once members of Green Jelly. To those who did know, these jams were hilarious.
The main set featured primarily songs from Green Jelly’s most successful albums, 1993’s Cereal Killer and 1994’s 333, and between the army of “punk rock puppets” roaming the stage and floor, directly recruited from the audience, and the various band members in their own unique and bizarre costumes, there was no shortage of things to see and hear. In addition to their famous “Three Little Pigs,” Green Jelly also rocked out “Carnage Rules,” their Flintstones-themed re-write of the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the U.K.,” and a comically extended take on “Obey the Cowgod” where Manspeaker all but forced physical audience participation. Less-expected funny moments popped up throughout with the band leading the crowd in chants and singalongs between their own songs on traditional classics like “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Old McDonald” and performed a clever take on “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” which was paired with the music of “Mountain Song” by Jane’s Addiction (and the two went together surprisingly well!) When a band proudly advertises they are the “worst,” the audience’s expectations are low, so giving them a fun, comical, and engaging night of ridiculous music becomes an easier thing to achieve. Green Jelly return to the road this fall with two more Michigan shows in October.
Green Jelly set list:
Schism (Tool) (tease) (pre-show jam)
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Opiate (Tool) (tease) (pre-show jam)
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Green Jelly Theme Song (played between most songs throughout)
Three Little Pigs (pt. 1)
Carnage Rules
She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain Song (trad./Jane’s
Addiction)
When the Saints Go Marching In (trad.)
Anarchy in the U.K./Bedrock (Sex Pistols/Green Jelly)
Electric Harley House of Love/Enter Sandman (Metallica)
(tease)
Jerk
Fuxt It
Cereal Killer
Super Elastic
Obey the Cowgod/46 & 2 (Tool) (tease)/Aenima (Tool)
(tease)
Old McDonald (trad.)
Three Little Pigs (pt. 2)
Green Jelly Theme Song (outro jam)
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