Nearly a year after they were scheduled to rock Huntington Bank Pavillion at Northerly Island in Chicago, Queens of the Stone Age finally graced the stage on a blistering June evening amid a heatwave with indexes well over 100 degrees. Notably, heavy winds and the venue's position right on the shore of Lake Michigan helped lower the temperature a bit for concertgoers, but it would be impossible to call the conditions comfortable. The long delay was the result of undisclosed health issues that affected bandleader Josh Homme that apparently improved significantly following treatment, and the band is now back on the road and promoting their recently released live EP, Alive in the Catacombs, recorded last summer in Paris. In this case, the Chicago date became the official final performance of the End Is Nero tour which originally launched in 2023 to support the band's most recent album, In Times New Roman..., and a new tour of theater shows was announced a few days later, starting at the end of the summer.
Those early enough to avoid the long lines to enter and who dared to brave the sweltering heat were treated to an excellent opening set from The Kills, the UK duo who have been entertaining with their blend of minimalist-garage-goth rock for over 20 years and who famously feature singer Alison Mosshart also of The Dead Weather, one of Jack White's many projects. After a short set change, QOTSA took the stage to a great reception from the crowd and launched into "A Song for the Deaf," which has recently been resurrected and added to the set list rotation to the delight of longtime fans. "No One Knows," the band's biggest hit, followed and engaged the remaining members of the audience who weren't already locked into the performance. Homme sounded as sharp as ever on vocals and guitar throughout, but his ace supporting band, including longtime guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and veterans like Mikey Shuman, Dean Fertita, and drummer Jon Theodore, each handled their parts with precision and energy.
The main portion of the show focused primarily on songs from 2007-2023, highlighting not just the latter half of the band's catalog but primarily the songs that this particular collective of players have so far created together rather than featuring tracks from earlier versions of the band that featured different players. Singles like "3's & 7's," "Paper Machete," "Smooth Sailing," and "My God Is the Sun" carried the tone of the show well into its midpoint when a few deep cuts from this same era, such as "Time & Place," "Kalopsia," and "Misfit Love," were featured. While many of the band's older fans would have enjoyed a few songs from 2000's Rated R or the 1998 self-titled debut album, it's also arguable that breaking up the newer material with older songs would have created a different mood and experience. It was later discovered that a few more recent songs ("I Appear Missing" and "Negative Space") were included on the set list but were not performed.
While the band's performance was well-rehearsed, passionate, and technically impressive as usual, the venue itself and the weather conditions undoubtably affected the show. For one, compared to other shows on this leg of the tour, the Chicago performance was the band's shortest and had the fewest number of songs played. Considering the oppressive heat that blanketed the city the entire weekend, this is somewhat understandable, though the temperature had come down a bit as the sun set. Secondly, the wind gusts simply could not be ignored or adjusted to compensate for in this case. The well-mixed audio coming from the stage was intermittently affected by bursts of wind that came and went in spans of a few seconds at a time throughout the show, sometimes gusting so hard that a lyric or two or a notable guitar note seemed to simply disappear and go completely unheard. Songs for the Deaf, indeed.
Homme and company wrapped things up with a strong set of hits and fan favorites including "Make It wit Chu," "I Sat by the Ocean," and "Go with the Flow" before explaining they wished to stay on stage and continue playing rather than taking an encore break, something that has become more common at modern rock shows. They finished the night with blistering takes on "Little Sister" and the traditional closing number, "A Song for the Dead," which continued to receive slight adjustments in the arrangement in spots as the band has done for years. The fall tour will have a completely different tone and flavor, so it was excellent to catch QOTSA at full volume and in an outdoor summer setting, but it seemed like both the band and the fans were already looking forward to the cooler and intimate vibe that will accompany the next round of shows.
Queens of the Stone Age, Chicago, IL (6/21/25) set list:
(Basil Poledouris-"Dagoth Ceremony") (intro tape)
A Song for the Deaf
No One Knows
3's & 7's
Paper Machete
Smooth Sailing
My God Is the Sun
Emotion Sickness
If I Had a Tail
Time & Place
Carnavoyeur
Kalopsia
Misfit Love
Make It wit Chu
I Sat by the Ocean
Little Sister
Go with the Flow
A Song for the Dead
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The Kills, Chicago, IL (6/21/25) set list:
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
Love and Tenderness
103
Baby Says
New York
Wasterpiece
Telephone Radio Germany
Black Balloon
My Girls My Girls
Doing It to Death
Future Starts Now
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