Queens of the Stone Age : Live in Halifax

Four hours of sleep the previous night, a six hour bus ride while having some home-made egg salad on the way and we were finally in Halifax (NS). Downtown was busy, we arrived about lunch time and so had to grab another snack. Walking around the mall we saw a Lebanese Restaurant, so we went wild on the falafel sandwiches. Let’s just say the egg salad didn’t react well with the extra hummus which was requested.

Sightseeing started after lunch, pictures were taking and a little shopping was being done when I sighted a distinct figure outside the glass window. Said to my buddy, "That was the Queens drummer...". We got out and followed while being disregarded as to I was seeing things and needed sleep. It in fact was Joey Castillo but we had no nerve to approach him because while we were waiting for the Queens drummer to get out of a store, friend of mine said, "Any gothic bastard off the street... Queens’s drummer...", with quite a bit of sarcasm in that statement. Oh well, that’s a story we'll be telling our kids.

Anyways, got to the gate four hours in advance so we could get the best place. People kept on coming and lining up. However, people weren’t as well equipped as us when it came to winter wear. No disrespect but a few of the smaller people started turning dead white because of the cold. Gates opened, we were in the premises. Mugison opened for QOTSA and could not have done a better job. Excellent vocals and some good tunes to get the crowd warmed up. Although, the crowd could have given them a better ovation.

Enter Queens... Words cannot describe the experience but to sum it all up, amazing concert. My favourites of the night were 'Little Sister' & 'Songs for the Dead', vocals on some songs were weak but that’s what Queens are all about. The rawness is what matters. It was a diverse crowd, with the majority out there to enjoy the music. But the others just wanted, in the words of Josh Homme, to get f--king loose.

I did wave out to Joey Castillo at the end of the concert, and I really think he knew who we were...

Good night’s rest was needed and all I can say is, "We be chillin' in the Holiday Inn..." ;)

Picture Source : Flickr