The End Is Nero Tour – Jehnny Beth, The Viagra Boys and The Queens Of The Stone Age, October 3 at the Pacific Coliseum

Photo: Mick Hutson

Article by Keir Nicoll

The Pacific Coliseum is always a trip for its architectural age, the dizzying heights you climb into the nosebleeds and the excellence of the sound in there. For October 3, a Tuesday night this time, the structure was graced with with the three-trivium of Jehnny Beth, The Viagra Boys and The Queens Of The Stone Age. It was a full on trip from the get-go!

Jehnny Beth was a three-piece with synths, a drum-machine sounding-approach, bass and a chanteuse at the head. They played harsh and heavy electro-clash and made for a rumbling approach to the coliseum. The singer held sustained notes over single word lyrics, like “I need more adrenaline!” That seems to be her metier and she climbed down into the crowd a number of times to be surrounded by them as they sang. Artsy and angsty music that didn't get repetitive as they played through a half-hour or so set of a half-dozen or so songs. They were very in your-face and then kind of fell back a bit. Still a good intro to the night.

On the upswing from the Fox Cabaret, to the Commodore, to the Pacific Coliseum, the Viagra boys are charting on the tops as of lately and came to show of their once-was Swedish folk-punk become electro-clashy rock with rap lyrics. The lead singer wore track pants and no shirt and sometimes lay on the stage and the monitor speaker. He led us on strange journey through songs that included their hit, “Sports,” where he raps about that subject and you don't know if he is very seriously liking it or not. He said that he drank a lot of seltzer and that's why he turned out the way he did. They are jamming-out in an almost Bukowski'ish, beat-poet approach to MC lyrics. 

Headliners of much aplomb The Queens Of The Stone Age played “No-One Knows” with it's rollicking guitars and rhythms and Homme's prophetic vision and lyrics of people not knowing because of the pills they swallow and not knowing “what you do to me” and then the surging and galloping guitars for the chorus. Homme's artistry on the show from the first moment of the song. The depths of the ocean. As the pyramid triangle of lights flashed on around them. “I realize you're mine”. Somewhat conflicting lyrics, as in Homme's want for wordplay.

He sings “No One Knows” almost plaintively. The sound of a dying voice. During ”I Wanna Make It With You”'s sexy romp on the rock stylin' guitars, the Queens danced off a good number for swingin' and such an infectious chorus! This song chunks along with a heavy vibe that still swings, as is Homme's want and ability. “I Want You/Anytime, Anywhere.” He seems to be pushing at the rules or boundaries of the sexual and or romantic aspect or relationship. “Oh Girl”. At one point Holme's asked the men to sing “I Wanna Make It Wit Chu” and when they did, he said it was terrible. Then he asked the ladies to sing it and when they did, he said “Perfect!” The guy I was talking to before my friend arrived up and left at this point and I wondered if he was offended or incensed or something.  He had the crowd going nuts! They played one or two songs off of their new album, In Times New Roman, including “Made To Parade”. There are a few songs on this new album that have the same anthemic quality of The Queens' songwriting abilities. “Made to Parade” has a rollicking and fun sound that sustains and contains the lyrics of riding in a parade and “Slake Your Thirst Bitches”. “Binge and Purge”. Thumping guitars and rhythm section. He seems to be singing about the worker's relationship to the corporation. I'm sure there are some kind of touchings upon power relations here. “You're Made to Parade/With the Mess You Made.” They played “Emotion Sickness”, which has a searing guitar matched with vocal lines. More anthemic quality. He yells the lyrics in the verse. Then sings so sweetly in the chorus. With guitars beautifully surging and rising. I love the artistry of this song. “Baby Don't Go For Me”. For the encore, they played three songs, including one that was a super-long, outside jam-on-as-one-out. It was a really cool trip. As the last song, they rocked ”Go With The Flow” so hard and reminded me with their climactic moment of how far they can go in making an excellent rock explosion impression! Even in this song, there are the minor-sounding backup vocals, lending to the troubled mythos surrounding Homme and the Queens. The lineup has changed over time. Now their drummer is an animal, their bassist is rock-solid, their second guitarist is punky and abstract, their third guitarist also plays the keys and Homme is the ultimate rock-god and artist, with his airs of grace, both technically proficient and outside the lines. As Picasso says, “learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist!” Homme soloed a lot during the set and I still wanted more from him. It's amazing what this man and his band does for you. Including the bassists purple suit and Homme's inveterate head-tossing and dancing. So cute! So sexy!