w/ Jehnny Beth and Viagra Boys | 7:00PM | 750 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights | All ages | $44.50-$69.50+
Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA), the trailblazing California hard rockers that coined the phrase “desert rock,” bring their 2023 US tour to Saint Louis Music Park next Saturday, September 23rd. QOTSA are currently on the second leg of a national tour in support of their latest album, In Times New Roman, released on June 16th.
The core of QOTSA has always been guitarist and vocalist Josh Homme, who founded the group in 1996 after the breakup of his previous band, the influential stoner rock outfit Kyuss. Although Homme has been supported by a rotating cast of talent over the years, QOTSA’s primary lineup has remained the same since 2013: in addition to Homme, there is guitarist Dean Fertita, bassist Mikey Shuman, and drummer Jon Theodore. Barring a few festival performances over the years, the current tour marks their first time widely touring the US since 2018. They were last in St. Louis in October 2017, when they played the Peabody Opera House (now known as the Stifel Theater) while touring for their then-latest album Villians.
QOTSA tours are known for their high-quality supporting acts, and this year is no exception. For next week’s show and the final leg of the tour, they are joined by art pop musician Jehnny Beth and post-punk pranksters Viagra Boys (the first leg featured support from Phantogram and The Armed). Jehnny Beth first became famous as the vocalist of British post-punk revival band Savages and before embarking on a successful solo career. She has released two albums so far, 2020’s To Live Is to Live and 2021’s Utopian Ashes, a collaboration with Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. Next week’s show will be her St. Louis debut as a solo act, although Savages did play the Ready Room in 2016.
Viagra Boys are a band that likely needs no introduction for fans of off-kilter rock music with loads of humor and personality. Formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 2015, the band consists of synth player Elias Junqvist, saxophonist Oskar Carls, bassist Henrik Höckert, drummer Tor Sjöden, and the inimitable Sebastian Murphy, the sole American in the group. The band is known for their raucous live performances, featuring blistering saxophone solos, jean shorts, and the hilarious rantings of Murphy, who is something like a heavily tattooed Iggy Pop with a strange shrimp obsession. This will be their second St. Louis performance, following a sold-out show at Red Flag in October 2022.
After the second leg of the US tour wraps up next month, QOTSA will embark on a European tour in November. Long-time QOTSA fans should be very pleased with the tour’s setlist, which features many of the best-known songs from throughout their discography (“No One Knows,” “I Sat by the Ocean,” “Make It Wit Chu”), along with a few new cuts from Times New Roman. This will also be one of the last shows at Music Park this season, so don’t sleep on an opportunity to enjoy an outdoor show while you still can! (The undoubtedly epic Dethklok & Babymetal “Babyklok” Tour will close out the venue’s season a few days later on September 27th) | David Von Nordheim
Queens of the Stone Age’s “The End is Nero” Tour
*w/ Viagra Boys and Jehnny Beth
09.23.23 – St. Louis, MO @ Saint Louis Music Park *
09.24.23 – Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Fest
09.26.23 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP *
09.27.23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion *
09.29.23 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *
09.30.23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Great Saltair *
10.02.23 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum *
10.03.23 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum *
10.04.23 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena *
10.06.23 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium *
10.08.23 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
10.23.23 – Guadalajara, MX @ Coordenada
11.04.23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
11.05.23 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
11.07.23 – Paris, FR @ Accor Arena
11.08.23 – Frankfurt, DE @ Jahrhunderthalle
11.09.23 – Berlin, DE @ Max-Schmeling-Halle
11.11.23 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Mitsubishi Electric Halle
11.12.23 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis
11.14.23 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
11.15.23 – London, UK @ The O2
11.18.23 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
11.19.23 – Birmingham, UK @ Resorts World Arena
11.20.23 – Stockton-on-Tees, UK @ Globe Theatre
11.22.23 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena 12.05.23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
12.06.23 – El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre
12.08.23 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
12.09.23 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
12.10.23 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
12.12.23 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel ABQ
12.15.23 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
12.16.23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
