On a night dominated by Dave Grohl's audience, Queens of the Stone Age served as an extra attraction.
A cult of rock. That was the dominant theme at Allianz Parque in São Paulo on the night of Tuesday the 27th, when Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters gave the first of two performances in the capital. The excellent opening act was the Brazilian band Ego Kill Talent .
In this context, as stated by the Michaelis , the word "cult" refers to "the set of practices and rites organized by a religion that are dedicated to a deity." And the deity, in this case, was the Foo Fighters.
From the moment frontman Dave Grohl stepped onto the stage at 8:50 PM, the energy in the São Paulo stadium vibrated. "Run," from the band's most recent and ninth studio album, Concrete and Gold , was released last year, but it already felt like a classic to the audience.
The performance continued with highs throughout the first part of the show, which, to the delight of the audience, included great hits from Foo Fighters' career, such as "All My Life," "Rope," and "Walk." Grohl didn't even need to sing "Learn to Fly" (from There Is Nothing Left to Lose , 1999), because the stadium carried the song on its own.
During “The Sky Is a Neighbourhood,” the lead singer stopped the music to talk about the lit-up cell phones. “This is the first time they’ve done this at a Foo Fighters show. How beautiful!” The excitement intensified during the anticipated “My Hero” and erupted in “Breakout,” which had the audience jumping with every chord.
The joy gave way to a deviation from the planned schedule, in which Grohl interrupted the show so that a couple could come on stage for a marriage proposal. This element only added to the spectacle led by the vocalist, who, between jokes, covers (such as "Under My Wheels" by Alice Cooper, "Blitzkrieg Pop" by the Ramones, and "Under Pressure" by Queen), and resounding hits (including "Times Like These," "Best of You," and "Everlong"), saved rock from all the threats that currently surround it, even if only for one night.
“Is Rock and Roll dead?” he asked, in a messianic way. “No!” the audience responded, and the dialogue repeated itself, demonstrating the strength of Grohl's band, Nate Mendel (bass), Taylor Hawkins (drums), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (guitar) and Rami Jaffee (keyboards).
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Credit: Rogério Grassia
Unfortunately, the Queens of the Stone Age show didn't have half the energy of the Foo Fighters' audience. Josh Homme (vocals and guitar), Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar), Dean Fertita (keyboards), Michael Shuman (bass), and Jon Theodore (drums) were, as always, musically impeccable. But that wasn't enough to get the crowd going, who were eagerly waiting for Grohl's performance.
The band delivered a balanced setlist, featuring songs from various phases of their career, which was a delight for the fans in attendance. The show began by alternating between their two most recent albums, …Like Clockwork (2013) and Villains (2017), with “If I Had a Tail”, “Head Like a Haunted House”, “My God Is the Sun”, “Feet Don't Fail Me” and “The Way You Used to Do”.
But Homme only managed to capture the audience's complete attention when the sky was already dark and a classic from Songs for the Deaf (2002) echoed from the Californian guitars: "No One Knows".
There was no shortage of talent, energy, or hits from Queens of the Stone Age, who perfectly reproduced tracks like "I Sat By the Ocean," "Make It Wit Chu," and "Go With the Flow." But the connection with the audience was insufficient, especially for those who were able to attend the band's last visit to Brazil in 2014, when they delivered a stunning show at Espaço das Américas in São Paulo.
See below for the setlists for the Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters shows.
Queens of the Stone Age
01. “If I Had a Tail”
02. “Head Like a Haunted House”
03. “My God Is the Sun”
04. “Feet Don't Fail Me”
05. “The Way You Used to Do”
06. “Do It Again”
07. “No One Knows”
08. “The Evil Has Landed”
09. “I Sat by the Ocean”
10. “Domesticated Animals”
11. “Make It Wit Chu”
12. “Smooth Sailing”
13. “Little Sister”
14. “Go With the Flow”
15. “A Song for the Dead”
Foo Fighters
01. “Run”
02. “All My Life”
03. “Learn to Fly”
04. “The Pretender”
05. “The Sky Is a Neighborhood”
06. “Rope”
07. “Sunday Rain” (preceded by a drum solo by Taylor Hawkins)
08. “My Hero”
09. “These Days”
10. “Walk”
11. “Breakout” (followed by a marriage proposal on stage)
12. “Under My Wheels” (Alice Cooper cover, with Chris Shiflett on lead vocals)
13. “Another One Bites the Dust” / “Miss You” / “Blitzkrieg Bop” / “Love of My Life” (cover of Queen, The Rolling Stones and Ramones)
14. “Under Pressure” (Queen cover, with Taylor Hawkins on lead vocals and Dave Grohl on drums)
15. “Monkey Wrench”
16. “Times Like These”
17. “Generator”
18. “Big Me”
19. “Best of You”
20. “Dirty Water”
21. “This Is a Call”
22. “Everlong”
