Honestly, this show didn’t grab me with the strength I expected. Not at first. It picked me up a few songs in and gave me a swift kick to the balls thereafter, but when the set started I was underwhelmed. Being less familiar with their early records certainly had something to do with that. Unaware till the day of the show, they would be featuring their self-titled record. I am typically the sort of listener who prefers to know the music I’m watching beforehand. So, for the first six or so songs I was a bit ambivalent. And looking around, it was hard to tell if I was in a crowd of “ambivalents” or if everyone else was just soaking it all in. For all of the tattoos, long hair, ripped clothes, and metal band t-shirts, I was expecting to see devil horn fists and maybe a fight or something. But it actually took the first few notes of “Regular John” just to get the crowd on its feet.

Don’t get me wrong — Queens of the Stone Age came out with a sound as forceful and mean as anything I’ve ever heard. Josh Homme really is as huge as they say, and he reminds me of the original Highlander’s arch nemesis, The Kurgan (nerd alert, I know). Maybe I was expecting some kind of stage glamor or setup or lights or… something. Or, perhaps the Bright Eyes show three days prior had lulled me into a pop showcase mind-frame — one that was expecting video walls, huge production, stage props, and 10 or more players. But… it was just them. Just five musicians, their instruments, some white can lights, and a lot of sound. Thick, heavy, dark sound. The sort of raw sound that eats pop showcase mind-frames like mine for lunch.

But all of this began to grow on me. The simplicity of the staging, the lack of glitzy lighting, the rare instrument changes, and the sheer power of the music. I can’t say I will ever appreciate the bizarre, uncomfortable, swagger-wobble that is standard stage groove for Josh Homme, but everything else grew on me. I’d been alerted a few days before the show to keep my eyes on the drummer, Joey Castillo, not just for his tremendous heavy hitting, skin-abusing style, but also for the intense tightness he offers the group. Even as a longtime guitarist I’ve always had a special place in my heart for good drummers. Especially those who can keep rock n’ roll simple but hard-hitting. Joey delivered on every level. As the show progressed I became more amazed at how he could make so much happen with so little.

Like the rest of the band, Joey’s set-up was fairly straightforward, and he made it sound bigger than the church whose pews we filled. When the Queens settled into some of the songs that feature crazy time and speed changes, I really started to perk up. And as the show came closer to close, and some more familiar songs surfaced, including “No One Knows” and “Go with the Flow,” I couldn’t help but wonder how Joey could be keeping up with this pace. Please pardon my sense of “drummer’s awe” there.

But it was also at this point that I happened to look up and around and see that the crowd really was into this. A little less so on the floor, but up in the balcony there were dudes nearly falling over the railing trying to give the perpetual emphatic finger point that says, “You’re the best, man!”