Queens of the Stone Age at IMMA at Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, on Wednesday, 20th August 2025

There was an almost sheepish energy as Cork outfit Cliffords stepped onto the IMMA stage, aware they were subbing in for the absent Amyl and the Sniffers. “I’d be pretty pissed off if I was expecting Amyl and the Sniffers and I got some girl with a Cork accent instead,” frontwoman Iona Lynch admitted with disarming honesty, “but we’re all you’ve got.” They quickly won over the early crowd with a jagged, raw set, punctuated by a shout-out to Mo Chara and a heartfelt declaration: “We’re not the story. Gaza is the real story. Free Palestine.”

When Queens of the Stone Age arrived, it was with the swagger of a band who know they’re untouchable live. Bathed in a moody blue backlight, they launched straight into ‘Regular John’, frontman Josh Homme and right-hand man Troy Van Leeuwen locking into that familiar, seamless interplay. No hesitation, no easing in ‘No One Knows’ arrived second, the crowd already whipped into a frenzy.

“We’re gonna have such a good time tonight” Homme declared before ‘My God is the Sun’. He wasn’t wrong, but it was at this point the momentum took a slight detour. ‘In My Head’, one of Queens’ more straightforward cuts, stood out as a welcome blast from Lullabies to Paralyze, neatly breaking up the shinier but slighter In Times New Roman… material. Another Lullabies track, “I Never Came” reminded everyone of Homme’s peculiar alchemy: the way he can turn the trivial into something operatic, a Greek tragedy of yearning through sheer melodic weight.

Ever the raconteur, Homme spent time bantering with the Dublin crowd, pointing out a sign that read “toilets then bar… I think I’d have to hit the bar”. His introduction of bandmate Dean Fertita as “Deano” led to an extended football chant, whilst he enjoyed the crowd’s serenade for birthday boy bassist Michael Shuman a little bit too much, describing the brogue as “like two cars of drunk drivers that smashed into each other.” Then came I Sat by the Ocean — arguably Homme’s best song, crystalline and devastating in its simplicity.

The closing stretch was a fan-serving juggernaut: ‘Little Sister’, ‘Vampyre of Time and Memory’, ‘I Appear Missing’, and a loose, lascivious ‘Make It Wit Chu’ complete with an interpolation of Stones classic ‘Miss You’. A lucky fan even got to call the audible for ‘Strait Jacket Fitting’, as Homme waded into the crowd. Homme reportedly pulled a similar stunt at Citadel Music Festival in Berlin, putting a choice between ‘I Appear Missing’ and ‘You Can’t Quit Me Baby’ up to a fan vote by applause. While ‘… Missing’ did feature in Dublin, one can’t help but feeling like we got cheated.

By the time the swells of ‘Go With the Flow’ gave way to the set-ending ‘Song for the Dead’, the show had descended into what could only be described as organised chaos. Here, unsung hero Jon Theodore really got to shine. His drumming was a constant marvel throughout, each fill and avalanche of rhythm carrying the band like a storm.

Queens of the Stone Age don’t just play gigs, they summon something alive, volatile, celebratory, and a little dangerous. At Kilmainham, they proved once again why they’re still one of the most important rock bands of their generation.