If you don’t like stoner rock, stop reading now. Go listen to some indie-acoustic guitar or something, you’re not going to like this review. When someone suggested a year ago that they were putting John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme in a box together with instruments and giving it a shake; what you imagined was exactly the way it sounded on their first Australian show in Perth.
The Novocaines kicked off the night appropriately with a heavy, slightly retro garage psych/rock set, fast, with not too much chatter. Oozing confidence and crazy dancing, they were still humble enough to let us know how stoked they were to be sharing the stage with the supergroup of the moment. They were the perfect aperitif to the most hyped band in recent memory. A band who sold out gigs before any songs had even been released. With all the excitement surrounding it, one might have thought it was in danger of being eaten by its own machine.
And you may well ask, were Them Crooked Vultures worth the hype?
Yes.
A thousand times yes.
They do stoner rock better than any other band; Superbly. Supremely. As well they should; since they comprise Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Led Zeppelin elements. Is TCV is more than the sum of its parts then? Not really. But since the parts are already magic it’s not surprising.
Go and put the album on now. The gig was the same, only louder than your stereo can go, and live, which is half the magic right there.
Beginning the set with No One Loves Me, and Neither Do I was a nice touch as the crowd roared their love towards the boys as they entered, accompanied by touring member and QOTSA guitarist, Alain Johannes. Although less recognisable than his counterparts, Johannes supported the superstars perfectly with his silky guitar skills. When Jones put down one of the many basses he played during the set, Johannes was well qualified to fill the role; at one point he pulled out a beautiful Hofner whilst Jones sat down at the organ. By the end of the opening track, everyone in the building was loving all four Vultures. Hard.
Jones played a rather impressive selection of instruments including this 8 string lap-steel mounted on a body (so he can stand up and play) with built-in Kaoss pad. He also pulled out a keytar, mandolin and a nine-string bass which looked heavy. He played an electric piano complete with bass pedals. His fat, funky bass solo was fantastic in Scumbag Blues. The opening chords shook the building and Grohl initially drew the attention until Jones stole the song with the rocking funk bassline.
At a guess, John Paul Jones’ favourite song to play is Warsaw or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up. He does not look his age anyway, but his grinning and dancing during this song made him look 20 years younger.
Those who were overheard during the Novocaines set saying that they had never heard this band before had been converted and the night was well and truly underway when Homme introduced Dead End Friends and Grohl dumped a bottle of water over his head to accentuate the flick of his hair. What a showman.
Homme and Johannes shone as they belted out the opening chords of Elephant to the continued delight of all in attendance. This is quintessential stoner rock; with its driving beat and bass and the droning riffs that envelop the crowd, some of whom appeared to have been spoilt by the recent rash of radio friendly pop which caused them to lose collective focus partway through the song.
When you create a supergroup, it is inevitable that one member will be more super than others, so when Homme introduced the rest of the band there were cheers aplenty for everyone, but the biggest noise and the night’s largest collective movement of the crowd went to “John Paul Fucking Jones”. When he was introduced, what looked like every arm in GA shot up, accompanied by a roar of approval, and a spontaneous standing ovation from the seats- Ahh yes, this was an audience of Zeppelin fans.
If TCV were disappointed by the unmoving crowd, they shouldn’t be. This gig fell under the twin curse of weather and weeknights. The third 40+ day in a row can make for an undemonstrative audience, afraid to move and get any hotter lest they never get cool again.
On the other hand, have you ever tried to shut up 5000-odd bogans and get them to pay attention to something (other than themselves) for more than a minute? How about 90 minutes? This is just one more example of TCV’s aforementioned magic. Every head was oriented stageward, mouths slightly agape as they soaked up the experience. (Is – œbasking in their radiance’ too much? Perhaps not.) Later in the show, Homme was able, after much coaxing, to get the crowd in the seats on its feet for the last couple of songs, but for the most part they remained sitting, but certainly not still. The seats rocked in time with the music from start to finish.
One of the bigger reactions was for the first single off the album; New Fang. Grohl got it underway to minimal reaction, but when that unmistakable guitar riff exploded, so did the crowd, showing TCV just how much this track is appreciated. Complete with plenty of crowd backing vocals this was truly the highlight of the night…that is until the simply brilliant stop-start parade of Mind Eraser (No Chaser) stole its mantle.
From time to time, some missile was spotted landing at one of the performers’ feet, sparking curiosity as to what people were throwing at the stage, because they looked too big to be the kind of knickers you’d throw. At the end of the set, after a super-extended rock jam ending to Warsaw or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up (instead of a presumptuous encore,) it became clear what the projectiles were by the several bras tucked into Homme and Jones’ back pockets as they walked off stage.
In general, you don’t ask much of stoner rock, from Them Crooked Vultures, you couldn’t ask for anything more, except perhaps another concert.
Perth Setlist:
1. No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
2. Dead End Friends
3. Scumbag Blues
4. Elephants
5. Highway One
6. New Fang
7. Gunman
8. Bandoliers
9. Mind Eraser, No Chaser
10. Caligulove
11. Interlude With Ludes
12. Spinning In Daffodils
13. Reptiles
14. Warsaw or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up
to listen to their music now on 
