Review: Queens of the Stone Age deliver incredible set at The Piece Hall, Halifax, ahead of Glastonbury show

The ornate surroundings of the Grade I listed, former cloth hall in the heart of Halifax are probably more apt for the regal, orchestral likes of Elton John than the ferocious, whiskey-drenched rock ‘n’ roll of Queens of the Stone Age.

But in that arena of dichotamy, the Seattle band thrived.

The two aforementioned acts will go head-to-head at Glastonbury this Sunday when Elton plays his last ever show in the UK and the Queens headline the Other Stage. And having seen both acts live in recent weeks, I don’t envy anyone having to pick between the two.

The leather-jacket clad five piece took to the stage to the mellifluous sound of Peggy Lee’s ‘Smile’ while a languid heat beat down on the hall before firing straight into the pulsating ‘Go With The Flow’.

Followed by the effortless groove of ‘The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret’ and the cocksure ‘Smooth Sailing’, the sheer force of sound brought the 18th-century hall to life.

Things only amped up among the 5,500 in attendance with the raw power of ‘My God Is The Sun’ before tracks off their brilliant new album ‘In Times New Roman’ were fitted seamlessly into the set.

While the distinctive deep ginger quiff of mesmeric frontman Josh Homme may have been replaced by a grey combover and beard, his jovial ‘guy perched at the bar’ patter between songs has lost none of its essence.

Homme gave special mention to a “kid doing the Satan sign” and responded to the tiresome ‘Yorkshire’ chants with: “I don’t know what the f*** that means. Hears a song for it anyway.”

He was in reflective mood during a wonderful recent interview with Mary Anne Hobbs and his newfound mindfulness was translated during the set, as he urged a state of wonder and espoused the band’s desire to bring “pleasure and joy”.

It was also felt with the looseness of the songs, with old bangers like ‘Little Sister’ and 'The Evil Has Landed’ being played with a ‘point to prove’ prowess that made them as essential as ever. The noodling guitar fills and walloping drumming of John Theodore also helped ground you in the moment no end.

As the sun went down the thunderous chords of the imperious No One Knows sent the crowd into bedlam, with the bassline breakdown at the backend being faded out to allow for the terraced chanting of ‘duh-duh-duh-duh’ to take over. The song ends after kicking back into its final coda with an almighty roar from the crowd.

Homme opts to do away with the “bulls***” showpiece of going off and onstage again for an encore and moves straight into the final leg of the show, first dedicating ‘In The Fade’ and ‘God Is In The Radio’ to Mark Lanegan, the band’s former collaborator who sadly died last year.

Homage is also payed to the incomparable Iggy Pop, and the argument for Homme also being one of rock’s great innovators is given no end of credence with perfect set closer in ‘Song For The Dead’.