Queens of the Stone Age & Gasoline Angels
Senator Theatre, Chico, CA
2007-08-14
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July 24th, 2007 -- As most definitely one of the more highly anticipated shows to grace Chico’s Senator Theatre this summer, Queens of the Stone Age, with special guest the Gasoline Angels, bestowed Chicoans with a taste of desert-parched hard rock. After two months of street team fliers, local publication announcements and heavy word-of-mouth buzz, the Senator was faced with a nearly full capacity audience last Tuesday.
Doors opened at 7 PM and people slowly trickled inside as the ticket takers and the security staff thoroughly patted down everyone who entered. The stage crew took their sweet time setting up and doing sound checks. Soon after 8 PM the Gasoline Angels seized the stage as people continued to fill the auditorium. The Gasoline Angels are comprised of the brothers Karim (vocals and guitar) and Kasey Chatila (drums and keyboards). They maintained an intensely mellow poetic lyrical style that combined terrifically with the steady rhythmic beats and sweeping riffs. The lyricist, Karim, has also released a book of poems titled Scorpion Love Lounge. The Gasoline Angels didn’t have a huge stage presence and the crowd was eager to hear the headlining band. Overall the duo’s performance was calm and composed, yet almost too much so.
During the second stage set up, one could see the elaborate stage gear and lighting mounts being assembled. There was what I like to call “spot light trees” which dangled above each QOTSA musician throughout the whole performance. As the smoke machines were being set up, I was already noticing a foggy haze hovering above the crowd, which I assumed could only be the rank combination of hundreds of people’s sweat, dirty breath and various smoky substances. By the time Queens of the Stone Age began, the crowd was completely worked up with anticipation regardless of the rapidly climbing temperature inside.
The crowd began to rumble with roars and screams as the lights dimmed and the musicians strutted onstage. The first words out of Josh Homme’s mouth were, “Let's dance,” and a moment later the band engaged their first song, “Misfit Love,” to the crowd’s exuberant pleasure. A synchronized barrage of lights beamed from the stage in shades of blue, green, white and red, which highly accented the tempo and veracity on each song. Their third song, “In My Head,” had the entire pit jumping in sequence as blue and purple lights flashed across the stage. The fourth song, “Turning on the Screw,” began only right before a fan in the audience tossed a stuffed beaver on stage which Josh willingly stuffed into his pants after some comical banter with the crowd. “Little Sister” followed to a large favorable crowd response while the steady knock of the cow bell set the tempo. Speaking over the heat and moisture in the air, Josh could be heard declaring, “We’re all about dancing, drinking and fucking!” “Go with the Flow” and “No One Knows” were performed with an awesome strobe light accompaniment. Near the end of the show Joshua exclaimed how much they enjoyed the Chico crowd, at which point they finished and left the stage only to return for a spectacular encore featuring “Song for the Dead.”
Doors opened at 7 PM and people slowly trickled inside as the ticket takers and the security staff thoroughly patted down everyone who entered. The stage crew took their sweet time setting up and doing sound checks. Soon after 8 PM the Gasoline Angels seized the stage as people continued to fill the auditorium. The Gasoline Angels are comprised of the brothers Karim (vocals and guitar) and Kasey Chatila (drums and keyboards). They maintained an intensely mellow poetic lyrical style that combined terrifically with the steady rhythmic beats and sweeping riffs. The lyricist, Karim, has also released a book of poems titled Scorpion Love Lounge. The Gasoline Angels didn’t have a huge stage presence and the crowd was eager to hear the headlining band. Overall the duo’s performance was calm and composed, yet almost too much so.
During the second stage set up, one could see the elaborate stage gear and lighting mounts being assembled. There was what I like to call “spot light trees” which dangled above each QOTSA musician throughout the whole performance. As the smoke machines were being set up, I was already noticing a foggy haze hovering above the crowd, which I assumed could only be the rank combination of hundreds of people’s sweat, dirty breath and various smoky substances. By the time Queens of the Stone Age began, the crowd was completely worked up with anticipation regardless of the rapidly climbing temperature inside.
The crowd began to rumble with roars and screams as the lights dimmed and the musicians strutted onstage. The first words out of Josh Homme’s mouth were, “Let's dance,” and a moment later the band engaged their first song, “Misfit Love,” to the crowd’s exuberant pleasure. A synchronized barrage of lights beamed from the stage in shades of blue, green, white and red, which highly accented the tempo and veracity on each song. Their third song, “In My Head,” had the entire pit jumping in sequence as blue and purple lights flashed across the stage. The fourth song, “Turning on the Screw,” began only right before a fan in the audience tossed a stuffed beaver on stage which Josh willingly stuffed into his pants after some comical banter with the crowd. “Little Sister” followed to a large favorable crowd response while the steady knock of the cow bell set the tempo. Speaking over the heat and moisture in the air, Josh could be heard declaring, “We’re all about dancing, drinking and fucking!” “Go with the Flow” and “No One Knows” were performed with an awesome strobe light accompaniment. Near the end of the show Joshua exclaimed how much they enjoyed the Chico crowd, at which point they finished and left the stage only to return for a spectacular encore featuring “Song for the Dead.”
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