BPD member Zepman4Ever logs in:
“This is the biggest show we’ve ever played and it means a lot to us,” singer, guitarist and former Queens Of The Stone Age architect Josh Homme told me prior to going out front to put out a roughly two-hour show. “It means a lot to us. We’re just four guys who wanted to play together, and here we are.” That's really it; they don't have to sell CDs and tickets, they're just having fun.
Aside from Homme, these “just four guys” happens to be Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl on drums, touring guitarist Alain Johannes and Led Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones.
And for most of the 15-song set, Them Crooked Vultures rampaged through a brand of ‘70s era-influenced hard rock that truly has to be seen to be appreciated. Whether watching Grohl punish himself physically as much as his battened-down drum kit numerous times or Jones shuffling around while keeping the groove, the band does not take any short cuts in achieving such an impressive sound.
TCV opened with the swampy hook of No One Loves Me & Neither Do I which had most on the floor bobbing along. Then, the group dished out Gunman before the “little dance number” Scumbag Blues reared its catchy head.
Part of the attraction of the band, though, is seeing both Homme and Grohl playing off of Jones, the elder statesman at 66. As Jones doled out a few quick bass lines during Scumbag Blues, Homme and Grohl both resembled kids in awe of meeting their rock hero for the first time.
Dead End Friends and especially the gear-shifting Elephants fared fine, but Highway 1, the first of two non-album tracks performed, didn’t quite match the intensity or bombast of the single New Fang or the tight Mind Eraser, No Chaser. But an ensuing effort with the title You Can’t Possibly Begin To Imagine was a surprise highlight. Here, the slow, seedy bluesy arrangement had Jones initially on fiddle while Homme fed off the crowd clapping along.
Regardless, Them Crooked Vultures held some of the best for last beginning with the lengthy Spinning In Daffodils that had Grohl looking like Animal from the Muppets with his rapid fills and rolls. Following the Zeppelin circa Physical Graffiti nugget Reptiles, the band closed things out with no encore but a fabulous, fatiguing Warsaw, a marathon-ish tune driven by some terrific playing.
Like Zeppelin, TCV is built from the ground up, with a monster rock rhythm section. But Homme's vocals and guitar charts are more innovative and playful like Clapton's Cream. It was thrilling to see the 60-something Jones playing as if he were a kid, the sexy Homme swaggering like a rock god, and, as always, Grohl as a frenzied blur behind the drum kit. The only time we saw his face was when he came up for air.
Naturally, Jones received loud cheers every time he soloed. When Homme introduced me to him in the back, he said "Dude, this is John-effing Paul Jones!" 'Nuff said.
Absolutely the best rock show I've seen in years. Them Crooked Vultures.............. Superband? You bet.
BPD, ohmigod, what can I say?
Nothing need be added, Zepman. You've said it all.
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