Them Crooked Vultures Play Second US Gig at Austin City Limits

Posted on Oct 2nd 2009 11:30AM by Mike Ayers
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Before Thursday night, Them Crooked Vultures had played only one stateside show, a late-night, post-Lollapalooza gig at Chicago's tiny Metro. So, while last night's Austin City Limits kickoff show at Stubb's wasn't really their first in the US, in a way it was. The outdoor amphitheatre accommodated the thousands upon thousands of people that wanted a taste of this band. And who can blame them? Dave Grohl returning to the drums, John Paul Jones playing bass and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme are interesting enough by themselves, and thinking about them together is just dizzying.

Homme knew that this was a rather momentous occasion, seeing as there still isn't any recorded music out there from these guys. "A lot of new music to consume, I know," Homme told the crowd towards the end of their set. "That's how we get to know each other." As one might expect, Them Crooked Vulture songs run the range from a rather Led Zeppelin-like hard blues sound, such as the shifty tempos of 'Elephant' and 'Scumbag Blues,' to the more Queens of the Stone Age brand of "stoner" rock, where Homme's guitar is the driving factor.

After 14 years as the Foo Fighters' frontman, Grohl's decision to leave the role solely to Homme for this band could seem like a risk on paper. But Homme's vocals were tight and composed, and his charm shined during 'Interlude w/ Ludes,' where he puts down the guitar to do a crooning style solo with Jones next to him playing the keytar. Sure, it sounds a bit hokey, but the crowd ate it up.

The real highlights come when Jones and Homme start to play off each other in a rather competitive fashion. Those moments don't happen often, but the pair got into some distinct guitar/bass duels during 'Gunman' and 'Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I.' Jones even taunted Homme a bit, smiling each time, just like the rest of the sold-out venue.

If you weren't lucky enough to catch Them Crooked Vultures at Stubbs, they're performing at ACL tonight and are currently on tour through Oct. 15.