Empire of the Sun w/Roi Turbo @ WaMu Theater – 4/30/25
Photos by Sam Leung
Memory Lane Series, part 162
Luke Steel of Empire of the Sun – photo by Sam Leung
Empire of the Sun – photos by Sam Leung
Roi Turbo – photos by Sam Leung
Queens of the Stone Age @ the Paramount – 4/29/26
Show Review by Wendy Colton
Photos by Rachel Crick
Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme – photo by Rachel Crick
Unplugged Queens of the Stone Age Electrifies Seattle
More dark cabaret than rock show, this angular, stripped-down performance was a far cry from the beefy, radio-hit-heavy Queens of the Stone Age concerts we’ve moshed through before. Tickets didn’t sell out in minutes – they vanished in seconds worldwide. The buzz around this tour, supporting their latest EP Alive in the Catacombs – recorded literally underground in a Paris ossuary lined with human skulls – is very real.
Josh Homme appeared trim and debonair, perfectly suited to the Paramount’s old-world glamour: tailored suit, gold watch, even a matching tooth. Swinging an antique lantern – casting slow, moody shadows or whipping up stark urgency – the band reimagined opening songs and deep cuts into something slippery and atmospheric, launching the first of three distinct acts with inky precision.
Weird? Yes. Cool? Absolutely. During “Suture Up Your Future,” Homme wielded an actual meat cleaver. The hushed audience hovered between enchantment and intimidation. Do we laugh? Pray? Cheer? Cry? All of the above. At one point, he slipped into the aisles, casually swinging the cleaver, crooning to a few lucky fans, even waltzing a few into a brief, swoony spin.
Josh Homme of QOTSA – photo by Rachel Crick
Act II lifted the curtain on a small orchestra – local players adding lush strings, horns, woodwinds, and even theremin. Paired with deep electronic bass triggers and Homme’s heavy guitar, the sound was anything but sleepy: modern, sleek, and intense. Think EDM festival meets avant-garde theater, minus the excess.
A pre-show call to “dress your best” paid off – less black band tee uniform, more chic and foxy. Still, the black band tee and merch line snaked up the stairs, wrapped the mezzanine, and climbed to the third floor. Those gold-foiled posters didn’t stand a chance.
By Act III, a tumbler of liquor and cigarette perched on the piano, Homme could have tipped into cliché. Instead, it read as effortless – cosmopolitan, not loungy. Mature, but still dangerous. Not too serious. Still unmistakably badass. Emphasis on the piano.
Josh Homme – photo by Rachel Crick
Even after an impossibly intimate a cappella duet with bassist Michael Shuman, it’s hard not to call this The Josh Show. As the sole remaining original member, he’s the gravitational center. Troy Van Leeuwen – five albums deep – remains a quieter genius. But every eye in the room tracks Homme. Four decades in, he’s grown into a towering rock figure: multi-instrumentalist, collaborator, headline magnet, complete with myth, feuds, and legend.
Back onstage, he spoke warmly about Seattle – his time on Capitol Hill at 24 (“a virgin”), attending Seattle Central, the invitation to join Screaming Trees. A little tequila in the mix, sure, but the affection felt genuine. The crowd roared when he recalled QOTSA’s first show at the OK Hotel. By the time he told us we were the best audience of the tour, the last reserved fan let loose. Connection achieved.
This tour hints at a new branch of rock performance – part residency, part theater, part reinvention. You can feel the lineage, the influence, the evolution. It’s still QOTSA at the root: a hard rock, platinum-selling band with stadium dates ahead. But this darker, more sophisticated offshoot? It’s going far. Turn and face the strange.
After a sing-along of “Long Slow Goodbye,” the band clinked glasses and waved goodnight, emotion just under the surface. A Mark Lanegan track played as the lights came up. The audience drifted out.
But the magic – of the music, the night, the Paramount, Les Catacombs de Paris – didn’t drift far.
It’s still right here.
Queens of the Stone Age – all photos by Rachel Crick
Deep cuts:
ACT I
Running Joke/Paper Machete
Kalopsia
Villains Of Circumstance
Suture Up Your Future
ACT II
Never Came
Someone’s In The Wolf/A Song For The Deaf/Straight Jacket Fitting
Mosquito Song
Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Spinning In Daffodils (Them Crooked Vultures cover)
ACT III
You Got A Killer Scene There, Man…
Hideaway
The Vampyre Of Time And Memory
Auto Pilot
Easy Street
Fortress
…Like Clockwork
ENCORE
Long Slow Goodbye
SEATTLE (May 9, 2026) — On a dry and gorgeous spring evening in Seattle, fans filtered steadily into the WAMU Theater on Saturday, while thousands of Seattle Sounders supporters packed neighboring Lumen Field just steps away. The overlap created a lively atmosphere throughout the stadium complex, though lines into the venue moved smoothly as concertgoers, most appearing comfortably over 30, prepared for an evening with Puscifer and opener Dave Hill.
Before entering, fans were met with unmistakable reminders of the evening’s rules. Signs posted on both sides of every glass entry and exit door read: “No Photos, No Video.” Minutes before showtime, a repeated announcement echoed through the theater instructing the crowd to keep phones in their pockets and refrain from taking photos or video during the performance. Audience members were then prompted to shout back, “We Understand,” a humorous but deliberate ritual that doubled as the show’s introduction.
For longtime followers of Maynard James Keenan’s projects, the policy came as no surprise. Through Puscifer, Tool and A Perfect Circle, Keenan has long enforced a no-phone approach designed to keep audiences immersed in the performance rather than distracted by glowing screens. While initially jarring in today’s hyper-documented concert culture, the result inside WAMU Theater was undeniable: a crowd fully engaged with the performance unfolding in front of them.
Hill opened the evening with an entertaining one-man performance blending stand-up comedy, music and audience interaction. The New York-based comedian and musician connected immediately with the Seattle crowd, drawing loud laughs throughout his set. Songs including “Dollar Tree” and “Dangerous Snakes Who Hate Bullshit” highlighted Hill’s absurdist humor and offbeat musical style, while his Seattle-specific crowd work landed especially well.
By the time Puscifer took the stage shortly after 9 p.m., the atmosphere had shifted dramatically. Fog, intense lighting and theatrical staging transformed the venue into something closer to performance art than a traditional rock concert. Keenan and vocalist Carina Round appeared as fully realized characters, complete with theatrical makeup and elaborate stage outfits that enhanced the show’s surreal tone.
The band’s current tour supports its February 2026 release, “Normal Isn’t,” and much of the nearly two-hour set focused on newer material while still leaving room for fan favorites. Songs including “The Algorithm,” “Bullet Train to Iowa” and “Grand Canyon” showcased the band’s ability to move seamlessly between electronic textures, heavy grooves and atmospheric soundscapes.
A mid-show “Bangers and Mashups” video segment added another layer of multimedia absurdity that fit naturally within Puscifer’s bizarre creative universe. Musically, the band remained exceptionally tight throughout the evening, with producer and guitarist Mat Mitchell anchoring the performance while Round’s vocals provided a haunting counterbalance to Keenan’s understated delivery.
What ultimately separated the evening from countless modern concerts was the audience’s presence. Without the obstruction of phones and recording screens, reactions felt immediate and communal. Fans laughed together, watched intently and engaged directly with the performance in real time.
For Seattle audiences willing to surrender their devices for a few hours, Puscifer delivered a theatrical, immersive and deeply engaging performance that rewarded full attention from start to finish.
Maye & Ambar Lucid @ The Crocodile – 5/3/2026
Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Maye and Ambar Lucid brought their co-headlining Entre Dos Mundos Tour to The Crocodile earlier this week. Their bilingual, dreamy, indie-pop styles were the perfect complement for each other. LA-based singer-songwriter Judith opened.
Maye & Ambar Lucid – Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Judith – Photos by Kirk Stauffer
Legend has it that Cabaret Voltaire’s first public performance in the mid 1970’s ended in a riot. By contrast, last night’s Moore Theatre set by the English post punk/industrial/dance band was received with obvious approval and affection by the enthusiastic audience.
Vocalist/bassist/keyboard player Stephen Mallinder is the remaining touring member of Cabaret Voltaire, originally comprised of Mallinder, Richad H Kirk, and Chris Watson. Kirk passed in 2021 and Watson is currently unable to tour due to health concerns. Mallinder has backfilled the band with Tara Busch on keyboards and vocals (Busch also opened the show as ‘I Speak Machine’, performing solo), Eric Random on guitar and keyboards, and Ben Edwards on percussion. The band did an outstanding job of delivering material that spanned the Cab’s long career. Given that some of the compositions date from over 40 years ago I was struck by how fresh and contemporary it translated to in a live setting. Both New Order and Trent Reznor have acknowledged their debt to the catalog and aesthetic of Cabaret Voltaire, who manages to feel utterly contemporary even after more than a half a century. ‘Legacy’ acts (which is just a snooty way of saying ‘bands that can still draw attention and an audience after a long career) can sometimes be a bit wan or pallid. Such was not the case last night. Mallinder and crew were focused, intense, and good fun with an emphasis on capturing the spirit of the band rather than serving up spot on recreations of their recorded catalog.
Monday night’s set began with a confident (and LOUD) version of ’24-24′ from 1983’s ‘The Crackdown’. The Moore, with its theater stye seating, was an interesting choice of venue for a band with such a strong and dance-oriented groove. The audience seemed at first a bit flummoxed by stationary nature of the arrangement but soon stood to dance at their seats or in the aisles. Cabaret Voltaire makes very difficult music to sit still to and the crowd eventually succumbed to the omnipresent groove. The floor shaking rhythms and deep groove continued through the band’s powerful set with it being abundantly clear that Cabaret Voltaire both influenced and are in turn influenced themselves by the house and dance music worlds.
Cabaret Voltaire’s first US tour in over 30 years (and, quite likely, their last extended outing) continues with West Coast dates through mid-May. The band will resume the tour on the East Coast in September.
