Garcia Plays Kyuss at Andrews Lane Theatre, Dublin

Garcia Plays Kyuss – Andrews Lane Theatre, Dublin – 28 May 2010.

Words and Photos by Siamak Amini

Kyuss are rightly regarded as pioneers of the “stoner rock” genre (or “Desert Rock” if you prefer). Originating in the Californian desert, they blended metal, psychedelia and masses of low-end frequencies, wrapping it up with a DIY punk attitude. Sadly for those who were late to the party – such as myself – they split up in 1995, with the members moving on to other musical projects. Since then, guitarist Josh Homme has been the most commercially successful thanks to Queens of the Stone Age (and other projects).

Tonight’s show was the first leg of the Garcia Plays Kyuss European tour. With no reunion forthcoming, Kyuss lead singer John Garcia decided to bring back the live sound of Kyuss by assembling an experienced band of musicians from the Low Countries. With no announcement of a UK date at the time, upon hearing of the tour I quickly booked my travel to Dublin (note that a London show has now been added for 6th July at the Electric Ballroom in Camden).

Even the less observant will have figured out by now that I’m a huge Kyuss fan, but my friend who had joined me for the trip was only really aware of them in passing. As a result, I was hoping that he could bring me back down to earth should my judgment be clouded with fan-boy optimism.

Support act Howlin’ Widow were given the unenviable task of warming up the crowd and managed to do so in style. The 5-piece from Belfast delivered a short, lively set of fast paced grooves topped off with the raspy howl of lead singer Tom Clarke. With elements of 70s hard rock and strong nods towards Down evident in their sound, the audience lapped up every minute of it. Whilst the songs haven’t made a lasting impression on me, I found Howlin’ Widow to be the perfect appetiser for the main event.

A cynical onlooker might suggest that this tour is nothing but a money making scheme. Even the name of the tour – Garcia Plays Kyuss – sounds like it could be an album by a pop star past their best, trying to squeeze some extra cash out of loyal fans by releasing an album of cover versions. I arrived with this thought in the back of my mind. What if his heart isn’t in it? Could this ruin Kyuss for me?

The band walked on stage without Garcia and opened with the instrumental Molten Universe…it sounded like Kyuss, just like Kyuss. Granted, it didn’t really look much like Kyuss, but (if you squinted enough) bassist Jacques de Haard could possibly pass for an older version of Josh Homme.

At that point you could sense that a weight had been lifted from the fans’ shoulders, that the musicians were going to do the songs justice. Before long Garcia appeared on stage to launch into Thumb, the opening track from Blues for the Red Sun. By now the fervent pack of Kyuss fans were going wild and the temperature in the small venue started to soar rapidly.

No one, least of all myself, was concerned that it wasn’t really Kyuss in front of us, especially as the band nailed every song whilst clearly having a great time on stage. Also, even though Garcia has never been the most energetic of front men, you could see he was putting heart into the performance, his trademark throaty delivery coming through strong and clear. The set concentrated largely on Kyuss’ final 3 of their 4 albums and even when Garcia introduced songs from two of his post-Kyuss bands – Slo-Burn and Unida – the throng of fans sang along with every word. With no security barriers, Garcia and the rest of the band were able to fist-bump and shake the hands of the crowd throughout the set. Garcia looked at ease and happy to be performing these songs again for new (and perhaps old) fans.

There were some notable absences from the set list, such as Demon Cleaner, but the audience seemed so wrapped up in the occasion that few seemed to notice until they’d left the venue.

I left feeling hoarse, dripping with sweat and with a massive grin on my face. I turned to my friend for a reality check. During the set he’d decamped to the back of the venue to try to cool down and soak up the music. He was positive about the experience, I’ll take this opportunity to paraphrase his thoughts:

“The band were tight, the songs were good. I really liked the one that’s probably called ‘belly of the beast’ [Odyssey]…anyway…you know it’s a good gig when sweat drips on you from the ceiling”.

Quotes associated with Josh Homme suggest that he’s not only unwilling to have a Kyuss reunion, but believes it to be a terrible idea. I have a feeling that the people at Andrews Lane Theatre tonight would disagree.

Posted on Friday, 28 May 2010 in Live Reviews, Mainarticles | 2 Comments »
Tagged as Bruno Fevery, Garcia Plays Kyuss, Jacques de Haard, John Garcia, Josh Homme, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Rob Snijders