Following their groundbreaking concert in the catacombs of Paris, Queens of the Stone Age took that format on the road.

Wednesday April 29th, 2026, we went to Seattle to see the group along with orchestral musicians perform at the Paramount Theater.

Libby Grace opened the show with a bare bones performance. She sat with her acoustic guitar and did about a half dozens songs including a powerful cover of John Prine’s “Summer’s End”.

Josh Homme took the stage to start the Queens’ show with a utility light as a lantern and only a couple other members. Soon they were joined by two ciolinists and a cellist. They performed a few numbers with the stripped down group, then opened the curtain to a sparce set and a full accompaniment of musicians.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. They pulled off some interesting and powerful takes on several of their big numbers. With the brass and strings, most sounded like some twisted version of a villain’s theme song in a demented Disney cartoon.

Unusual for sure but a great show.