\nHomme and His Meat Clever <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
For reasons never quite explained, Homme carried a giant meat cleaver into the audience during an Act II medley of \u201cSomeone\u2019s in the Wolf,\u201d \u201cA Song for the Deaf\u201d and \u201cStraight Jacket Fitting,\u201d which he waved around in people\u2019s faces, as he delivered a series of increasingly frightening non-sequiturs directly to one audience member, and pointed the giant knife at their face.<\/p>\n
The meat cleaver, about a foot-long and a half-a-foot wide, was no prop \u2013 Homme routinely threw the knife into the stage, it\u2019s blade holding it in place like an ax tossed into a tree stump. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you got a shot at getting out of here? You got no fucking shot,\u201d he said menacingly, pointing the shiny meat clever at a fan who just stared back at Homme, likely in disbelief that he had been singled out. Homme then doubled down on the moment, stepping on an empty chair to angle himself over the man, ranting, \u201cI\u2019m not upset. I don\u2019t want to be upset. I just want one moment to let it all go,\u201d before asking \u201cWould you leave me alone or would you take my hand and come with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Most fans watching up close laughed the bit off, but the short segment felt deeply unsettling and fraught. Perhaps it was Homme\u2019s way of pushing people ought of their comfort zone \u2013 but for someone already known for being large and imposing, the bit felt a little too on the nose at times.<\/p>\n
Kalopsia and Delusion of Beauty<\/h2>\n
Queens of the Stone Age have a track off their \u2026Like Clockwork<\/em> album called \u201cKalopsia\u201d that Hommes has claimed means a form of delusion, in which things appear to be more beautiful than they actually are. To be fair, only a limited number of dictionaries feature this word, which is said to be derived from the Greek words \u201ckalos\u201d (beautiful) and \u201copsis\u201d (sight or view).<\/p>\nReal word or not, the idea of Kalopsia and its theme of visual delusion is a reoccurring metaphor in Homme\u2019s music, as he quickly moves between delusion and reality. On Tuesday, he played a new arrangement of the track, stripped down in parts to little more than a xylophone and\u00a0a plucked violin, before growing into a larger ensemble piece accentuated by Homme\u2019s hypnotizing vocals. While the track drew thunderous applause from the stunned audience, it was hard not to wonder if Homme himself was not relying on his talents to mask his own vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n