Queens of the Stone Age surprised the audience with this fan-favorite.
On Monday night, the rock band played their first show opening for System Of A Down at the Strawberry Arena in Sweden. To get things started, Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) played a song they haven’t performed since 2008.
After playing a recording of “Afternoon Delight” by the Starland Vocal Band, which frontman Josh Homme is known to play over the venue speakers during their pre-show, QOTSA kicked off their set with their song, “Run, Pig, Run” from their 2007 album, Era Vulgaris. According to Stereogum, it was the first time in 18 years since they performed that song live.
Though “Run, Pig, Run” is not considered QOTSA’s mainstream radio hits and is considered one of the lesser-streamed tracks from Era Vulgaris, it is highly praised by dedicated fans and critics as a uniquely dark and “psychotic” standout.
The song, which serves as the final track of Era Vulgaris, is a grim metaphor for being hunted, and explores the themes of paranoia, betrayal and the inevitability of facing consequences. The title and chorus frame the narrative in a predator-and-prey scenario, where the speaker is warning or taunting someone running for their life, echoing the idea that there is “no safe place to hide.”
The music matches the dark themes with unhinged and loud guitar riffs, making use of a dramatic and evil-sounding chord progression. A standout feature of the track is the jarring, wonky mid-song synth bridge, which gives the song a frantic and fever-dream atmosphere. “Run, Pig, Run” is also known for an iconic drum sequence, which is usually only played live.
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Though a popular rock band now, Homme is aware that their music isn’t a “very easy first-listen band,” and he has been told many times that it has taken some of his fans up to nine listens before becoming hooked.
“Because we’re building off of all these other records, I like to write songs that are cousins of other songs. But it means that, even when our songs are simple, they’re somehow a little bit complicated,” Homme told Ultimate Guitar in an interview. “I have people all the time telling me, ‘Until the ninth listen, I didn’t get it.’ And I [say], ‘But you went back nine times.’ Thank God you’re doing that.”
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Formed in Seattle in 1996 by Homme, who was a big part of the Palm Springs music scene before through his previous band Kyuss, he created QOTSA originally as a solo project, releasing a self-titled debut in 1998 through Loosegroove Records. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, other musicians joined QOTSA, eventually making it a full-fledged rock band. The lineup has changed multiple times throughout the years, but its current members are Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore.
Queens of the Stone Age broke into the mainstream in 2002 with the release of their third studio album, Songs for the Deaf, which includes the singles “No One Knows” and “Go with the Flow.”
Since their formation 30 years ago, QOTSA has released a total of eight studio albums, with their most recent being In Times New Roman… in 2023.
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QOTSA will be on tour throughout the summer, opening for various bands. Throughout July, the rock band will be on the road with System Of A Down around Europe, alongside Acid Bath. Then, starting Aug. 4, the group will be supporting the Foo Fighters on their stadium tour around North America, up until late September. In addition, QOTSA will be performing at Aftershock in Sacramento on Oct. 4, then in Iceland on Oct 24 with the Virgin Orchestra.
Tickets for their upcoming summer concerts and fall performances can be found on Queens of the Stone Age’s official website.
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