Photo of Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, by Dan DeSlover
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A little more than two years removed from performing in front of 60-70 in-the-know fans at the The Rave Bar--the smallest room in the multi-story venue—and Royal Blood returned to the historic halls for a show at the The Rave on Sunday in support of Queens of the Stone Age.  

In the time between Royal Blood’s first foray into Milwaukee and this current tour they’ve graced the stage of nearly every major U.S. festival, opened for the Foo Fighters on a handful of stadium dates and dropped a new album, How Did We Get So Dark?. As expected, they had no problems igniting the sold-out Eagles Ballroom crowd. Ben Thatcher’s frenetic percussion coupled with Mike Kerr’s bass riffs looped upon his unique lead bass licks had the general admission floor swirling from the moment they dimmed the house lights. Melodic rocker “Where Are You Now?” got the party started, segueing into latest single groove “Lights Out.”

Royal Blood made the most of their 50-minute opening slot, hitting the crowd with an even split from their two studio release, transitioning from new material to a trifecta of the  “Loose Change,” feverish “Figure It Out” and rock anthem “Out of the Black.” Suffice to say, they more than warmed up the crowd for Queens of the Stone Age despite a muddy sound that frequently plagues The Rave performances.

Josh Homme, along with guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore on the kit appeared on stage flanked by a number of large lighted poles that were treated like ski slalom gates throughout their show. The highly anticipated Villains album finally dropped in August and QOTSA did their best to include most of during their set (all but “Head Like a Haunted House” and “Hideaway”). Opening with the dreamy “If I Had a Tail” draped in a glow of blue lights, Homme ensured that the decade-long neglect of Milwaukee was worth the wait.

Through the up-tempoed “My God Is the Sun,” funk-rocker “Feet Don’t Fail Me” and croon-worthy “The Way You Used to Do,” Homme writhed with emotion that were equally conveyed in his riffs and voice. The blend of psychedelic vibes, heavy riffs and tempo-changes still managed to induce a circle pit on hit “No One Knows.” Other favorites included “I Sat by the Ocean,” “I Appear Missing” and the closing gloom ballad “A Song For The Dead.”