However, we still very much support Boots Electric, and he just released a cool, hot-chicks-filled video for Complexity, the first track on his record. Watch it below:

Boots Electric will start his US tour later this month:

10/29 – New Orleans, LA
10/30 – Houston, TX
10/31 – Dallas, TX
11/1 – Austin, TX
11/4 – Tucson, AZ
11/5 – Scottsdale, AZ
11/6 – Santa Ana, CA
11/7 – Los Angeles, CA
11/8 – San Francisco, CA
11/10 – Portland, OR
11/11 – Nahcotta, WA
11/13 – San Jose, CA

You can order Honkey Kong here.

(And there’s also this goofy video demonstrating reasons to see Boots Electric live.)

Otherwise known as Patrick Hutchinson, Hutch has been working as a sound engineer for pretty much any Josh Homme-related act since the Kyuss days, greatly improving on their concerts, even being considered an “unofficial member” of QOTSA. In order to acknowledge his work, Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes recently conducted a video feature for The Guardian’s Vice, where he and members of QOTSA gush over “the man behind the curtain who never gets credit.” Watch it here:

The video features rehearsal and concert footage from QOTSA’s stay at LA’s Wiltern Theater earlier this year, where Hutch explains how he became the sound engineer for some of the past decade’s finest live acts.

QOTSA are reportedly working on a new album, and The Raconteurs still have a few dates left on their comeback tour:

New Orleans, New Orleans City Park: Sunday, Oct 30
Orlando, Citrus Bowl Park: Saturday, Nov 12
Atlanta, Tabernacle: Sunday, Nov 13

Behold, a full album stream of Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes‘ solo album, Honkey Kong.

Pick up this hot sack of weird at Eagles Of Death Metal’s official site, or any other outlet where this fine piece of musical ass can be found on Sept 20, the day Dangerbird Records releases it from its cage.

If you need an incentive to watch the video below, here’s an encouraging quote from Mr. Hughes: “I took George Clinton and bent him over, and then raped the shit out him with Gary Numan, using Little Richard as a dick, and that pretty much is what this album is all about.”

Honkey Kong, which was produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Depeche Mode, The Kooks) and co-written with legendary keyboardist Money Mark (best known for his many collaborations with the Beastie Boys), comes out on September 20.

After creating three albums of dirty and danceable garage rock anthems with Eagles of Death Metal, frontman Jesse “The Devil” Hughes is unveiling his solo debut as his supercharged alter ego Boots Electric. Titled Honkey Kong, the album will be released on September 20th by Dangerbird Records. It was produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Depeche Mode, The Kooks) and co-written with legendary keyboardist Money Mark, best known for his many collaborations with the Beastie Boys.

Have a listen to the double-dose of sexual sonics called the Boots Electric Theme, featuring Mrs. Joshua Homme trading lines with the EODM main man:

Them Crooked Vultures: April 16, 2010

After following their initial liftoff closely, it was thrilling to watch the band push themselves to deeper, more dynamic heights than ever before. A truly more evolved band was in full command of the material after having road tested it for half a year, and the band displayed a confidence and affinity for razor-sharp, off-the-cuff jamming that borders on telepathy. Clearly, their time on the road together as a band over the prior several months has tightened all the screws in the Vultures machine and added a triple-distilled dose of astroglide to the gears. We can’t wait to see where these birds fly next.

One Day As A Lion

One Day As A Lion played their first-ever show on blistering Saturday afternoon in the tiny side room of a sandwich shop called Aladdin Jr.’s in Pomona, CA, debuting a full album’s worth of new material for a wildly enthusiastic crowd of roughly 200 sweat-drenched patrons. When De La Rocha picked up the mic with a mischievous grin, the crowd roared with anticipatory excitement. Drummer Jon Theodore was a giddy metronomic madman, peeling off polyrhythms and trapdoor backbeats that made us thankful for the pillbox stage setup, simply so we wouldn’t have to decide where to devote our attention. As the trio rolled through several promising new numbers with surgical point-precision, it became abundantly clear that there’s plenty more to One Day As A Lion than what we’ve seen released thus far.

Pearl Jam: Bridge School Benefit, Oct 25, 2010

Pearl Jam’s performance at the annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, CA was also a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the band’s first-ever show. After spending the day in an endless downpour, sipping hot cocoa while soaked to the bone on a steeply-angled lawn while the likes of Billy Idol, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Elton John & Leon Russell and more rocked us with old-timer greatness, Pearl Jam’s appearance outshone much of the lineup in yet another memorable set from one of the few true classic rock heroes of our time.

Brother Ali: How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Dec 1, 2010

The Grouch brought along friends & family from the Rhymesayers crew and beyond for a night of Hip-Hop for the holidays with the kickoff of this year’s How The Grouch Stole Christmas tour at the El Rey in Los Angeles. While the Grouch is without question a cornerstone staple in the Living Legends crew and a significant force in the world of underground Hip-Hop, his headlining performance after Brother Ali led to an inescapable feeling of moving from fifth gear to third, despite being heavily animated and upbeat. It was through no fault of his own, but rather the fact that Ali’s intensity and pure-soul connectivity would be hard for anyone but Chuck D or Stevie Wonder to upstage. A gripping gut-punch love-fest of a show.

Queens Of The Stone Age: Brian O’Connor Benefit

In a night of tribute to benefit Eagles of Death Metal bassist Brian O’Connor, Queens Of The Stone Age made their first appearance onstage in the U.S. in over two years, with help from EODM, Alain Johannes, roughly half the Arctic Monkeys and special guest Mark Lanegan. The result was a soaring family affair and immensely triumphant return for the Queens, who let it be known immediately with opener Misfit Love that we were in for one hell of an incredible night.

Gorillaz: October 20, 2010

After three studio albums and over 10 years together, the Gorillaz finally embarked on their first full-blown world tour with the Escape To Plastic Beach Tour. Damon Albarn & Co. took to the stage in Dallas for an overload of fun & visual and sonic imagery. For nearly two hours the group (and numerous guests) powered through a set composed of older hits and a ton of new material, and did so with more style and flair than most bands could ever dream of.

A Perfect Circle: November 1, 2010

A Perfect Circle took the stage at the sold-out Avalon in Los Angeles for the first of a three-night run on their West coast mini-tour. Coming off a six-year hiatus, the band is revisited all their recorded material in three-show jaunts across various cities. This isn’t just another band for Antiquiet’s coverage archives, you see. A Perfect Circle is what kicked off our (Skwerl’s & mine) partnership back in 1999, when I was a kid stumbling into the band’s second-ever show – before fully formed lyrics, before the Y2K bug – and Skwerl was a Tool fan in Philly starting a fan site for a side-project of Maynard James Keenan that nobody knew about… yet. My reviews of their early shows were trial-by-fire lessons in Rock journalism, and the band was my very first interview, as well as the initial medium over which a brotherhood would form. So by several different perspectives, APC’s return to the stage is a powerfully symbolic one to us here at Antiquiet. We weren’t going to miss it, and overall, the band didn’t disappoint.

Far: May 21, 2010

When we last saw Far, it was their second show after a hiatus of nearly ten years. They rattled the rafters with a palpable excitement over getting that old engine roaring again, and we wouldn’t trade being there for much. Yet during Far’s May show at the Troubador in Los Angeles, the nuts and bolts were a little tighter, the pistons well-oiled. It’s great to see this band back in action, with a great new album that didn’t even seem like a possibility when we talked to Jonah and Shaun a while back. We’re spreading the word: Far has given us a second chance to experience something special. Don’t miss out.

Eagles Of Death Metal: High Times Epic Daze, June 19, 2010

The Eagles of Death Metal rocked the red-eyed VIP attendees at this year’s Epic Daze concert, the musical afterparty to the area’s inaugural High Times Cannabis Cup. Hughes and Co’s signature strut-and-smirk style effortlessly satiated the stoned saccharine cravings of the audience, who were lighting the good shit at every turn throughout the set. Guitarist “Darlin” Dave Catching gave in to temptation, cueing Jesse to request a taste from the audience – to which we responded with a blizzard of joints. Catching lit the fattest one to hit the stage, passing it around after a few massive tokes and lifting those in the front rows ever higher. The show itself was an incredible blast of “fuck it” fun, a mood the pictures capture quite well.

The Bronx: House Of Blues

The night before The Bronx left for Europe for a 35-date trek, these hardcore Rock prophets delivered an exhilarating end to the U.S. leg of their tour at the House of Blues in the police state known as Anaheim, CA by wearing two hats – they played a set as Mariachi El Bronx in full traditional mariachi regalia before headlining under their standard name.

Never satisfied despite a raucous crowd response, Caughthran rolled up his mic cord and jumped into the pit, roaring the opening to Shitty Future while actually on top of our beloved Skwerl, the pit around them exploding into a cauldron of slamming bodies, sweating and screaming with shit-eating grins on our faces. The iron-throated frontman sang the song while throwing himself around the entire floor area, never missing a single note. It was ferocious, it was victorious, and it was everything a truly great rock show is supposed to be.

Massive Attack: Wiltern

Massive Attack returned to Los Angeles for two nights at the Wiltern, reminding the Western shores that after two decades, five brilliant albums and countless star-studded collaborations, they’re still pound for pound the finest trip-hop act in existence. Through their two-hour set the band pulled heavily from their excellent fifth album Heligoland, bringing opener Martina Topley-Bird back out for live staple Angel and new crowd-favorite Babel.

This show was as unpredictable as it was endearing, and it will be remembered as a pinnacle to the diverse and few desert rock scenesters that were fortunate enough to witness it firsthand.

Back in June, it was revealed that bassist Brian O’ Connor (Eagles Of Death Metal) was fighting a form of cancer for which he would be required to undergo rounds of chemotherapy. Shortly after the diagnosis, two benefit shows were announced to help with Brian’s medical bills, the latter being held at the 2,300 capacity Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Queens Of The Stone Age would make their first appearance onstage in the U.S. in over two years, with help from Eagles of Death Metal, Alain Johannes and roughly half the Arctic Monkeys.

Anticipation and speculation ran wild online. Who would man the skins for both bands? Which special guests were they alluding to? Would Boots Electric’s (AKA Eagles Of Death Metal’s vocalist Jesse Hughes) mighty mustache take over the world?

A lot of things were up in the air.

Exuding a confidence I couldn’t even begin to understand as the show began, frontman Jesse Hughes rolled out onstage concealed in a bright gold Eagles of Death Metal cape. Eagles bassist Brian O’Connor, the man of the night, made his way out modestly as the audience showered him with cheers and well wishes.

Hughes ditched his cape revealing a t-shirt tuxedo before launching into I Only Want You, the first of many sex-charged Stones-esque fist-pumpers. The show quickly became a rock n roll family Christmas card photo moment when Hughes’ son was invited on stage. He eagerly walked over to his father and later embraced everyone in the band.

Drummer Joey Castillo was effortlessly rolling through the first of two sets he would play on this night, and could be seen continuously trying to coerce QOTSA vocalist and desert-rock maestro Josh Homme to take over on drums for a little guest spot. Homme did eventually make his way out on stage, but only to mention that O’Connor had delayed his chemo treatment to be at the show and to thank the audience.

The energy trickled through the masses and peaked at the mid-way point of the hour long set when they whipped through I Got A Feeling (She’s Just Nineteen), Secret Plans and their original bread and butter hit Cherry Cola (yet, oddly they left out their two biggest hits I Want You So Hard and Wannabe In LA).

The brilliance of EODM is in their electric simplicity. The songs aren’t always captivating, but the way they are conveyed onstage definitely is. They let you in, you shake your ass, and everybody leaves happy. But it wasn’t time to leave yet.

As the band headed off stage the audience was left to wonder who would be playing next. Former QOTSA member Alain Johannes was greeting fans in line before the show and Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner was spotted nearby. Inside the venue, estranged QOTSA bass player/vocalist Nick Oliveri was watching the show from the balcony leading to all kinds of assumptions and a handful of screaming girls trying to get his attention from below.

Homme made his way out on stage briefly to introduce the Last Shadow Puppets; a two-piece comprised of Alex Turner (who Homme worked with during the production of the Arctic Monkeys third full length release Humbug) and Miles Kane (The Little Flames). Dressed in tight dress suits and resembling John and Paul from the With The Beatles album cover, the duo started with The Age Of The Understatement, a song that would be best described as the Arctic Monkeys meets Sergio Leone.

Even without the orchestral elements that galvanized the group’s sound on their full-length debut album (arranged by Owen Pallet, on and off again member of the Arcade Fire), they managed to pull off a mesmerizing mini-set. The two Brits met on a 2005 tour and decided to record together in 2007, but their vocal chemistry on stage was redolent of a group with many more years of touring in their collective rearview mirror.

A short set change later and Alain Johannes took to the stage with what appeared to be an 8-string cigar-box guitar, and began to dazzle a hushed capacity crowd. Despite being an exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalist, Johannes has often tinkered away in the background while the people around him have played to role of rock-star.

Songs of love and tragedy from his phenomenally moving new solo album Spark, which will be released on October 5th, had fans in state of silent admiration. It was a stark contrast to the audience that was jumping around and singing along to lyrics like “I razamataz you honey, if you want me to” a mere 40 minutes earlier.

Johannes’ strumming hand was an unrecognizable blur for most of the mini-set, which included a stirring performance of the song Making A Cross from the LP Desert Sessions 7 & 8.

As great as all of this was, it was all a mere pretense to the awesomeness that unfolded next. Enter Queens Of The Stone Age.

Assembling on stage for the first time since August of 2008, and with menacing precision, Homme and co. unleashed a torrentially stunning Misfit Love as the lights pulsated and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen leapt into the air without inhibition.

The five-piece tore through hallucinogenic-anthem Feel Good Hit Of The Summer and The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret from Rated R (2000) without hesitation, revealing a theme for the night: two-songs sets from each album. Avoiding the superfluous and unimaginative pitfalls that their modern rock contemporaries rely upon, Queens’ left the fate of the performance in the reliable hands of their music.

Despite this being the 6th time I had seen Queens live I still had no idea which songs they would play because their set-lists have always been quite diverse. Careening through their back catalogue they intermingled chart-topping hits (3’s & 7’s, No One Knows, Little Sister) with gems like the wistful final track on Lullabies To Paralyze (2005) Long Slow Goodbye, which Homme dedicated to Johannes’ late wife (and QOTSA bandmate) Natasha Schneider. Their cohesive on-stage vigor was a telltale story of a band that had been waiting far to long to perform together again.

During the two years Queens’ had been on hiatus, Homme’s collaboration with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), collectively known as Them Crooked Vultures became an international touring success following the release of their utterly phenomenal self-titled debut album in late 2009.

Simultaneously, multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita toured and recorded with The Dead Weather, Troy Van Leeuwen created Sweethead, bassist Michael Shuman started Mini Mansions and drummer Joey Castillo toured with Eagles Of Death Metal.

Despite being apart for so song, they performed like they were three months into a world tour: unrelenting and tight.

The band capped off their main set with the menacing low-tempo I Think I Lost My Headache before departing the stage. This was when my moment occurred. The moment a stage tech made his way out to set up a microphone at centre stage. It could only mean one thing.

The band headed back on stage and the audience erupted as a dark haired figure slowly followed. For the first time in nearly 5 years, former contributing vocalist Mark Lanegan took hold of that microphone and led the band through a delightfully menacing four-song encore set. Their dark silhouettes standing out from a blue backdrop, the now six-piece performed Rated R’s In The Fade highlighted by Lanegan’s tortured low frequency vocals and an improvised Homme guitar solo.

Spotlights were cast on each member of the band, but Lanegan remained in the dark, typical to his shadowy, lone-wolf persona.

The band then shifted to their magnum opus, Songs For The Deaf for the remainder of the set. The outside world melted away to the trancy bass line and unhurried riffage of God Is In The Radio, a song that encompasses the dynamics that are so desperately absent in rock music these days.

They then concluded the set with a furious rendition of Song For The Dead which was all the more augmented by Lanegan’s subhuman rasp.

As all of the night’s performers made their way out for a group hug/photo, Brian O’Connor took to that same microphone to express his sincere gratitude for the turnout and support. At the same time, I realized I had just taken in a moment. A moment that mattered.

When Brian broke the news to his band and their familial network, a human chain of support formed immediately. Friends and fellow musicians mobilized immediately to rush to Brian’s aid, filling in for him on the remaining string of EODM shows on their tour so he could focus on preparing his mind and body for what lay ahead.

As is so often the case these days, Brian has no health insurance – so naturally the first order of business was to organize some benefit shows to raise money for his medical expenses.

Them Crooked Vultures rocked a benefit show for Brian at London’s Brixton Academy July 5th, marking the end of their European festival run. And today, via Consequence Of Sound, we found out that another benefit gig is scheduled for August 12 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, this time featuring a long-awaited return of Queens Of The Stone Age, whose last gig was at the Leeds Festival in August 2008. Joining them on the bill will be Eagles of Death Metal – a very exciting musical evening, by our standards.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted on ticket details.

Below is a statement from Brian:

In regards to my current health situation, with the remarkable support and love from my amazing friends and family, I am receiving the best medical and moral attention one could ask for. I cannot thank everyone enough for their continued support and involvement.  I am excited for my full recovery and look forward to getting back to what I love most, melting face with my bass. I’m feeling great, after all, I am half unicorn. Keep ya posted.
Love and gratitude,
BOC

We’ve got your back, Brian, as do some of the very finest rockers in the game today. Get well soon.

If you’d like to contribute to Brian’s medical care fund click here.

Queens Of The Stone Age 2010 Tour Dates:
08/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
08/19-21 – Kiewit, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/20 – Oberhausen, DE @ Area 4
08/24 – Berlin, DE @ Zitadelle Spandau
08/25 – Hamburg, DE @ Stadtpark
08/27 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/28 – Saint-Cloud, FR @ Rock en Seine
08/29 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival

The band’s decision to soldier on while bassist Brian O’Connor seeks immediate cancer treatment arrives with the help of Dead Weather/Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita, who will share duties with another string slinger on the Eagles’ remaining tour dates.

Frontman Jesse Hughes, king of tongue-in-cheek ’70s cock-rock pastiche, affectionately introduced Dean under his new name: “Di Di Wop”. Embracing the racial rabbit-punch, Fertita beamed as he followed Hughes’ lead through a flurry of fan favorites that rattled off like a greatest hits tracklist: Heart On, Cherry Cola, a far more funktified Now I’m a Fool and Secret Plans, which drummer Joey Castillo owned with metronomical blasts that intensified with each passing measure.

Hughes and Co’s signature strut-and-smirk style effortlessly satiated the stoned saccharine cravings of the audience, who were lighting the good shit at every turn throughout the set. Guitarist “Darlin” Dave Catching gave in to temptation, cueing Jesse to request a taste from the audience – to which we responded with a blizzard of joints. Catching lit the fattest one to hit the stage, passing it around after a few massive tokes and lifting those in the front rows ever higher.

Hughes prefaced Wanna Be In L.A. with the disclaimer that he doesn’t really mean it, and “there’s no place in the world I’d rather be than with you fine, fine people.” Indeed, the setting was ideal for such an event; security was limited to the door guy, and Cannabis Cup revelers were quite visibly comfortable with their company and surroundings. The night’s previous acts had complained of a lack of crowd enthusiasm, but it was a telling detail that the Eagles’ audience was a wildly enthusiastic batch, singing along with Jesse’s every mustachioed utterance and filling in on producer/muse/multi-band frontman Josh Homme’s zombie falsetto backups.

EODM ended their set with Speaking in Tongues,a squealing-mean riff-off that found Hughes and Catching on opposite sides of the stage, toes over the edge, trading licks through the skunky-sweet haze and occasionally throwing back to Fertita for a fill, giddy grins all around at having owned the night with a little help from their friends.

All photos by Johnny Firecloud

Fortunately, we had a fair amount of mostly coherent conversation that night as well, and we’re pleased to present this more proper interview, featuring three fourths of Sweethead and Johnny, with me behind the camera.

In case you haven’t been following, Sweethead is the new band featuring Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens Of The Stone Age, Eddie Nappi of Handsome / Enemy, Norm Block of Plexi, and fronted by a vixen named Serrina Sims, who we first spotted onstage at the Natasha Shneider Memorial concert last year. They have an EP out called The Great Disruptors, and a full length is on the way.

Pardon the unsolicited meta, but it just so happens that Troy Van Leeuwen was Johnny’s very first artist interview. Troy was playing guitar with A Perfect Circle in 2001, and on one of my first trips out to California, I had my new aspiring journalist friend Johnny talk to Troy for the (now sadly defunct) fansite aperfectcircle.net. Serrina was present for that interview as well. So this was a full circle sort of moment for us personally. Pun by no means intended.

We discussed the whole “Los Angeles band” thing- a misconception, if you ask Troy, as well as the story behind the video for The Great Disruptors, which hit the internet last week. Check it out here:

As we get to talking about influences, we discuss some legendary, somewhat substantiated rumors surrounding Chuck Berry. Since wrapping the interview, I’ve personally done some independent research into Johnny & Troy’s allegations, and… honestly, it left me speechless. That man is a guitar God, but he was into some freaky freak shit. I’ve gotta read his autobiography.

Sweethead will be touring Europe in October with Eagles Of Death Metal, as well as elsewhere- with another cool band- soon enough. See their MySpace page for tour dates, as well as two tracks from their EP (available for $4 on iTunes), their cover of Life In Laralay from the Love & Rockets tribute, and a track from the forthcoming full-length, due in September last we checked.