Queens of the Stone Age launched their highly anticipated and completely sold-out The Catacombs Tour last week, captivating audiences at the iconic Chicago Theatre. This exclusive, limited-series tour is a one-of-a-kind undertaking, showcasing all-new musical arrangements that have been meticulously crafted specifically for these shows, drawing deep inspiration from the sublime and haunting subterranean performances that defined their historic and critically acclaimed film, Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs.
To offer a glimpse into the immersive experience of the tour, the band made a special appearance last night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with a performance of ‘Running Joke / Paper Machete,’ demonstrating the raw energy that characterises The Catacombs Tour.
Watch – ‘Running Joke / Paper Machete’ live on The Tonight Show
In The Loop caught the opening night of the tour, saying,”it proved that even 25 years on, Queens of the Stone Age can still surprise, seduce, and unsettle—all in the same breath. This was not a rock concert but a soul stirring jolt into the mind of Josh Homme.” The first leg of the North American tour concludes tonight at NYC’s Beacon Theater and will start back up again on November 8th at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre. The band requested fans to attend in their finest attire, aligning with the elevated ambiance of the performances.
Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs is available to watch now at www.qotsa.com as well as stream on the Criterion Channel HERE, while the audio release is available on all digital streaming platforms HERE. Filmed and recorded in July 2024, the band is captured as you’ve never seen or heard them before. This once-in-a-lifetime experience features a carefully selected setlist spanning the QOTSA catalog, each song chosen specifically and epically reimagined in deference to the Catacombs. The result is an unprecedented incarnation of QOTSA at their most intimate, yet surrounded by literally millions of human remains—“the biggest audience we’ve ever played for,” says Joshua Homme.
The Catacombs of Paris is a sprawling 320km (200 miles) ossuary beneath the surface of Paris. With a foundation of several million bodies buried in the 1700s, skeletal remains are largely exposed, with much of the walls built of skulls and bones. Homme had dreamt of staging a QOTSA performance there since his first visit nearly 20 years ago. The city of Paris, however, had never granted permission to any artist to play within the sacred tunnels. QOTSA, being law-abiding citizens, waited until their vision was sanctioned.
Alongside the film, the band released a limited one-sided vinyl of the Alive In The Catacombs audio in an edition of 5,000 copies. Housed in individually numbered gatefold jackets designed by GRAMMY-winning Morning Breath Inc. with foil print inside and out and containing an exclusive 24-page booklet of behind-the-scenes photos taken by long-time collaborator Andreas Neumann, the pressing sold out instantly. A pared back, standard vinyl edition of Alive in the Catacombs is available in-stores now.
Praise for Queens of the Stone Age
“Starkly beautiful” – NME
“As the band rattle chains and wander the tunnels for ‘Suture Up Your Future’ and promise ‘when you say it’s dead and gone, yes, I know you’re wrong’ on ‘I Never Came’, the beautiful and tender capture of this performance seems to humbly say, ‘you ain’t all that, we’ll all be bones eventually, but art is forever’” – NME
“Revelatory” – Uncut
“Alive in the Catacombs is a profoundly emotional experience, buoyed by some of the best stripped-down vocal takes of Homme’s career (despite his being constantly in severe pain).” – Screen Rant
“nothing short of quiet, understated mastery.” – Screen Rant
“One of the most stunning bunch of songs that I have ever seen shot” – Marc Maron
“Alive In The Catacombs stands as one of the strongest creative statements from Queens Of The Stone Age, while also serving as an arresting performance that should be among the greatest of live albums.” – Spill Magazine
“In 2025 Queens Of The Stone Age are still one of the best rock acts around” – Forbes
