(October 21st 2015, San Diego, CA) Eagles of Death Metal just released their first album in almost seven years and are touring heavily to support it. Zipper Down is the fourth album by the Americana-inspired rock band, and it contains just as much piss and vinegar as previous albums, delivering the high-powered fun their fans have come to expect. Their west coast tour started in Los Angeles on Monday, October 19. Wednesday they made their way down to San Diego for a stop at the Belly Up Tavern before heading north again and then to Europe.
Eagles of Death Metal (EODM) was founded by Jesse Hughes (who goes by Boots Electric) and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. The two grew up together in and around Palm Desert and are the only two permanent members of EODM. The current incarnation also features well-known guitarist and producer Dave Catching and bassist Matt McJunkins, who previously played for 30 Seconds to Mars.
EODM may not be as well-known as Josh Homme’s other project Queens of the Stone Age, but they have a rabidly loyal cult following. This is due to frontman Hughes’ desert eagle biker-turned-evangelist persona. This charisma was in no short supply at The Belly Up and the crowd turned out in huge numbers to see it, filling the venue to capacity. The band’s representative crowd was definitely there, as most of the fans knew the lyrics to almost all EODM’s songs and they crowded the stage, yelling out song requests and even giving Huges a gift at one point.
Zipper Down was obviously featured heavily in the show at The Belly Up, but so were EODM classics like “San Berdoo Sunburn,” “I Want You So Hard” and “Wanna Be in LA.” The band played for almost two hours, during which time they also covered Duran Duran’s “Say a Prayer” and Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business.” These two interesting choices underline EODM’s sense of fun and love of all things rock.
The fun kept on coming throughout the show. As Hughes strutted and danced around the Belly Up stage, bassist McJunkins pumped up the crowd with Hulk Hogan-like hype moves and Dave Catching threw guitar picks into the crowd. Josh Homme, who doesn’t always make gigs due to his commitments with Queens of the Stone Age, was surprisingly quiet behind the drums but was clearly enjoying himself and riffed with his childhood buddies between songs. A major highlight was during the encore, where Hughes and Catching entered into a sort of mock guitar battle which lasted almost ten minutes. It showcased the skill and camaraderie these two have, and was a fun flourish with which to end the show.
Though EODM have a fan base who knows their every move, any rock fan would have a blast watching this high-energy band perform. Between Hughes’ charisma and the down-home-American-rock-with-a-twist music style the band is known for, even the uninitiated will find themselves dancing and laughing along with the Eagles of Death Metal.
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