I haven’t been to a show as sweaty, intense or downright fun as the QOTSA Tribute 2016 in a very long time. Say what you will about tribute shows but when they’re as good as this one was I’m all for them – you could tell the music of Queens of the Stone Age was a big inspiration to everyone involved and their passion was palpable, flooding off the stage and into the tightly packed crowd (I have never seen Manila that full) who’d been eagerly anticipating the night for ages.

Working out the logistics of the show couldn’t have been easy with 20-odd performers rotating in and out, but things flowed pretty much seamlessly from one song and set to the next, and everyone gave truly great performances. Surprise stand-out of the show for me was their rearranged version of UNKLE’s Restless but the setlist on the whole was perfect as were the vocal choices in particular.

Throughout the night the message was stressed that shows like this prove that the rock scene is alive in Cape Town – rock in particular has definitely been in a bit of a slump of late but hopefully the overwhelming success of a night like this will help inject some passion back into the scene.

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Shot for Texx and the City – Read Stian’s epic review over here

Bands represented in the show:
Stoker  |  Southern Wild  |  The Sleepers  |  Taxi Violence   FEVERSTONE  |  De Wallen  |  Loveglove Pyrotechnics
Dangerfields  |  Julia Robert  |  African Survival Kit  |  Mr. Cat & the Jackal  |  Blynd Tyger  | Slow Jack
Bam Bam Brown & The Wild Professors