Eagles of Death Metal @ The Forum, London

Californian rockers Eagles of Death Metal returned to London for their biggest headline show to date at The Forum. Formed by childhood friends Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss) EODM shook off their novelty image and proved they can hold their own in rock n roll. Sadly Josh Homme couldn’t perform his drumming duties due to other commitments.

First up were duo White Miles, who woke The Forum up with an immediate jolt of energy. The twosome were an almighty blues rock racket. Singer/guitarist Medina prowled the stage with the confidence of an Amazonian warrior, brandishing her guitar like a hunter displaying her kill (seriously). They captivated the crowd as they raced through a set filled with sleazy, red-light riffs, carried along on drummer Lofi’s pounding beats. Setting the tone for the riotous good times to follow, Eagles of Death Metal arrived onstage to Pilot’s ‘Magic’, sparking a mass sing-a-long while Jesse greeted joyful fans with all the rousing nonsense of a circus ringleader. His camp wiggles and “call me” hand gestures to girls in the front row instantly cemented his ridiculous charm and humour which left girls squealing like lustful banshees. Launching into the kick-drum driven ‘I Only Want You’, they got the usually muted London crowds jumping straight away. New single ‘Complexity’, with spirited horns and a cheerful beat was as infectious as a night with Jesse himself, and now takes first place as the feel good hit of the autumn. Hipster baiting ‘Silverlake’, with the jesting, operatic chorus of ‘Don’t you know who I am’ kept the fun, sweaty pace rolling and only a few songs in, EODM had sent The Forum roof intergalactic to accommodate the electric atmosphere they had created. In ‘I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)’ you could feel Josh Homme’s influence with its chugging start-stop QOTSA style, but crisped up by Jesse’s scratchy, whiskey frazzled voice and playful lyrics. They played some great cover versions too, Stealers Wheel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle’, re-christened ‘Stuck in the Metal’, and a sultry go at Duran Duran’s ‘Save a Prayer’. Jesse was a barrage of charisma, bounding across the stage, lapping up the attention with a big grin on his face. It was refreshing to see a frontman getting such a genuine thrill from how much fun everyone was having. He stopped for a moment to give a gracious nod to his hero, Rat Scabies from The Damned who was watching from the side of the stage. Mr Scabies then joined Jesse to play the drums on a stripped down cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Brown Sugar’. As the set drew to a close, guitarist Dave Catching, with a bald head, Gandalf beard and Flying V, stood facing Jesse and they traded solos in a guitar dual, proving their awesomeness was not limited to stage presence. Jesse then tied a bandana around Dave’s head and he carried on playing blind. For a band that had a more jokey reputation, this show put meat on the bones of this growing rock n roll beast. They have nailed big, dirty live rock music with an exhilarating mix of wiry, jumpy riffs and 70’s energy. In the words once uttered by Josh Homme - “that was so much magic, we almost disappeared into a hat”.