Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme made headlines earlier this month when his band was opening for Foo Fighters at Ford Field in Detroit. The frontman defied the venue’s anti-smoking policy and delivered an onstage rant decrying corporations that “tell you what to do.”
During that show, Homme pointed out a $10,000 fine for smoking at the stadium, and proceeded to light up a cigarette onstage. He told the audience, “Don’t let these fuckin’ corporate assholes tell you what to do. Do whatever the fuck you want. Fuck that shit. You paid for parking, and you’re paying for overpriced drinks, these fucking scalpers. Fuck having some corporation tell you what the fuck to do, you guys do what you want!
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Consequence recently caught up with Homme to discuss QOTSA’s upcoming album, Perfecth, and he addressed his onstage actions at Ford Field.
“It had nothing to do with smoking,” Homme told us in the video interview. “It’s about monopolies and corporations that charge you $85 for parking, and $30 for a beer, and tell you, ‘You can’t go here, but you can go here.’ It’s about controlling fun. The example of smoking just doesn’t matter. That’s not important. It’s about being constantly told what to do when you yourself are paying for a moment of escapism. It’s like having to have fun with the hall monitors.”
He continued, “Honestly, I kinda don’t give a fuck. You’re not supposed to smoke, but who cares? It’s about uniting people so they can do what they want… We’re already playing this big corporate thing. It’s like we might as well infiltrate it and have a good time. Turn these Mondays into Saturdays.”
Queens of the Stone Age will release their new album Perfecth on October 30th. The band will kick off the second leg of their North American tour supporting Foo Fighters on September 15th in Regina, Saskatchewan, with tickets to the upcoming shows available here.
Watch Josh Homme speak with Consequence about his onstage speech at Ford Field in the clip below.
