Queens Of The Stone Age gave an atmospheric performance of ‘Running Joke/Paper Machete’ on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – check out footage below.
Starting the song lying down on a bed, frontman Josh Homme began singing while walking through a living room set filled with people, before joining the rest of the band in front of the studio audience, swinging a mobile light around the dimly lit stage.
The appearance comes ahead of their upcoming ‘Catacombs Tour’, a run of intimate gigs following QOTSA’s stripped-back performance at the historic Parisian Catacombs last summer, which was captured for a recent concert film and live album both titled ‘Alive In The Catacombs’.
NME’s four-star review of the film called it “moving and meditative”, adding: “So immersive is the California rockers’ starkly beautiful Thomas Rames-directed and Blogothèque-produced half-hour live film Alive In The Catacombs, that it’s easy to get lost – as you might while navigating the tunnels and ossuaries beneath the French capital.
“What’s more, this ain’t no standard stripped-back Live Lounge kinda affair. Homme and co are aided by a supporting cast of six million souls whose skulls line the walls.”
The band opened the current run of dates in Illinois with a surprise premiere of the new track ‘Easy Street’, as part of a 17-song set that included a cover of ‘Spinning In Daffodils’ by Them Crooked Cultures.
Next summer, the rockers will join System Of A Down on their European stadium tour, which includes two nights at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. You can find any remaining tickets here.
System Of A Down’s UK and European 2026 tour dates are:
June:
29 – Sweden, Stockholm – Strawberry Arena
July:
2 – France, Paris – Stade De France
6 – Italy, Milan – Ippodromo Snai La Maura
8 – Germany, Berlin – Olympiastadion
10 – Germany, Düsseldorf – Open Air Park Düsseldorf
13 – UK, London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
15 – UK, London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
18 – Poland, Warsaw – PGE Narodowy
In August, Queens Of The Stone Age wrapped up their tour with a two-night stint at Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus. While there, Josh Homme visit “landmarks” associated with the city’s native band Arctic Monkeys.
