Eagles of Death Metal at the Neptune Theatre, Seattle

The Band: The Eagles of Death Metal

The Players: Jesse Hughes, vocals, guitar; Scott Shiflett, guitar, backing vocals; Dustin Douglas, bass; Phoenix Plischke Hughes, backing vocals; Leah Bluestein, drums.

Openers: Paradise Vultures. Tommy Senter, lead vocals, bass; Matty Barrec, drums.

As danceable industrial goth-rock songs such as Nine Inch Nails’ “Everything” pulsed through the house speakers, Jesse Hughes, the ebullient, swaggering, charismatic frontman for Eagles of Death Metal, suddenly stepped into view of the historic Neptune Theatre. Waving toward the packed house of faithful fans, he placed his hand over his heart; his impromptu entrance was instantly reciprocated with a roaring round of whistles and the rhythmic chant of “Boots, Boots, Boots!”— a passionate nod to his stage persona Boots Electric — before he slipped back into the dark side stage to prepare for the oncoming onslaught of fun.

After a few more minutes of anticipation, the overhead lights shone down with a surprise intro blast of “Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show ushering Hughes back into the limelight, donning his signature red cape while singing the classic song. The impromptu rendition was an exclusive, simultaneous treat, a surprise as well as an emotional salute to the late cinematic icon and star of the camp classic, Tim Curry, who passed away just days prior. The band’s ardent fans immediately understood the connection; Hughes' deep, long-standing affinity for the movie went so far as to previously spark a legendary Halloween crossover blowout — The Rocky Horror Show vs. Eagles of Death Metal. As the closing notes of the film’s number dissipated and Hughes took a final ‘step to the right,’ the full force of Eagles of Death Metal emerged. With Hughes plugging in his guitar for “I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News),” the venue transformed into a high-voltage emergency room for all souls — some heartbroken, some hurt, some wanting away from life’s heavy tolls, while others wanting a bit of fun, but all in need of a lot of rock-and-roll.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Eagles of Death Metal’s swaggering sophomore album, Death by Sexy, Hughes and company locked into a propulsive, four-on-the-floor garage rock rhythm for "I Got a Feelin (Just Nineteen)." His voice, soul-infused with a tinge of retro-boogie blues, evolved into a potent rock-and-roll elixir, intoxicating every inch of the venue. Known for affable audience interactions, Hughes took another moment to give a heartfelt shoutout to a long-time childhood friend standing within the packed crowd during “Cherry Cola.”

Not one to stand still, Hughes continued his signature rabble-rousing rock and roll orations while crisscrossing the stage and thanking the crowd for simply being there, before strumming the power chord riffs of “Don’t Speak (I Came to Make a Bang!)” and howling out his trademark ‘HAOW’s!’

Hughes’s charming, ultra-cool bravado remained front and center for the vampy rockabilly groove of “Chase the Devil.” When the sonic dust settled, the band paused for a moment of lighthearted onstage banter that signaled a deep, sincere mutual respect for one another. After the brief break, EODM brought their devoted flock back into the fold—fully uniting every faction of the room for their classic garage rock grooves, “Eagles Goth” and “Shasta Beast.”

Toward the end of the set, The Eagles of Death Metal’s rock-and-roll revival bumped up to an entirely different level when Hughes invoked the ghost of Jim Morrison, referencing Morrison’s infamously fabled, stage-collapsing conga line with a theatrical nod to Val Kilmer’s cinematic portrayal in the biopic, The Doors. Hughes bypassed the barriers and plunged into the pit, carving out a chaotic path along the floor. The enthralled fans fully immersed themselves in the wild fun. Ultimately returning to the stage, genuinely awe-struck, he pulled it off. In that moment, he shouted out another round of thanks to the crowd for being part of his lifelong performance dream.

With the night’s momentum still in full swing, Hughes and company stepped away from the anniversary record, delivering a wonderful rock rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes.” From any other band on any other night, this magnum opus interpolation might have been the grand finale, but for the Eagles of Death Metal, their never-ending energy only wound up for one more round of electrifying fervor as they dove into the fan favorite, “Speaking in Tongues." Pulling off a musical magic-trick, Hughes suddenly went missing from the floor, only to pop up moments later hanging over the Neptune balcony. What followed was an awesome, theatrical back-and-forth sonic match played across the open airspace, with Hughes precariously ax-shredding above the crowd while Scott Shiflett ripped through thunderous counter riffs on the main stage.

As the last notes of ‘Tongues’ reverberated through the rafters, Hughes made his triumphant descent back down to the main stage to close out the night. On cue, the historic auditorium erupted as the Eagles of Death Metal put a final punctuation mark on the night, framed by a pair of giant, floating inflatable tube caricatures dancing wildly at the edge of the stage. The crowd cheered another round of “Boots!,” in turn leaving the room on a high of cheeky provocation and pure, unadulterated joy — a cure, if just for one night, for all souls and any malaise.