For a band that’s never shied away from bold creative choices, Queens Of The Stone Age‘s upcoming concert film Alive in the Catacombs marks an especially visceral detour into the literal and figurative underground. Set for a short series of international theatrical screenings from June 3 to 6, the film captures an intimate, stripped-back performance recorded within the eerie confines of the Paris Catacombs—a location steeped in centuries of mortality and myth.
Adding a personal touch to the rollout, the June 4 screening at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles will feature a rare in-person appearance by frontman Joshua Homme, who will introduce the film and hold a Q&A session afterward. Notably, all proceeds from this screening will benefit The Sweet Stuff Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Homme to support musicians and their families during times of illness and hardship.
The full list of screenings is as follows, with tickets available here:
6/3 MK2 Quai de Loire, Paris, France
6/3 The Royal, Toronto, Canada
6/3 Kino Konepaja, Helsinki, Finland
6/4 Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK
6/4 Brain Dead Studios, Los Angeles, US
6/4 Kino Central, Berlin, Germany
6/4 Sphinx Cinema and Cafe, Ghent, Belgium
6/4 Cineclub Cortina, Sao Paulo, Brasil
6/4 Cinema Barberino, Rome, Italy
6/4 Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
6/5 Cinema Nova, Melbourne, Australia
6/5 Cine Tonala, Mexico City, Mexico
6/5 MONA / Dark Mofo – Hobart State Cinema, Tasmania (HOBART), Australia
6/5 Double Whammy, Auckland, New Zealand
6/5 Empire Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
6/5 Irish Film Institute, Dublin, Ireland
6/5 Sala X, Madrid, Spain
6/5 CGV Grand Indonesia West Mall, Jakarta, Indonesia
6/5 EMU Cinema Space, Seoul, South Korea
6/5 Cinema Oasis, Bangkok, Thailand
6/6 Spot Cinema Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
The concert film was directed by Thomas Rames and produced by La Blogothèque, known for their artful approach to live music experiences. Alive in the Catacombs is a meditation on sound, space, and mortality.
As Hélène Furminieux of the Catacombs expressed, “The Catacombs of Paris are a fertile ground for the imagination. It is important to us that artists take hold of this universe and offer a sensitive interpretation of it. Going underground and confronting reflections on death can be a deeply intense experience. Josh seems to have felt in his body and soul the full potential of this place. The recordings resonate perfectly with the mystery, history, and a certain introspection, notably perceptible in the subtle use of the silence within the Catacombs.”
The starkness of the environment shaped everything about the performance. Homme explains: “We’re so stripped down because that place is so stripped down, which makes the music so stripped down, which makes the words so stripped down… It would be ridiculous to try to rock there. All those decisions were made by that space. That space dictates everything, it’s in charge. You do what you’re told when you’re in there.”
It’s a sentiment that reflects the rare vulnerability of the setting. For those unfamiliar, the Catacombs were established in 1810 to house the bones of over six million people, moved from overflowing cemeteries after a structural collapse in 1774. It’s a venue born of necessity and death—an unlikely but potent stage for Queens Of The Stone Age to reimagine their sonic identity.
