Regardless of my initial high having secured tickets for this sold out appearance by ‘desert rock’ veterans Eagles of Death Metal, I was admittedly a little miffed at the absence of Josh Homme from their live show.

Despite his role as drummer, song writer and producer on record, the Queens of the Stone Age frontman rarely tours with the Eagles, preferring to pass drumming duties onto fellow QOTSA member Joey Castillo.

But focusing on the live line up of these checked shirt-attired sleaze rockers, this evening’s audience showed few signs of disappointment as the well-traveled foursome appeared onstage to the bopping heads of slender rockabilly ladies and leather-clad guys alike. In aviator sunglasses and tight jeans, frontman Jesse ‘The Devil’ Hughes faced a wall of ecstatic cheers as fellow guitarist ‘Darlin’ Dave pulled a retro flying V over his shaved head.

Complementing each others’ erratic strumming with their signature distortion sound, the twosome were soon joined by ‘Big Hands’ Brian and their aforementioned ‘Sexy-Mexy’ drummer - who together provided a sturdy rhythm section, particularly due to Castillo’s kit - his short cymbal stands allowing for speedy beat making and a snappy style. Stretching his arms high to embrace the sweaty air around him, Jesse called out through grinning lips, reassuring the crowd how the Birmingham gig of the previous evening had “sucked” like a lacklustre house party in comparison to tonight’s adoring audience.

Indeed, the band’s Bristolian fanbase were a great addition to their efforts, helping create an atmosphere somewhere between that of a variety circus and a drunken line dancing contest. This mutual enthusiasm erupted into crazed dancing across the venue, exploding with the cheeky little number ‘Prissy Prancin’ when Jesse's shy-looking fiance 'Miss Coco Bubbles' joined the stage, adding a sultry element to their usually ultra-masculine vocal mix.

After excitedly declaring “you won’t believe how much I needed you guys tonight” and carefully adjusting his eyewear, ‘The Devil’ took an audience vote over what to play next. Following a volley of incomprehensible requests screamed from all directions, the band settled for the fast paced and innuendo-crammed ‘Cherry Cola’ which, judging by the crowd’s reaction was the perfect choice. Our cringe worthy but contagious dancing seemed to evolve further at this point into a perfectly cheesy and totally care free rock-fest which culminated in one bold lady throwing her bra at the stage.

As this lacy piece was held high and admired by both band and crowd, a particularly busty lady next to me noted that her own underwear would have proved a rarer specimen for this now inevitable part of the Eagles’ live show.  Despite this observation, the band seemed delighted to be taking home a British sample to add to their boob box collection and continued to bash out another sequence of blazing tunes before leaving the stage to the deafening squeal of fellow lingerie enthusiasts.

Reappearing alone in a snug, lightening-bolt adorned t-shirt - simultaneously exposing his muscles and heavily tattooed arms - the greasy haired frontman began to strum out fan favourite ‘It’s so Easy’. Stripped down from the original version found on their debut album Peace, Love, Death Metal, this tune flowed beautifully along with sweet, crooning vocals. Next followed a cover of The Rolling Stones classic ‘Brown Sugar’ with Jesse continuing solo-style before his backing trio returned onstage, accompanying him for the chorus. Predictably, this full line up remained onstage for what became a lengthy encore session but the audience never tired of the Eagles’ good time sounds.

Whether charging along with the “real rock and roll” of their most recent single ‘Wannabe in L.A.’ or jamming out experimentally, EODM delivered an electrifying show which would cheer up even the most jaded members of the rock community.

Photo used by kind permission-copyright Jo Dymond.