Eagles of Death Metal, the band on stage when the deadliest of the Islamic State attacks in Paris took place on Nov. 13, on Thursday (February 2) attended the Los Angeles premiere of an HBO documentary about the group’s emotional return to Paris and the Bataclan concert hall where shooting took place.
The gunmen stormed the hall while the band from California was performing, killing 89 people attending the concert.
“Well it was exhilarating and it was beautiful in a terrible way but we went there to finish something and be with our friends, you might call them fans of rock and roll,” said frontman Jesse Hughes.
“You know, we all helped each other. I know it sounds corny but that’s what happened, you know, and going back, it was mixed. It’s difficult for it to be anything other than bitter-sweet,” he added.
Eagles of Death Metal co-founder and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme said not going back to France was an “impossibility.”
“I mean but when you ponder the alternative which is to not go back and play, that seems like an impossibility,” said Homme.
“Some of the fans weren’t able to attend, and understandably. But even they felt the same as the ones that did which was that it was important to be there, to make that statement,” added Homme, who was not performing with the band when the attacks took place. Despite Homme being a founding member of Eagles of Death Metal, he rarely tours with the band.
Asked their opinions on the controversial immigration order of U.S. President Donald Trump and if they believed they would keep America safe from attacks, the band said they wanted to focus on music rather than politics.
“My politics are rock and roll,” said Hughes.
“Frankly, you know I like to play music in a certain way for it to be like an ice cream truck or arcade, there’s not politics in there. A little escape goes a long way. It seems like right now it’s more necessary than ever to have the escape. So you know what you think and I know what I think but when we all get together to do something, what do you want to do? I wanna playmusic,” added Homme.
The HBO documentary, entitled ‘Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends),’ was directed by Colin Hanks, who is the son of Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks.
“When you’re put into a position like that I think you’re true self comes out and, you know, Jessie and Josh have really proven themselves to be pretty good under the circumstances, you know. While it’s difficult and you’re still trying to make sense of everything and sometimes you don’t say the right things or you don’t know how to act, I’m really proud of the way they sort of handled themselves and I just think that they’re really amazing individuals,” said Hanks, who has been friends with Homme and Hughes for years.
One of the survivors of the Bataclan attack, 31 year-old Parisian Arthur Denouveaux, who is featured in the documentary, said the fateful night left him with the “kind of fear that you cannot forget.”
“Well I was in the pit on the concert, I was really like 10 meters from the stage so when everything broke out I was pushed to the ground and then I don’t know, out of nowhere I managed to crawl out of it, it took me like five to 10 minutes, know know t’s still kind of blurry. A year after I have not the perfect recollection of the night. I just remember chaos and the kind of fear that you cannot forget,” said Denouveaux.
