Well, yeah. But, in the hands of a good hard rock band like Queens of the Stone Age, sustained volume is just another musical tool, like a tutti stop on a pipe organ. That was one lesson of the concert featuring QOTSA, Eagles of Death Metal and Fatso Jetson for people who have long thought hard rock doesn’t belong in the McCallum or that garage bands just turn up the decibels to hide a multitude of errors.

QOTSA, under guitarist Josh Homme’s deft leadership, played with expert precision and used its sustained volume as a counter to its dolcissimo harmonies to create a duality that is at the heart of their musical and lyrical themes. Another lesson of the benefit concert for local charities was just how diverse three bands could be within the hard rock genre. Fatso Jetson opened with a reminder of how unique Mario Lalli Jr.’s bands always are.

It’s difficult to put Fatso Jetson’s music into perspective because it is so original. Their drummer, Rancho Mirage native Tony Tornay, leads a musical attack that sounds almost like an assault with Lalli’s unorthodox guitar chords. But Tornay finds a groove with bassist Larry Lalli and actually swings while leading that assault. Then reed player Vince Meghrouni finds spaces to add personality ranging from uplifting to sexy to witty.

Mario Lalli’s hard vocals are in marked contrast to Homme’s, but his delivery of light lyrical content such as “Orgy Porgy” or “Itchy Brother” is another example of the duality of desert music. And again, Fatso Jetson plays with precision. The Eagles of Death Metal raised the concert to a bearable lightness of being with still more precision playing and power drums.