Words and Photos by Jose Serrato
As I write this review, we are two days away from Maynard James Keenan’s 60th birthday. So how does one of the biggest rock stars in the world celebrate this milestone? For Keenan, it was going on a 21 date tour across the country with his bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. To make it an even better birthday, he added Primus to the lineup.
So, how do three bands that sell out their own headlining tours decide what the lineup will be? Who goes first? Who closes out the night? How much time does each band get? Easy solution. Have all three bands on stage together at the same time. That’s right. Three drum sets on risers in the back. Multiple guitar amps and microphones lined up. We usually see song swaps with singer/songwriter performers, not with rock bands. But, here we are. We were in for a unique concert experience for sure.
Act 1 started with 3 songs by A Perfect Circle that was met with a roar from the sold out crowd. APC hadn’t toured the US since 2018 and fans were more than excited to see them live again. While APC performs, members of Primus and Puscifer relaxed on couches placed on both sides of the drums on the high riser complete with mini bars. Easily the best seat in the house.
Claypool walks out onto the stage with his bass, it’s Primus time. When I’m asked, I never know how to describe Primus’ music. Typically I’ll just play a song and wait for a reaction. The trio performed 4 songs which included one of my favorite songs by them, “Too Many Puppies.”
“I like that hat…” says Claypool as he points to a fan in the crowd. Claiming he had been thinking about what to gift the birthday boy, Claypool said that the cowboy hat the fan was wearing was the perfect gift. The hat was passed towards the front and Les placed the fans hat onto Maynard’s head. A perfect fit. Unfortunately for that fan, no cell phones were allowed during the show so he has no evidence that his hat sat on the head of a metal legend. His friends will just have to take his word for it.
Maynard is pulling double duty on his birthday tour as it’s now time for his other band, Puscifer. Along with Carina Round, Mat Mitchell, Greg Edwards and Gunnar Olsen, the unexplainable continued. Call them experimental or post-industrial, Puscifer has a unique sound that can be both eerie and beautiful at the same time. The group kicked it off with song “Galileo” from their 2014 album Money Shot. This is my third time covering Puscifer and I find more things each time that has me loving them even more.
At this point I have lost all sense of time and Sessanta has me sucked into a world I don’t want to leave. We still have three more Acts to go. As the show continues, members of all three bands start to have a good time. At one point a ping pong table is brought out and a game has started during Puscifer’s set. Maynard and Carina play a round of Rock’em Sock’s Robots while singing. Maynard won by the way and flexed to the crowd. Did I mention the chair lifts installed on the sides? Well, Keenan and Claypool put those to use as well to make their way up to the band lounge.
The final Act had the three bands play the new tracks released on the three-way split Sessanta E.P.P.P. One track by each band that were all co-written by Keenan. Ending the night with the song “Grand Canyon” that had all members on stage playing together.
Not knowing how this show would go, Sessanta did not disappoint. By this point, we should all know that anything Maynard James Keenan is involved with, it will more than likely be amazing. I wonder how many times this format will be copied in the future.
Happy Birthday, Maynard!!
