Those who missed the concert Tuesday night at the Bellco Theatre missed a spectacle.
The show was meant to be enjoyed in the moment, without fans taking cellphone videos and texting–to put a fine point it, anyone caught messing about on their phones was subject to a verbal warning followed by possible ejection from the theater. Ringleader Maynard James Keenan was very vocal about this point, both at the start of the act via a PSA on a video screen from his Army general character Major Douche. At the end of the concert, he said removed all pretense and simply called anyone who took photos or videos of the performance an asshole.
Puscifer is most often referred to as the side project of Keenan, frontman of Tool and A Perfect Circle. But in reality, the band is big as a full-time gig. He’s released three studio albums, three remix albums and three EPs as Puscifer since Tool’s last album in 2006.
Humor is as much a part of Puscifer as the music. (The band’s origins trace back to ) Their comedic slant shone through brilliantly in the theme of last night’s concert: Mexican wrestling. Masked luchadores known as “Luchafer” were the opening act, and the handful of male and female wrestlers rumbled in an actual ring that stayed up throughout Puscifer’s performance.
Puscifer kicked off their set with “Simultaneous” from their latest release, “Money Shot.” On a video behind the band, Keenan portrayed Billy D downing whisky and snorting cocaine while ruminating on life’s deeper issues. After his speech, the entire band came into view, led by Keenan (sporting a mohawked luchador mask) and vocalist Carina Round singing inside the wrestling ring. The live band’s newest additions are Mahsa Zargaran of Omniflux on keyboards and Ministry’s Paul Barker on bass.
Puscifer is known for creating different versions of their songs, especially live. Last night they tweaked a couple of older songs: “Rev 22:20,” which was sung by Round, and “The Undertaker.”
Before a two-song encore, Keenan let out one last joke on the night: “I’m going to grab some oatmeal and watch some Betty White.” If only someone had a video of that.
Setlist:
1. Simultaneous
2. Galileo
3. Agostina
4. Vagina Mine
5. Horizons
6. The Arsonist
7. The Remedy
8. Life of Brian (Apparently You Haven’t Seen)
9. Rev 22:20
10. Grand Canyon
11. Polar Bear
12. Breathe
13. Toma
14. Telling Ghosts
15. Money Shot
16. Man Overboard
17. The Undertaker
18. Smoke and Mirrors
19. Autumn
