Archive
Puscifer “Donkey Punch The Night” EP in Feb 2013
Just posted on Puscifer’s facebook page…
Puscifer’s Donkey Punch The Night coming Feb 19, 2013. The 8-song release track listing:
1. Bohemian Rhapsody “O.G. Mix”
2. Breathe
3. Dear Brother
4. Balls To The Wall “Pillow Fight Mix”
5. Breathe “Drumcell rework”
6. Dear Brother “Denton rework” (Big Black Delta)
7. Balls To The Wall “Silent Servant El Guapo Mix”
8. Bohemian Rhapsody “Sonoio rework”
Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) about the collection:
While continuing our tradition of releasing a few new songs at a time. I also had an itch that needed scratching, and that itch was ‘Balls To The Wall.’ Which was followed by an even harder to reach itch known as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ And scratch them we did.
~Dan – np: Paul Motian Trio + Two – Live at the Village Vanguard
REVIEW: Puscifer @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 3/14/12)
Fourth time seeing Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer. Always a treat! I opted out of the hassle of doing the photo pass on this 2nd leg, as I wanted to catch Carina Round’s set and not miss the intro video or any of the Puscifer set like I had to back at the 1st leg kick-off in Seattle in Nov 2011. Thus… ALL PHOTOS posted on this review are from the official Puscifer photographer and/or Meats Meier (see FB photo album).
I did the VIP soundcheck & wine tasting again (I’m a sucker for that)… Soundcheck performance was again stripped down acoustic on both songs – “The Chain” [Fleetwood Mac] and the personal favorite “The Humbling River” (with Carina Round on banjo).
For the wine, this time we tried the Arizona Stronghold’s Mandala (2010) & Mangus (2010) and the Caduceus Cellars’ Nagual de la Naga (2010). The Mandala was nice, had a very sweet and somewhat tart nose, but definitely a dry/balanced finish. It’s still young, but was an interesting viognier white wine blend. The next two were reds, and I liked them more. The Mangus was very drinkable. It was a “super Tuscan” primarily sangiovese blend – sweet, fruity, a little buttery in the mouth-feel. My favorite of the night was the Nagual de la Naga. It would have been perfect with a rich meal… this cabernet savignon, merlot, and sangiovese blend was only bottled a week before the tour started; so it was definitely a young wine. Despite its age, it was full bodied and beautiful to drink now.
Carina Round opened the show. She’s a great rocker singer-songwriter who also backs Maynard on vocals during the Puscifer set… she seemed more comfortable than the last tour go around. Her band was made up of a majority of the Puscifer live band. She had a lot of energy, and a high kick near the end of the set gave those of us in the front rows a special treat. She left the stage, and shortly thereafter the video intro started with Billy D (played by Maynard), Hildy, Cherry Piles, Peter Merkin, and other odd characters.
The show started out the same as Seattle… with Maynard wheeling out a small airstream camper. He set up some tables and chairs and talked about sustainability and what they’re trying to do with Puscifer (listen to the Fall 2011 monologue from NC).
The show overall was very similar to last year’s leg, which is fine with me… it’s a great set of songs, a fantastic light show, and a paradox of high technology with a stripped down feel. The song selection was also quite similar, except for the middle of the set we got “Potions” and “Mama Sed” instead of “Polar Bear” and “Indigo Children”…
Setlist: about 90 minutes
- Maynard Monologue while setting up camper/stage
- The Green Valley
- Tiny Monsters
- Vagina Mine
- Dozo
- Toma
- The Rapture (Fear is a Mind Killa Mix)
- The Weaver
- Rev 22:20 [Carina Round on lead vocals]
- Potions
- Momma Sed
- Oceans
- Monsoons
- Horizons
- Conditions of My Parole
- Man Overboard
- Telling Ghosts
- The Undertaker
- Tumbleweed
No Encore
This is a brilliant tour for a brilliant album. The western feel also fits extremely well with the newer mellower songs… tumbleweeds blowing by, fake campfire, and a dazzling electrical storm…
Don’t have Conditions of My Parole yet? I think you should go buy it if you haven’t yet. It’s at the top of my pile for 2011 releases (by far).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Caduceus Cellars (Maynard’s wines)
- Puscifer’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round’s Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Puscifer @ Roseland #1 w/ wine tasting (Portland – Nov 2009)
- Puscifer @ Roseland #2 (Portland – Nov 2009)
- A Perfect Circle (Portland – June 2011)
- Puscifer @ Paramount w/ wine tasting (Seattle – Nov 2011)
- PCPA/Arlene Schnitzer’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below… the dates are winding down; so if you missed it, you’ll have to try next time!
Next shows for me… Seun Kuti @ WOW Hall (3/18) and Skerik’s Bandalabra @ Cozmic (3/20).
~Dan – np: John Zorn – IAO: Music in Sacred Light
Puscifer Winter Tour 2012
February
23 Austin, TX – Long Center for the Performing Arts
25 Baton Rouge, LA – River Center Theatre
26 Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
28 Nashville, TN – Andrew Jackson Hall
29 Louisville, KY – Brown Theatre
March
1 Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theatre
3 Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
4 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
6 Kansas City, KS – Kansas City Music Hall
7 Omaha, NE – Omaha Civic Auditorium
10 Edmonton, AB – North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
11 Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
13 Vancouver, BC – The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts
14 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
16 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts
17 Riverside, CA Fox Performing Arts Center
18 Escondido, CA – California Center for the Arts
Puscifer last night on Jimmy Kimmel
Maynard James Keenan just got off the road with a few Tool dates, and he’s about to hit the road again with Puscifer (dates at the bottom). They swung by Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and played “Telling Ghosts” and “Toma“…
Conditions of My Parole is a brilliant record; so I think you should go buy it if you haven’t yet. It’s at the top of my pile for 2011 releases (by far). Last year’s tour was one of my favorite shows of the year… if they swing by you this coming month, go see ’em!
Puscifer Winter Tour 2012
February
23 Austin, TX – Long Center for the Performing Arts
25 Baton Rouge, LA – River Center Theatre
26 Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
28 Nashville, TN – Andrew Jackson Hall
29 Louisville, KY – Brown Theatre
March
1 Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theatre
3 Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
4 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
6 Kansas City, KS – Kansas City Music Hall
7 Omaha, NE – Omaha Civic Auditorium
10 Edmonton, AB – North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
11 Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
13 Vancouver, BC – The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts
14 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
16 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts
17 Riverside, CA Fox Performing Arts Center
18 Escondido, CA – California Center for the Arts
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Godard/Spillane
Puscifer “Telling Ghosts” (official video)
The official David Lynch-ian video for Puscifer “Telling Ghosts” is now posted on their official YouTube account…
It was shot by Tim Cadiente (Barton Perreira) and Meats Meier (3D Art Space) and edited by Mat Mitchell (Puscifer). The video brings me right back to seeing them in Seattle in November 2011 (review with photos here).
Get the amazing album, Puscifer’s Conditions Of My Parole, over HERE.
~Dan – np: Frank Zappa – Them Or Us
Puscifer announce Winter 2012 tour dates
updated Dec 13, 2011 & Jan 9, 2012 with a few new dates
PUSCIFER’S CONDITIONS OF MY PAROLE TOUR 2012
All shows on sale Friday, Dec. 16. VIP ticket packages available simultaneously at http://puscifer.frontgatetickets.com
The new Puscifer album, Conditions of My Parole, is available now at Puscifer.com, Amazon.com, iTunes and at independent record stores. Conditions of My Parole is a brilliant record; so I think you should go buy it if you haven’t yet. It’s at the top of my pile for 2011 releases (by far).
Check out my review (with photos) from the 1st date of the 1st leg of the tour in Seattle (11/7/11) over HERE. They’re heading out in late winter 2012 on a 2nd leg…
February 2012
23 Austin, TX – Long Center for the Performing Arts
25 Baton Rouge, LA – River Center Theatre
26 Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
28 Nashville, TN – Andrew Jackson Hall
29 Louisville, KY – Brown Theatre
March 2012
1 Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theatre (new date)
3 Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
4 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
6 Kansas City, KS – Kansas City Music Hall
7 Omaha, NE – Omaha Civic Auditorium
10 Edmonton, AB – North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
11 Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
13 Vancouver, BC – The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts
14 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
16 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts (new date)
17 Riverside, CA Fox Performing Arts Center (new date)
18 Escondido, CA – California Center for the Arts
I’ll be at the Portland gig! More dates may still be announced.
~Dan – np: Mike Patton – The Solitude of Prime Numbers
REVIEW: Puscifer @ Paramount Theatre (Seattle, WA – 11/7/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
A 6 week tour from Puscifer with no Oregon date? Well, pack up and drive to Seattle is what I’ll do! Seeing as Conditions of My Parole is vying quite strongly for one of my favorite albums of 2011 (and a marked improvement on Puscifer’s already strong work previously), I wasn’t going to miss this one.
This was only my second time to the Paramount Theatre (first time was for Spinal Tap Unwigged in 2009). It’s a really gorgeous venue.
I opted for the “VIP” plan; so 99 other rabids & I got to see a special “VIP Soundcheck” performance… 
stripped down acoustic on both songs – “The Chain” [Fleetwood Mac] and the personal favorite “The Humbling River” (with Carina Round on banjo). Maynard flubbed the lyrics slightly to the Fleetwood Mac song and joked about needing to google the lyrics later. After their short warm-up, Maynard talked about what they were trying to do with Puscifer – small, indie, sustainable. He joked about that with their small distributor that “even Hot Topics won’t take their call.” He thanked us for our support and then they left…
Also, being a sucker for Maynard, I also opted for the wine tasting session… For those not in the know, Maynard is an artist. He started with Tool. Branched out with Billy Howerdel on A Perfect Circle. But then he found his creative juices flowing with his boutique Caduceus Cellars / Merkin Vineyards in Jerome, Arizona. He makes fantastic wine with Eric Glomski and much help from his local friends… I’ve nabbed a few bottles in Ohio when I lived there, had some tastings at the 1st night Nov 2009 Puscifer show in Portland, and finally was able to direct order some at a local bottle shop in Eugene, Oregon (thanks, 16 Tons!).
Last night, we had the Merkin Vineyards’ The Diddler (2010) & Chupacabra (2010) and the Caduceus Cellars’ Sancha (2009). The Diddler was a nice white, primarily California Viognier, Arizona Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay/Malvasia Blanca blend. It was floral aromatic and a sweet in the nose, dry with a little sweet on the tongue. I’ve had the Chupacabra before (2005 & 2006). As a shape-shifter, it changes with each vintage. The 2010 had caramel and toffee on the nose. It was a deep, rich Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah blend with all California grapes. The final wine was special, the 2009 Sancha was a gorgeous all Arizona grape Tempranillo blend (with Garnacha). Dark, deep fruity nose, slightly chalky tannins (thanks to the host for pointing out chalkiness in some tannins). I love Tempranillo! Maynard came up to the room we were in near the end of the tasting and flashed us the peace sign and said “thanks.” Much less interaction than two years ago, but he’s a busy guy.
“Drink responsibly… even at a rock show!”
-Puscifer road manager
I missed the front end of Carina Round’s opening set due to wine tasting and needing to run to my car to get my camera. Her short (30 minute?) set struck me as a singer-songwriter turned rocker. I like her sound, and I have enjoyed some of her singles in the past. Her latest is the 2009 EP – Things You Should Know. She also has a new exclusive video for “The Last Time” on AOL Music. Despite her shortish set, I knew we’d see her shortly, as she’s in the band…
The Puscifer show started shortly after Carina left the stage with the VH1 Behind the Music-esque videos chronicling the honky-tonk performers struggles in life and love and incarceration. The odd things about the stage set-up was that… there was no stage set-up. The stage was completely empty when the show-proper started. At around 9pm, out came a small silver-bullet camper that housed some campfire chairs, tables, and some band members. Maynard moved the camper into place while talking to us about sustainability and the tour.
Puscifer shows in the past had some complex set design & changes, but the set for this tour was fairly steadily a campfire scene – with of course, an audacious light and video show at times. The juxtaposition of simple and complex, like Maynard’s nature, was also similar to the juxtaposition of melodic and heavy. The set was pretty much the entire Conditions album, with some V is for… and C is for… songs thrown in, too. No skits, some videos (Meats Meier’s and others), no over the top costuming, just a focus on the great music!
Setlist: about 90 minutes
Maynard Monologue while setting up camper/stage- The Green Valley
- Tiny Monsters
- Vagina Mine
- Dozo
- Toma
- The Rapture (Fear is a Mind Killa Mix)
- The Weaver
- Rev 22:20 [Carina Round on lead vocals]
- Polar Bear
- Indigo Children [2011 Mix]
- Oceans
- Monsoons
- Horizons
- Conditions of My Parole
- Man Overboard
- Telling Ghosts
- The Undertaker
- Tumbleweed
- No Encore
Conditions of My Parole is a brilliant record; so I think you should go buy it if you haven’t yet. It’s at the top of my pile for 2011 releases (by far).
The 1st night of tour had very minimal hiccups (if any). Check it out, if you happen to be in the markets they’re hitting on this leg (see dates below). I was able to shoot the 3rd & 4th songs; so check back for my photos once I have time to get home and edit them.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Caduceus Cellars (Maynard’s wines)
- Puscifer’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round’s Facebook / MySpace / Twitter
- Gene Shilling’s photos from the 11/19 Detroit show
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Puscifer Night #1 w/ wine tasting (Portland – Nov 2009)
- Puscifer Night #2 (Portland – Nov 2009)
- A Perfect Circle (Portland – June 2011)
- STG/Paramount Theatre’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below the photos.
Next shows for me… a three-day run by Peter Mulvey (11/10 @ Sam Bonds in Eugene, 11/11 @ private house concert in Creswell, 11/12 @ Majestic in Corvallis).
~Dan – np: dredg – Chuckles and Mr Squeezy
PUSCIFER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Puscifer Fall 2011 Tour Dates
- 11/7 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
- 11/9 Salt Lake City, UT Capitol Theatre
- 11/10 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
- 11/12 St. Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
- 11/14 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
- 11/15 Chicago, IL Cadillac Palace Theatre
- 11/17 Cleveland, OH Lakewood Civic Auditorium
- 11/18 Toronto, ON Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
- 11/19 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
- 11/22 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
- 11/23 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
- 11/25 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music
- 11/26 Washington, DC Lisner Auditorium
- 11/27 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
- 11/29 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
- 11/30 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
- 12/2 Tulsa, OK Brady Theatre
- 12/3 Dallas, TX Majestic Theatre
- 12/6 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
- 12/7 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts
- 12/9 Mesa, AZ Ikeda Theater (previously listed as Phoenix)
- 12/10 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
Maynard on the future of Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer Tour
As reported in Antiquiet (the recap quoted below) & Loudwire (the longer interview)…
A couple of weeks ago, Maynard James Keenan released Conditions of My Parole, the sophomore effort from his “solo” project Puscifer. In a recent interview with Loudwire, he touched on the subject of new albums from the other acts he fronts – Tool and A Perfect Circle, as the former hasn’t released any new material since 2006, and the latter since 2003.
When asked about Tool, and the band’s modus operandi of having guitarist Adam Jones and drummer Danny Carey of writing the music before Maynard gives his input, he stated: “I’m allowing them their space to do what they do, so we’re still in that mode. Even if they told me how close they are to being done, I couldn’t tell you because if I say 60 percent people will start counting down. When it’s done everyone will know. But I haven’t done anything yet. They write forever and then we go in and knock it all out. We’re writing. We’re writing vocals.”
He added that “nothing’s solid” yet, and compared Tool’s writing process to Puscifer’s: “With Puscifer, there’s ideas and then we’ll record stuff. Then we’ll go back and change stuff and fix stuff and record new stuff before we finally put it all together. But with Tool, we practice jams, but there’s no actual recording going on until it’s time to record.”
On whether or not any touring will happen when Tool’s fifth album finally drops, Maynard said that fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for an extensive amount of dates: “Physically, I can’t do it, so that’s not gonna happen. We will tour, but it won’t be the old school dog and pony show of eight months of beating yourself to death.” Regarding the necessity that artists have of making money from touring, he said: “How much do you need, really? If we can make a living going out for a few weeks a year and keep people satisfied by making sure we play the locations we need to hit […] Who gives a s–t how much money you have if your back hurts so much you can’t stand up. Money’s not the goal. Having fun making the art, that’s the goal.”
As for the possibility of a new A Perfect Circle album, he was decidedly less enthusiastic, mentioning that he and guitarist Billy Howerdel don’t have much ready at the moment: “We’ve been kicking around some stuff. Nothing’s ready. Until it’s really solid it doesn’t make any sense to present it, and right now he’s busy with Ashes Divide and I’m doing Puscifer.”
Puscifer will be featured on a special Halloween appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman. After that, the band kicks off their North American tour, of which I’ll be at the Seattle gig (look for a review shortly thereafter):
11/7 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre- 11/9 Salt Lake City, UT Capitol Theatre
- 11/10 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
- 11/12 St. Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
- 11/14 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
- 11/15 Chicago, IL Cadillac Palace Theatre
- 11/17 Cleveland, OH Lakewood Civic Auditorium
- 11/18 Toronto, ON Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
- 11/19 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
- 11/22 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
- 11/23 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
- 11/25 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music
- 11/26 Washington, DC Lisner Auditorium
- 11/27 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
- 11/29 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
- 11/30 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
- 12/2 Tulsa, OK Brady Theatre
- 12/6 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
- 12/9 Phoenix, AZ Ikeda Theater
- 12/10 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
~Dan – np: Puscifer – Conditions of My Parole
Puscifer tour dates – Nov & Dec 2011
Update 10/3, 10/6 & 10/15 with updated venues and ticket information.
Puscifer tour dates leaked early at the end of this promo video (were supposed to be out tomorrow)…
Puscifer is Maynard James Keenan (Tool/A Perfect Circle), Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis, Carina Round, Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl. Carina Round is the opener. More dates to be announced soon as well. I hope Portland is on there, otherwise I may make the trekka up to Seattle. Venues to be announced tomorrow…
- 10/31 – David Letterman
- 11/7 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
- 11/9 Salt Lake City, UT Capitol Theatre
- 11/10 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
- 11/12 St. Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
- 11/14 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
- 11/15 Chicago, IL Cadillac Palace Theatre
- 11/17 Cleveland, OH Lakewood Civic Auditorium
- 11/18 Toronto, ON Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
- 11/19 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
- 11/22 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
- 11/23 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
- 11/25 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music
- 11/26 Washington, DC Lisner Auditorium
- 11/27 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
- 11/29 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
- 11/30 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
- 12/2 Tulsa, OK Brady Theatre
- 12/6 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
- 12/9 Phoenix, AZ Ikeda Theater
- 12/10 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
Additional dates to be announced shortly.
Tickets for all shows go on-sale Friday, Oct. 7 at 12 noon local time via venue box offices, as well as Ticketmaster and Live Nation websites. A limited number of VIP packages, featuring wine tastings and a more mysterious Puscifer encounter, will be available simultaneously via http://puscifer.frontgatetickets.com.
The album, Conditions of My Parole, comes out October 18th. You can add the mp3 download and CD version to your wishlist and pre-order the vinyl version now on Amazon.
~Dan – np: Toad the Wet Sprocket – Bread and Circus
Puscifer “Man Overboard” [video]
The first single from Puscifer’s second album Conditions of My Parole now has a video. Get your Maynard James Keenan fix with the”Man Overboard” is directed by Meats Meier…
I dig the song more than the video… while I dig Meats’ style, all the Puscifer videos are a bit “samey.” I’d hope for something more unique rather than doing the same thing over and over again. Great song from Maynard & Co and great talent in Meats, though… in spades, for sure.
The CD is up for pre-order here, and the vinyl is available for pre-order (and comes out October 18th). The digital download single is available now. A US Tour is expected for November 2011.
~Dan – np: Pretty Lights – Filling Up the City Skies
‘Queens of Country’ movie trailer (with Maynard)
New trailer for the movie Queens of Country featuring Lizzy Caplan, Ron Livingston, a mysterious iPod and Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan…
~Dan – np: Sufjan Stevens invites you to Come On Feel the Illinoise!
REVIEW: A Perfect Circle @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 6/29/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
A Perfect Circle [APC] is a beautiful collaboration between music-writer Billy Howerdel (Tool guitar tech, Ashes Divide frontman) and lyricist Maynard James Keenan (Tool & Puscifer frontman, winemaker). Their first album, Mer de Noms, took the artistic approach that is also in Tool’s world into a more mainstream hardrock setting. They dug deep into addiction-themed lyrics on their follow-up, The Thirteenth Step, and then got really politically bent on eMOTIVe (which was released on the day we failed as Americans by electing George W Bush for a 2nd term). WTF!? Anyway, sorry for my personal injection… here is their oeuvre to peruse if you are unfamiliar:
Their last full-length studio album (the aforementioned eMOTIVe) also showed less songwriting and way more covers… Lennon, Costello, Marvin Gaye, Zeppelin, Devo, Black Flag, Joni Mitchell, Depeche Mode, and more. Its political nature was maybe a last “rock the vote” push in the 2004 Presidential election? Well, the peace and war and political conflict from 2004 is still here in 2011. It’s different, but alas it’s still here. I think that album is still very relevant… while APC plans on releasing some new material in the near future (digital format initially), the first thing I noticed when I showed up at the Schnitzer on Wednesday night was their stage setup: camouflage curtains, ammo boxes, and military-like gear littered the stage.
This was their first show of the six-week tour… Was the show going to be a musical battle-zone? Maynard has been quite theatrical with his live shows lately (see my Puscifer Nov ’09 review links below), but APC tends to be a different beast… Maynard in Puscifer is the outgoing one, in APC is a bit reserved, and in Tool is many times cloaked and hidden for 75% of the show.
Before digging into APC’s set, the opener…
The opener was a Japanese noise-pop hardrock trio Red Bacteria Vacuum. The reviews I’ve read have really dissed them. I’m a fan of this type of thing (poppy Tsu Shi Ma Me Re & noisy Melt Banana); so I dug them plenty. Plus they were cute a button when exchanging words with the crowd… “please… to… eat you.” Nice 30-minute sugar punk from Japan. I didn’t have my photo pass issue sorted out for their set. Photo above courtesy of Meats Meier.
Well, the 90 minute set from A Perfect Circle seemed less like a battle zone than the stage lead us to believe. Not as much energy as the props suggested (a generally more subdued Maynard sticking to his perch, etc). As far as song selection, they played a decent mix of their originals material, but the night was really heavy on the covers. While I like their “making the song theirs” in the approach, I was hoping for more of the rawness and angst from their original tunes…
Setlist: 90 minutes
- Annihilation [Crucifix] (false start)
- Imagine [John Lennon]
- Weak and Powerless
- The Hollow
- What’s Going On [Marvin Gaye]
- People Are People [Depeche Mode]
- The Outsider (lyric flub)
- (What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? [Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello]
- When The Levee Breaks [Led Zeppelin]
- The Noose
- 3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix)
- Gravity
- Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie [Black Flag]
- Orestes
- Passive
- Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
- The Fiddle and the Drum [Joni Mitchell]
- By and Down [new song]
No encore
I was hoping for “Judith” and perhaps the Failure cover “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” but it was still a highly enjoyable night. While there were a few flubs, it was their first tour date in a while, and they pulled off quite an entertaining show. Maynard explained, “I’m closer to 50 than 40” in an attempt to get some forgiveness. The band didn’t talk much, outside of a few brief apologies from Maynard and the band introductions. The band was Maynard on vocals, guitarist/co-founder Billy Howerdel, guitarist/keyboardist James Iha, bassist Matt McJunkins, and drummer Jeff Friedl (filling in for Josh Freese who is currently out with Weezer).
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of Maynard’s bands. This year promises some new music & tour from Puscifer, some new music from A Perfect Circle, and potentially some Tool (they’ve been in a writing phase, but they take longer). If APC is hitting your next of the woods, do your damndest to make it out to the show…
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- APC’s Site
- APC’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Red Bacteria Vacuum’s Site
- Red Bacteria Vacuum’s Facebook / MySpace
- Other Related Reviews~
- Oregon Music News APC 6/29/11 review (with my photos)
- SPIN magazine APC 6/29/11 review (with some more professional shots)
- Puscifer Night 1 (Portland – Nov ’09)
- Puscifer Night 2 (Portland – Nov ’09)
- The Schnitzer’s PCPA Site / Facebook
Check out more tour dates below.
Next show for me… Portland Cello Project at Alton Baker Park / Art & the Vineyard on 7/4.
~Dan – np: Klezmerson – Siete
A PERFECT CIRCLE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld / Pacificlectic,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
APC 2011 Tour Dates
- May 22 – Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range
- June 29 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
- June 30 – Kent, WA @ Showare Center
- July 2 – Gibbons, AL @ Boonstock Festival
- July 4 – Winnipeg, MB @ Centennial Concert Hall
- July 6 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
- July 8 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
- July 9 – Toronto, ON @ Edgefest
- July 12 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
- July 13 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
- July 15 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
- July 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Penn’s Landing – Festival Pier
- July 17 – Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall
- July 19 – Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre
- July 20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
- July 22 – San Antonio, TX @ Freeman Coliseum
- July 23 – Grand Prairie, TX @ Verizon Theatre
- July 25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
- July 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheater
- July 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium
- July 30 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre
- August 1 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall
- August 2 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- August 8 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbent
- August 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
- August 10 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
- More information & more dates: http://www.aperfectcircle.com/
APC setlist (6/29/11)
Brief post with A Perfect Circle’s setlist from tonight (Portland, OR, 6/29/2011 @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall). Any help on the two missing songs, let me know… my photos and longform review to be posted by the weekend…
UPDATE 7/1: review & photos posted HERE.
Setlist: 90 minutes
- Annihilation [Crucifix] (false start)
- Imagine [John Lennon]
- Weak and Powerless
- The Hollow
- What’s Going On [Marvin Gaye]
- People Are People [Depeche Mode]
- The Outsider (lyric flub)
- (What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? [Elvis Costello]
- When The Levee Breaks [Led Zeppelin]
- The Noose
- 3 Libras (Remix)
- Gravity
- Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie [Black Flag]
- Orestes
- Passive
- Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
- The Fiddle and the Drum [Joni Mitchell]
- By and Down [new song]
No encore
A Perfect Circle in Portland!
Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel bring A Perfect Circle to Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall tonight! I’ll be there with camera in tow.
UPDATE 7/1: review & photos posted HERE.
Check back by the weekend (at the latest) for my photos, setlist and review… my goal for posting it is Friday/Saturday. In the meantime groove on some music from their albums and a Q&A with Billy Howerdel from Chris Young at Oregon Music News…
Also, check out the Maynard Cam™ YouTube of their rehearsal in Portland:
~Dan
Puscifer ‘Conditions of My Parole’ & Tour {new A Perfect Circle & Tool music, too}
As posted in SPIN this morning, Puscifer is releasing their second full-length studio album this fall. Album name – Conditions of My Parole. Street date – October 18, 2011. Puscifer is the brainchild of Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman and Caduceus winemaker Maynard James Keenan.
“Man Overboard,” the first single from the album, will be available via iTunes and other digital service providers on July 19. Conditions of My Parole was recorded in Jerome, Ariz. this spring with tracking done amidst the wine barrels from Keenan’s Caduceus Cellars. The album was produced by Keenan, Mat Mitchell, and Josh Eustis. Contributing musicians for the new album include the aforementioned Keenan, Mitchell, and Eustis as well as Carina Round, Juliette Commagere, Matt McJunkins, Jeff Freidl, Gil and Rani Sharone, Jonny Polonsky, Tim Alexander, Devo Keenan, Alessandro Cortini, Sarah Jones, and Jon Theodore.
From SPIN…
After the album drops in October, Puscifer will hit the road for a two-month tour. Maynard says he’s still working out the details, but fans can expect variety show-style gigs like the band’s last jaunt in 2009, but with “a lot of changes and new approaches. We’ll be doing a lot of filming and posting more videos online, too.”
Also news about APC and Tool…
But even when he’s deep into Puscifer mode, Maynard’s other projects are never far from his mind. After their summer tour, A Perfect Circle “might put out a track or two,” he says. “The energy is good, so there’s always the potential for a future.” And Tool? “We’re writing,” he says.
Read the SPIN article/interview HERE.
Carina Round & Maynard
~Dan – np: Jamie Saft – Black Shabbis
A Perfect Circle’s Tour 2011
Yesterday, A Perfect Circle announced their tour dates for summer 2011:
- May 22 – Columbus, OH (Rock On The Range)
- June 29 – Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
- June 30 – Kent, WA Showare Center
- July 2 – Gibbons, AL Boonstock Festival
- July 4 – Winnipeg, MB Centennial Concert Hall
- July 6 – St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
- July 8 – Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
- July 9 – Toronto, ON Edgefest
- July 12 – Boston, MA Bank Of America Pavilion
- July 13 – New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
- July 15 – New York, NY Beacon Theatre
- July 16 – Philadelphia, PA Penn’s Landing (Festival Pier)
- July 17 – Washington, DC Constitution Hall
- July 19 – Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre
- July 20 – Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
- July 22 – San Antonio, TX Freeman Coliseum
- July 23 – Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre
- July 25 – Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
- July 28 – Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater
- July 29 – Sacramento, CA Memorial Auditorium
- July 30 – Berkeley, CA The Greek Theatre
- August 2 – Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- August 9 – Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
On-sale information coming soon. http://www.aperfectcircle.com/
I plan on catching Maynard, Billy & Co at the Portland gig. They’ve got a new website designed, with a blue, underwater/octopus theme. Here’s hoping some new music is around the corner, too. Also, in the email announcement, they hinted at some Puscifer news coming soon, too.
Puscifer Update 3/23: Per Carina Round’s email: “After that I will be heading into the studio with Maynard James Keenan’s ‘Puscifer’ to work on songs for the next release and rehearse up some goodies for a tour in the Fall.”
~Dan – np: Eyal Maoz & Asaf Sirkis – Elementary Dialogues 
A Perfect Circle tour
A handful of multi-date city appearances… A Perfect Circle (led by Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan) are bringing out their old albums and playing them in their entirety:
A Perfect Circle tour dates:
- 11/4, Tempe, AZ (Marquee Theatre) *
- 11/5, Tempe, AZ (Marquee Theatre) $
- 11/6, Tempe, AZ (Marquee Theatre) #
- 11/8, Los Angeles, CA (Avalon) *
- 11/9, Los Angeles, CA (Avalon) $
- 11/10, Los Angeles, CA (Avalon) #
- 11/12, Seattle, WA (Showbox at the Market) *
- 11/13, Seattle, WA (Showbox at the Market) $
- 11/14, Seattle, WA (Showbox at the Market) #
- 11/16, San Francisco, CA (The Fillmore) *
- 11/17, San Francisco, CA (The Fillmore) $
- 11/18, San Francisco, CA (The Fillmore) #
- 11/20, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl) *
- 11/21, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl) $
Playing…
* = Mer de Noms
$ = Thirteenth Step
# = eMOTIVe
Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel, Josh Freese, James Iha, Matt McJunkins are the line-up. Tickets on-sale… soon… keep your eyes peeled to http://aperfectcircle.com/ for more info.
I hope to make the string of Seattle dates, if I can work it out with… er… work. *crossing fingers*
~Dan – np: Nellie McKay – Obligatory Villagers
Puscifer covers “Rocket Man” (plus A Perfect Circle news)
It’s always a good day when a new song from Maynard James Keenan arrives, whether through Tool, A Perfect Circle or his most shits-and-giggles collaborative project, Puscifer.
This time around it’s the latter headlining a song that should be familiar to us all – Elton John’s ode to orbital loneliness, “Rocket Man”…
Officially credited to Puscifer & Steven Drozd (Flaming Lips’ lead guitarist) and dubbed Rocket Mantastic, the cover is a beautiful rendition of the 1972 classic. While the song appeared on Puscifer setlists last year – including the Los Angeles Nokia show we attended – the recording is attached to Christopher Pomerenke’s cheap music documentary The Heart Is A Drum Machine, in which Keenan appears for roughly 15 seconds – staring at the camera and not saying a word. You’re certainly not missing out if you haven’t seen the film; it’s poorly made and difficult to sit through. What’s more – the song’s not even in the damn thing. But now you have it, here and autoplaying on Puscifer.com.
In more Maynard news, not only is Tool working on a new album, but [Antiquiet] recently got the scoop on new activity with A Perfect Circle as well. Songwriter Billy Howerdel and vocalist Maynard James Keenan are once again working together as A Perfect Circle, and new music from the beloved group is on the way.
The possibilities of a full album and tour are both still very much in the air. However, Howerdel told [Antiquiet] on the record that [A Perfect Circle are] working on “something” that should be out this year.
~Dan – np: George Hrab – Trebuchet
Updated: 2010 Tool Tour Dates
updated May 11th
TOOL tour dates for Summer 2010… so far… US tickets on-sale May 8th.
Sat 6/19 – New Orleans, LA @ UNO Arena
Sun 6/20 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Tues 6/22 – Cedar Park, TX @ Cedar Park Center
Wed 6/23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Arena
Fri 6/25 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
Sat 6/26 – St. Charles, MO @ Family Arena
Sun & Mon 6/28-6/29 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks
Thur 7/1 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Center
Sun 7/4 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Mon 7/5 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Wed 7/7 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Fri 7/9 – Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
Mon 7/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic
Tues 7/13 – Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
for more info, check out: http://www.toolband.com/
~Dan – np: Kaki King – Junior
Tool 2010 tour dates… so far…
TOOL tour dates for Summer 2010… so far…
Sat 6/19 – New Orleans, LA @ UNO Arena
Sun 6/20 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Tues 6/22 – Cedar Park, TX @ Cedar Park Center
Wed 6/23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Arena
Fri 6/25 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
Sat 6/26 – St. Charles, MO @ Family Arena
Thur 7/1 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Center
Sun 7/4 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Mon 7/5 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Wed 7/7 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Fri 7/9 – Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
Mon 7/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic
for more info, check out: http://www.toolband.com/
~Dan – np: Damien Jurado – Saint Bartlett
Steven Wilson Cover Versions boxset
Steven Wilson‘s 6th and final Cover Versions is finally coming out…
It comes with a special box to house all six discs. The CDs are available via Burning Shed or Headphone Dust. CV5 & CV6 will be out on 7″ vinyl from Tonefloat when they’re ready. For those that don’t know Steven Wilson… he’s the frontman of Porcupine Tree, co-leader of Blackfield and No-Man, and involved in many other side projects like IEM, Bass Communion, and more…
Two other quick newsbits…
The Maynard James Keenan (Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer) & Eric Glomski documentary about Arizona wines, Blood Into Wine, is hitting limited silver screens in February. A DVD release is scheduled for May 2010. More info over at Blabbermouth.
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway is branching out and going on a solo tour in Italy/Spain/Portugal in March & April 2010. More info over at Paste.
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news 