Maynard James Keenan and co. brought the Sessanta celebrations to Irving, TX at the Toyota Music Factory with a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
The night started like any other that has to do with the Puscifer frontman, with a nice video explaining that if you are caught with your cellphones recording, you will be removed and turned into spam. After the video finished, the lights dimmed and the screens showed the Sessanta logo which said A Perfect Circle underneath it. It was at this point that we learned A Perfect Circle was the first band to make a rotation. The way Sessanta works was every band was on stage at the same time, some members were just relaxing on the risers on some couches, and others were playing music. At one point, A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese and Primus drummer Tim Alexander were playing ping-pong on the right-hand side of the stage, all while Maynard was singing and trying to throw off their game. The bands rotated in and out generally playing three to four songs, and then moving to the next band so there was no opener or headliner, they all shared it equally.
Act One: A Perfect Circle started the night off playing “The Package.” It was a very dimly lit stage that almost mimicked candle light, when the song hit the crescendo and really kicked in, the lights would flash and Maynard made his way down to front and center instead of in the background like normal. They then went into “Disillusioned.” At the end of this song, Puscifer co-singer Carina Round brought out a small cake for Maynard since this tour is a celebration for his birthday. She stayed up there and they played “The Contrarian.” Carina joined in, singing along with them, making her the first guest from one band to play with another.
The lights dimmed and faded out and the screens started showing the Primus logo in a trippy almost 3D-looking font. The band started off with “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” and, at that moment, if you had never seen Primus or knew much about them, you learned just how loud the bass was. You could feel it all the way in the back at the lawn section in your chest. They continued with such older songs as “Too Many Puppies,” “Sgt Baker,” and “Follow The Fool” for this rotation.
That left one more band for the first full rotation of the bands, none other than the Maynard James Keenan-fronted band Puscifer. They began by playing some of their rarer songs, such as “Galileo,” “Tiny Monsters,” and something fans were very excited about, “Indigo Children,” but it was the Versatile remix version of it. As the song faded out, so did the lights, which queued up the next band to perform.
Act Two: This time it was Primus again and they got straight down to business playing arguably the most well-known songs from them this round, “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver,” “My Name Is Mud,” and “Over The Electric Grapevine.” You could tell everyone was feeling this round because the crowd was singing along with “My Name Is Mud” so loud you could barely hear Les Claypool singing it.
As the night went on, each band was joined by members of the other bands. Les Claypool from Primus played upright bass on A Perfect Circles song titled “So Long And Thanks For All The Fish,” while Tim Alexander, the Primus drummer, added his skills to “The Hollow” by A Perfect Circle. The night continued with the back and forth between the bands and made its way through two scenes. A countdown appeared on the screens for a 10-minute intermission, while showing an old Maynard asleep in the hospital.
Act Three: Each band played two songs with Puscifer kicking things off with “The Humbling River” and “The Remedy.” This allowed Maynard to stay up there and finish the A Perfect Circle set with “The Noose” and everyone’s favorite “Judith”. Primus only performed one song but a longer one, “South Bound Pachyderm” which featured all three drummers playing at the same time.
Act Four: Sessanta E.P.P.P. A few weeks back, all three bands put out a split EP and they all played the songs from it. The songs were all written or co-written by Maynard James Keenan. During “Pablo’s Hippos,” Maynard sang the verses and Les sang the choruses and the bridge with him.
The lights dimmed and Maynard was center stage and said, “Y’all have done all right. You can record this now.” As the lights came up, all three bands were on the stage to perform a rendition of “Grand Canyon” by Puscifer. Some members were singing who normally don’t sing and Les Claypool was playing upright bass in the shadows while wearing a pig mask. It was a very different take and an amazing thing to experience.
Maynard James Keenan set out to have the most amazing birthday show ever and this is going to be extremely difficult to top. This show gives fans a unique perspective of a concert for a unique man.
PUSCIFERWebsite Facebook X
