Maynard James Keenan Joined By Tool Members Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey For Epic Finale at Hollywood Bowl Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle Sessanta Show

Raymond Flotat April 21st, 2024 - 4:12 AM

Ten years ago at the Greek Theatre Maynard James Keenan staged a now legendary celebration concert to mark his fiftieth birthday, entitled Cinquanta. That show was a continuous performance, with all players on stage with various couches for members not actively performing to sit and watch, as the show alternated between mini sets from Failure, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle. It was a one-shot tour de force that featured special collaborations and even cameo appearances by ‘90s MTV era wonder Green Jelly and two of the three other members of Tool on a special performance of “Sober.” Tonight at the Hollywood Bowl the magic of that once-in-a-lifetime performance was recreated only this time it was the twelfth stop on a full twenty date tour. This time, Primus occupied the spot that Failure did ten years ago. If you are a fan of Maynard James Keenan’s musical output with his bands Tool, A Perfect Circle or Puscifer, this was one for the ages. There’s never going to be another night like this.

All photos by Marv Watson

The throngs packed into the famous Hollywood Bowl braving traffic and overly expensive parking for what was stated as a strict 7:30 p.m. PST start time. As promised, the show started promptly at that time with no openers. The show began with A Perfect Circle performing a trio of songs, the mounting menace of “The Package,” and two tracks from their 2018 release Eat the Elephant, “Disillusioned” and “The Contrarian” (the latter of which featured backing vocals from Puscifer mainstay Carina Round). For those curious, James Iha was not a part of this performance from A Perfect Circle.

Without any pause, the opening train sounds of Primus’ beloved “Those Damn Blue-Collar Tweakers” rang out and Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander were already present and performing. The trio’s chemistry is undeniable and it’s always inspiring to hear how much just these three players can do compared to some bands with twice the amount of members. Claypool’s inimitable slap bass playing punctuated the next two numbers, the Frizzle Fry era “Too Many Puppies” and a more recent cut “Follow the Fool.”

As the band members rotated to either off stage or one of two couches situated on the upper level of the stage setup (where there were three different drum kits, one for each band) the members of Puscifer took center stage. The luminous “Galileo” came first featuring gorgeous vocal interplay between Carina Round and Keenan. The desert road rumination “Horizons” from Conditions of My Parole followed as well as a highly mutated version of V is for Vagina-era cut “Indigo Children” before the next changeover. The latter was one of several highly altered versions of songs from Puscifer and A Perfect Circle during the evening, either adjusted versions or remixes crafted throughout the years. “Indigo Children” for example was without the original’s heavy infinite delay and dialed up bass register.

Primus returned to the stage to play three of the best songs you could possibly want to hear them play all in succession, “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” “My Name is Mud” and “Tommy the Cat.” “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” was shortened but still gave enough time for Claypool’s ingenious slap bass melodies that have always made the song famous. “My Name is Mud” itself is an ominous, insidious soliloquy from a country bumpkin following a brutal murder featuring highlighted precision guitar solos from LaLonde along the infamous thudding bass melody. “Tommy the Cat” was amazingly reworked as “Maynard the Cat” with Keenan taking the role on record performed by Tom Waits. Hearing the crowd scream along to the call and response of “Say baby do you want to lay down with me? / Say baby do you want to lay down by my side? / Say baby? / Say baby!” was a wild thing to witness all these years later.

The mini sets grew slightly longer to four songs each from there, with Puscifer up next with an amped up “Flippant,” “Momma Sed,” “Bullet Train to Iowa” and “The Underwhelming.” “Momma Sed” may have been the most impressive reworking of any song on the evening in comparison with its original as it appeared to combine four different versions of the song done throughout the years (the band has done massively different versions of this song since its original release in 2007). “Bullet Train to Iowa” was recent Puscifer output at its very best, an elongated and enrapturing musing. “The Underwhelming” served as an example of the playful yet world-weary vibe of their most recent album Existential Reckoning.

A Perfect Circle’s four to follow were some of the strongest cuts of their catalog. Mer de Noms-era “The Hollow” was the longing sorrow that marked their early output and featured drums from Primus’ Tim Alexander. “So Long and Thanks For All the Fish” (the title itself a reference to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book series) was the DEVO-esque party to the apocalypse that their modern material has leaned towards, all bright and colorful with the underpinning of complete existential dread and featuring a pig-masked Claypool on upright bass. “Weak and Powerless” and “The Outsider” was the one-two combo of a gut punch followed by an uppercut knock out blow. “Weak and Powerless” always succeeded as a single because of its straight-ahead simplicity, a lush tapestry without any unneeded frills. But “The Outsider” has always been a razor blade to the jugular, PSI spewing out on the sidewalk. It’s a terrifying and brutal self-analysis, the narrator challenging themselves on the melodrama and self-destruction they are apparently stuck on.

The set from there jumped around in more and more collaborative forms. Puscifer performed a highly altered mix of one of their best songs, “The Humbling River.” For those interested, this is what closed the Cinquanta show ten years back, but this rendition seemed to strip the track of some of its emotional power. The confrontational kiss off “The Remedy” followed with Round and Keenan singing and running around the lower platform of the stage.

A Perfect Circle came forth with “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums” their industrial strength reworking of their classic song “Pet.” As an added surprise original members Troy Van Leeuwen and Paz Lenchantin (who was recently unceremoniously let go from her longtime band The Pixies) joined for a killer performance of “Judith” off of Mer de Noms, possibly one of the best in years, feeling as fresh and biting as the year it came out.

Not to be outdone, Primus played a stellar lengthened version of their classic Tales From the Punchbowl song “Southbound Pachyderm.” This one featured all three drummers from each of the night’s bands and an outro bass solo from Claypool done in tandem with guitar support from A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel. Keenan took the stage after and proudly stated in satisfaction, “Now that’s how you fucking turn 60.” The bands all took turns from there, playing the recently released new songs from the Sessanta E.P.P.P., A Perfect Circle’s “Kindred,” Puscifer’s “No Angel” and Primus joined by Keenan on vocals for “Pablo’s Hippos.”

The night’s real surprise came next as Keenan invited the fans to finally be allowed to use their phones to shoot photos or videos, explaining new people had rolled in. It turned out to be none other than every other member of Tool, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor. Keenan quipped how the drum kit was half the size Carey was used to. Then the whisper shouted sounds of “he / he / he” heralded the beginning of Tool’s classic Los Angeles doomsday prayer “Aenima.” This moment had the feeling of fourteen thousand people simultaneously standing in disbelief that it was actually happening, the performance having far more teeth and fury than it did just a few months back at Power Trip festival. Jones’ trademark slide guitar solo was like a hot wire slicing through warm butter. Just a triumphant surprise and no better city for the guests to appear given Tool’s origins in Los Angeles.

The whole night ended with everyone from A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus on stage together for a souped-up rendition of Puscifer’s deliverance-through-nature ode “Grand Canyon.” This show was just one of those magic nights where three hours worth of music flew by in just seconds. Just so much artistry and excellence on display that three hours impossibly seems like still not enough. For all that was played, so many songs more could still have been done. Interestingly, hearing the material all these years later side-by-side is a wild juxtaposition of epochs. Primus’ “Tommy the Cat” and “Too Many Puppies” were born from the early ‘90s “anything goes” time when the fight for freedom of speech was on the forefront of everyone’s minds. A Perfect Circle’s “The Contrarian” is Donald Trump as POTUS political fatigue. “Disillusioned” is born of the pre-pandemic frustration with the entirety of the public’s complete obsession with cell phones losing the ability to interact with each other. “So Long and Thanks For All The Fish” outwardly ponders on whether things have gotten so bad maybe the end times are upon us. “The Outsider” and “Judith” come from the dark post 9/11 years where the country was consumed by two wars abroad and national grief. “Bullet Train to Iowa” from Puscifer is pandemic times utter deflation and fear. Still, it was the best of counterculture on display and such an incredible treat for those that have admired Keenan’s vocals and art all these decades. Here’s to hoping we will all be back here for a Setenta celebration in ten years!