REVIEW: A Perfect Circle, Primus, Puscifer at Forest Hills Stadium | 05.04.2024
Multi-faceted and multi-band frontman Maynard James Keenan, the voice of A Perfect Circle and Puscifer (as well as Tool, of course), turned the ripe young age of 60 last month. Rather than celebrate in reflective solitude, Keenan commemorated the milestone with an 18-city, 21-dates-long tour/birthday party dubbed "Sessanta." The tour, which featured Keenan projects A Perfect Circle and Puscifer as well as funk metal legends Primus, culminated with a performance in New York City at Queens' Forest Hills Stadium on Saturday night.
Coming from someone who literally runs a concert review website, it should come as no surprise when I tell you that I have been to quite a few shows in my 37 years of existence. I’d seen all three of these bands before. I can confidently say that despite those facts, I've never experienced anything quite like Sessanta.
Perhaps it was the jovial warmth of the crowd despite the brutally chilly weather. Perhaps it was the festive atmosphere and comical interactions created by Keenan and his musical companions; perhaps it was the plethora of cannabis smoke clouds in the air. It was all of these things and much more. And while I'll do my best to paint the picture for you, I don't know if I'll really be able to do it justice.
For starters, the show didn't follow your traditional set flow. Rather than performing respective full sets, the bands instead rotated every few songs. The channel surfing approach, as it were. It was a unique format that kept your attention piqued. Not to mention that aside from a 10-minute intermission the show ran with limited interruption, allowing the bands to ride freely the momentum of energy they'd built through the night.
The night began with three-song set from A Perfect Circle who kicked things off with "The Package." After starting the song in his signature recessed stage position, Maynard James Keenan made his way to the front of the stage, delivering the vocals with increasing intensity. Puscifer co-vocalist Carina Round wheeled out a cupcake for Keenan, who then humorously delivered the song's outro lines of "take what's mine" in the style of "this cupcake is mine" before blowing out the candle and handing it over to a fan in the crowd.
The band followed with "Disillusioned" and "The Contrarian" before turning things over to Primus, but not before Keenan made his way towards the bottom of the steps leading up to the drum riser and, rather than walk up the stairs himself, sat in a stair lift that slowly and hilariously carried him to the top. Keenan then traded his frontman role for bandmate bartender and shook cocktails while Primus launched into "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" to kick off their three-song mini set.
The loose on-stage fun enjoyed by the bands manifested itself in a variety of ways over the course of the evening. From the couches stationed on opposite ends of the drum riser where the members could have a drink and watch each other perform, to the casual game of on-stage ping pong between the other bands' members during Puscifer's performance of "The Underwhelming," it was clear that they were all having a blast and not taking themselves too seriously.
The show consisted of three mini-sets total for each band, followed by a performance of each band's contribution to their joint EP, Sessanta E.P.P.P, and then a performance of Puscifer's "Grand Canyon" with the members of A Perfect Circle and Primus joining the band on stage to close out the evening.
Upon the song's completion, two "60" piñatas were then lowered from the ceiling and the bands came together to bash them both open. Maynard James Keenan eventually resorted to using a box cutter to get the job done, and the various band members then took turns tossing handfuls of candy and giving the crowd a wave before walking offstage.
It was an evening that I can only describe as special; a feeling that was echoed by legendary Primus bassist and frontman Les Claypool when he told Maynard James Keenan that Sessanta might just be the most enjoyable tour of his career. Coming from a touring veteran like Claypool, that's quite the compliment.
THE PIT REPORT
The rotating nature of the bands' performances required us to forego the standard first three songs for each band and instead shoot the final song of the night for which all the bands' members would be present. A look at the setlist and I deduced that I'd have roughly six minutes to get everything I needed. I therefore spent most of the evening in anxious anticipation.
I usually have my drive mode set to Low Speed Continuous, but given the nature of this shoot I switched to High Speed Continuous; if every shot was going to count, I wanted there to be a lot of them. I planned a strategy in my head while watching the show. I wanted to leave no room for error and no time wasted.
A few minutes prior to heading to the photo pit, we were informed that there was minimal space between the stage and the rail at the center, so we'd be limited to the left and right sides of the stage. What's more is that the lack of space would also prevent movement from each side to the other. In short, I'd need to pick a spot and stay there. Proof that you can plan for everything, but you can’t plan for everything.
The photographers were split into two groups and my group was placed on stage left. Maynard James Keenan was nearly center stage but a little closer to my side, and though I had to shoot through a few mic stands, I was able to get plenty of options. There were rumors abound that the lighting would present a challenge, but thankfully that was not the case as the stage remained bright for most of the song.
Overall, I feel pretty good about my results. I took a chance by shooting double exposures as a part of my flow with such limited time, but was able to grab a few keepers such as this one:
SESSANTA