Tonight, A Perfect Circle rolled into San Diego featuring Maynard James Keenan from the band Tool. This was just a short summer tour across the US consisting of thirty shows. The future of A Perfect Circle seems unclear due to another band Maynard is in called Puscifer is soon releasing a new CD. The band was not touring to support a new CD nor is there any indication there is any new music coming from the band.
The band, backed by a concert set that looked like the inside of a ammunitions bunker, started the show with two slower cover songs from Crucifix and John Lennon. The show included six more cover songs from their third effort eMOTIVe, ten songs from their first two CD’s and one new song featuring Billy Howerdel (founder and lead guitarist) on vocals. The set as a whole seemed to be more surrealistic sounding from other tours and most of the songs had different arrangements, which I really enjoy. There does not seem much of a point to going to a concert where the band plays the music exactly like the recorded version. At that point, you are paying for the light show and other gimmicks like pyrotechnics.
Maynard was featured in the next to last song that is a Joni Mitchell cover titled Fiddle and the Drum. Most of us stood there in amazement listening to the power and conviction from his voice that came through during this song accompanied only by a piano. As usual, he stood on a platform which no direct light on him. I could barely make out that he was wearing a camouflage shirt, pants and boots.
For some unknown reason the band prohibited any pictures being taken including cell phones. Not sure why since cell phones would never take good pictures in the subdued lighting that they used. I almost was kicked out of the show just for taking a picture of the opening band. Really guys?
Set List
- Annihilation (Crucifix cover)
- Imagine (John Lennon cover)
- Weak and Powerless
- The Hollow
- What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye cover)
- People Are People (Depeche Mode cover)
- The Outsider
- Rose
- (What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding? (Brinsley Schwarz cover)
- When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin cover)
- The Noose
- 3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix)
- The Package
- Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (Black Flag cover)
- Magdalena
- Passive
- Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
- Fiddle and the Drum (Joni Mitchell cover)
- By and Down [new song]
Are you in or know of an awesome tribute band that blows people away paying tribute to one of the greatest rock/ pop bands of our time? Then I want to interview and photograph your band for a new book I’m writing tentatively titled “The Next Best Thing – The Rise of the Tribute Band Phenomenon“.
Twenty minutes into their show on Sunday evening, the stage collapsed with little warning during a rain storm with gusts up to 96 miles per hour. Three people were injured including one of Cheap Trick’s drivers. All of the bands equipment was destroyed along with damage to one of their trucks.
