Friday, July 8, 2011
A Perfect Circle 7/8/11
Posted by Mac Abre on Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 11:59 PM
So, without reminiscing (and dating myself) too much about "the good old days" when Tool or A Perfect Circle were impressionable on the masses, let's quickly reflect on how a heavy rock (alternative? Whatever the fuck that means) band with a mysterious and media-loathing lead singer has been able to impact a genre of music and a white-collar/white-trash fan base the likes of which we haven't seen since...Pantera? (I'd love to get into the bipolar offering of HOT broads vs underdressed hillbilly mules with ugly tattoos at the show tonight, but that would be an entirely different post altogether.)
APC tonight at the historic Fox Theatre was nothing short of extraordinary. I saw Tool at their peak in Kalamazoo in the early '00s (is that the proper way to abbreviate it? "The 2000s" sounds awfully yesteryear and not cybercool), and it was as close to a religiously musical experience as it gets. Nevermind the fact that the genre is scoffed at nowadays. Hell, even I would laugh at someone who said they were going to check out a band of this relevance in 2011.
All that aside, Maynard Keenan has one of the most impressive and eerie voices in modern music. Scott Weiland, a justifiable mancrush for pretty much anyone over the past 15 years, may have a more diverse and versatile (heroine-addled?) singing voice, but Keenan takes the cake when it comes to pairing up vocals with style of music. The man is a legend and an enigma. It would be safe to toss him in a category alongside Getty Lee (Rush), Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) and ODB (Wu-Tang).
Anyhow, with a setlist consisting of the hits off their three albums (truly only one of which was highly impressive), they entertained and impressed their loyal faithful alongside old fans like myself. "Magdalena", still one of my all-time favorite songs (alongside ANYTHING from Nirvana Unplugged and Yeasayer's Odd Blood), "The Hollow", "3 Libras" and "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" were the highlights of the evening. (Does anyone who isn't a, ugh, Phish fan even look at setlists online anymore?)
And there could not have been a more perfect setting for the show. They probably could have nearly sold out the Palace, but to play in a venue like the Fox was truly a stellar choice. (Although, with no true General Admission pit area, we were all stacked in seats alongside each other, and god help that dumb broad behind me that kept literally yelping in my ear until I nearly set her hair on fire.)
OK, now that I have the alternative-2000s (does that look better?) admiring out of my system (sorry I went all fanboy there for a few minutes), I promise to get back to reviewing shows (and the like) of music from bands that people give a fuck about these days...you know, hipster shit like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart or Matt & Kim or whatever the hell you idiots listen to these days.
Oh, and if you think you're way too cool for this, and it's not indie enough for you, I want you to take a listen to the Mountain Goats, then go back and listen to A Perfect Circle...and then tell me there aren't some enormous similarities.
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