Maynard James Keenan's 50th Birthday with Failure, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle @ The Greek ~ May 11, 2014
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| A Perfect Circle via boob-cam |
Here's to Fifty More
On stage May 10th & 11th at The Greek, located in old Hollywood, was the
most amazing musician of our time: Maynard James Keenan. We were all there to
celebrate his fiftieth birthday* – 5-0! He does not look, nor sound, like your
typical 50 year old rock star. Looking extremely fit, with a voice of a fallen
angel, Maynard transcends time and age.
All the words in the world cannot express the pleasure I
felt once I understood how the show was arranged. There were three bands –
three great bands. Failure, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle. But they weren’t
going to play one band, one set at a time. This became apparent as Failure’s
drummer rotated out of site behind a screen, the band walking off to the side
of the stage, and A Perfect Circle began to play after just three songs.
Of course I was scared at first. What just happened?! Is
Failure only playing three songs?! Was I late? I swear it just started. What
the…??! It’s still light out! Does this
mean Puscifer is headlining, not APC?! Confused I scrambled to gather my
thoughts. But after three songs, APC’s drummer rotated off stage and Puscifer
began to play….
Ahh.
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| Puscifer via boob-cam |
They’re rotating! And playing together! It’s a mash-up
people!
The stage was set with a circular platform in the center
which
served to rotate drum kits on / off stage, a screen falling neatly in place behind the new drummer projecting the performing band’s graphics. To the
left was a small silver stream trailer, known to be a permanent fixture of
Puscifer’s stage set. In front of that sat a picnic table with chairs skewed
about. As each band rotated through a
couple of songs, the players not playing sat around the picnic table sharing
wine. It was a party. Occasionally one player would join in on another’s set,
as if unexpected. The feeling was relaxed and full of affection.
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| Failure via boob-cam |
It appeared Maynard was thoroughly enjoying himself, raising his wine glass to the audience and embracing fellow artists on stage. His son even performed a cello solo in his honor. It was an electric and emotional experience – one that won’t likely happen for another 50 years.
*Maynard's actual birthday is April 17th.
**After research, I found out the Danny, Maynard, and Bill Manspeaker, Green Jelly’s lead vocalist, were all roommates at one time – the 90’s ruled.
**After research, I found out the Danny, Maynard, and Bill Manspeaker, Green Jelly’s lead vocalist, were all roommates at one time – the 90’s ruled.
***Unfortunately they had a no tolerance rule for pictures, so all
shots were via a hidden boob-iphone-cam (until I become a legitimate writer).