Night Club — a two-piece synth wave band from Los Angeles, California — would start the evening of music with their insanely infectious hit, “Die in the Disco”. They were limited to a short opener set, but most of the songs they performed were incredibly upbeat and it was hard to keep from catching the rhythm of the music. After 30 minutes of music, they concluded the night with fan favorites “Dear Enemy” and “Scary World”.
Puscifer is the theatrical electro-synth rock ensemble led by Maynard James Keenan with singer Carina Round and multi-instrumentalist Mat Mitchell, assisted by drummer Gunner Olsen. The dramatic story line of the concert follows the escapades of a trio of secret agents portrayed by Keenan, Round, and Mitchell. They are tracking down space creatures, who themselves are in pursuit of a recurring Puscifer character — Billy D, a hard-drinking hooligan. In between songs comical routines revolved around Keenan (displayed on 2 video screens, one on each side of the stage) as Agent Dick Merkin, who is debriefing us about how red-carpet celebrities are, in reality, the products of an alien cloning program. Laughs burst from the crowd throughout the skit. Keenan and Round lit the stage in synchronized fashion — bouncing, prowling and racing, occasionally climbing some towering scaffolding that was set dead center stage. Keenan has extensive history of combating typical rock ‘n’ roll commonplace, particularly those that put lead singers up on a podium; sort of like a “God” on stage. One thing I noticed about this performance was the lack of cell phones out! Maynard has a photo policy in place for most shows he performs! Cell phone recording of the show is strictly prohibited and if caught, fans are ejected without a refund. Prior to the final song, Keenan made a quick announcement allowing the audience to “pull out your stupid phones” and document the final song if they choose too. When the chaos died down, Keenan and Round delivered a contemplative “Bedlamite,” winding down the two-hour show the same way Puscifer closes Existential Reckoning, with a hopeful message suggesting that the world is a fucked up place, but in the end with each other and life experiences, everything will be perfectly fine in the end.
