Maynard James Keenan performs as part of Sessanta, a melding of the members of Primus with Keenan’s bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. Photo by Colin Williams
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If it’s successful, inspiring, and a hell of a lot of fun, why stop? That was the theme for Sessanta V 2.0, a continuation of the Sessanta Tour beginning last year as a celebration of the omnipotent Maynard James Keenan’s 60th birthday. The act features two of Keenan’s three unique groups—A Perfect Circle and Puscifer—as well as Primus, fronted by legendary bassist/vocalist Les Claypool.
Unlike any other modern rock music show, Sessanta V 2.0 is a collaborative music experience that defies the traditional lineup hierarchy. The performance alternates all three bands throughout the night to give the audience a constant wave of heavy and/or psychedelic rock music with minimal interuptions.
First to the stage, A Perfect Circle immediately captured the audience’s attention with their percussive hit “Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums” and a bit of typical Maynard crowd trolling.
The band continued on with Keenan imploring the crowd to abide by the rules set by the tour, keeping cellphones in their pockets and remaining present and in the moment. They immediately went into their second song “Disillusioned” off of their latest record, Eat The Elephant.
After three APC songs, Primus seamlessly took the stage with frontman/bassist Les Claypool showcasing his renowned and innovative bass playing. Primus has a sound unlike any other band, with thunderous percussion on the drums (courtesy of brand new drummer John Hoffman) as well as Claypool’s insane bass-slapping. If industrial/heavy metal, funk, and jazz coalesced into an obnoxiously brilliant genre, it still could not accurately define Primus. It’s silly, it’s strange, and it shouldn’t work. Over three decades of commercial success begs to differ, however.
With a thirty-one song setlist, there were many memorable moments to list, such as Elvis playing ping-pong front stage, Claypool and Keenan riding stair lifts up and down either side of the stage as an obvious jest about entering their 60s, and Keenan and Puscifer vocalist Carina Round treating the audience to a high stakes table top wrestling match in which Round was the celebratory victor. During “The Doomed,” all three drummers were on stage with Round joining Keenan for the lead single off APC’s fourth album Eat the Elephant. The night reached a cresendo during the finale song, Puscifer’s “Grand Canyon,” with all members of the three bands on stage. The night felt less like a concert and more like a bunch of friends getting together and creating art while having the time of their lives.
Sessanta V 2.0 absolutely achieved it’s goal of raising the bar and expectations on how a live show with three or more extremely talented bands should keep the music rolling and audience engaged. The continued tour featured these legends of rock music at their absolute best. Maynard James Keenan and Les Claypool have never sounded better and only further proved age is only a number and experience matters. Sessanta V 2.0 continues through this weekend, wrapping up in Auburn, Washington at White River Amphitheater. | Colin Williams
Check out the gallery below for photos from the final song, when all three bands joined together onstage.
