By Autumn en Austin
November 4th, 2015 – Maynard James Keenan’s latest band, Puscifer, graced the stage of the Bass Concert Hall on the University of Texas campus. And, yeah, I was just surprised as you are about the location. Entering the concert venue, one’s eyes were directed immediately to the stage, where the band’s opener, Luchafer, a wrestling team consisting of two women and three men (one in a spider man costume), fought it out in a battle to the finish. And, since Maynard specifically asked the crowd not to take photos in order to keep from spoiling the show for people yet to see it, I won’t tell you who won.
Starting out the Puscifer show with a very public service announcement by a pre-recorded Maynard in costume on the screen, he drove home his fucking hatred of being videotaped or photographed during a show and repeated several times that the crowd was not to take photos or video. Of course, there were a ton of people who didn’t fucking listen.
When the band finally took the stage, Maynard wore a wrestling mask with his Mohawk and stood in the ring alongside an equally blue-suited Carina Round.
Spoiler Alert: The entire show is centered on wrestling. I am not a wrestling fan, so I may not be the best person to judge the theme of the show, but I do love the music.
From the remote control fighting cocks to the amazing graphics on the screen behind the band, the show was visually awesome. The band went through a lot of their older album’s songs and a few of the new, my favorite being Rev 22:20 and Momma Sed. In the end Maynard sat everyone down and introduced each band member, a hodgepodge of musicians from other well-known bands, musicians such as Mat Mitchell, Jeff Friedl and Matt McJunkins. The band played a total of three acts, while in between each act, the Luchafer wrestlers got to do their thing, more dumb-ass faux wrestling. Sorry, wrestling fans, it really annoyed the piss out of me.
Note: I know that my write-up seems a little choppy, but seriously, I was afraid of having the light on my cellphone, trying to take notes, and then subsequently getting caught and getting kicked the hell out of the venue. It was that kind of evening!
Overall, the night ended on a pretty good note, Maynard of course caught someone near the front row taking a photo and he insulted the man, saying he apparently couldn’t read or fucking hear since the request for no photos was another reoccurring theme throughout the night. After the band introductions, Maynard sang a couple more songs which included Smoke and Mirrors, and during his short set, Queen B, in all her greatness, popped up on the screen behind him with several witty quips, my favorite of course was “Bitches Receive Stitches!” If you haven’t seen Puscifer live, I suggest you do so. It is well worth the price of the tickets.
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