A Perfect Circle- Denver,CO 03/20/04

[vaijem777]

A Perfect Circle = a perfect frikin' show!

All I can say is holy $hit what a band!

The Mars Volta opened the show and was easily one of the single WORST
acts that I've ever seen live. In over 180 shows throughout the past 13 years, the only band I can recall that was actually worse was every band on the Nirvana/Breeders/Melvins bill back in the early 90's. I've heard some of their album, and it's great. But they are NOT a live band. Absolutely terrible in every way with a singular exception: the drummer was phenomenal. Other than that, it was nothing but noise and onstage idiocy. People were leaving in droves, no doubt running for the beer stands to numb the pain. After an inhumanely long set, they were finally gone and the tension began to build for APC.

Once the curtain dropped, a very unique & interesting stage setup appeared. James Iha was on a large riser on the rear left of the stage. Josh Freese was to the far right. Billy and Jeordie were down on the stage in front, and Maynard was on a riser in the center. The lighting made the stage show. It changed completely with each song, lending different moods, etc. The lighting was mostly behind the band, thus affording Maynard the elusive persona that he likes. You could see all but his face, which remained in shadows throughout the show.

As for the sound, it was nothing short of INCREDIBLE! Excellent balance on all instruments, and the vocals were pristine. The set list was perfect as well. Plenty of tunes from "Mer du Noms" and nearly all of "Thirteenth Step." I honestly can't pick a favorite performance...I was stunned by the show as a whole.

The one thing that floored me more than anything else was Maynard's voice. Of all the shows that I've seen, I have NEVER seen a singer who sounded that good live. He was dead on with every single note he sang. The guy has got a great set of pipes! He definitely shows his range with APC more than he has with Tool. I was extremely impressed!

He injected some great humor into the show as well. At one point, he said that he'd like to do an experiment concerning censorship. He asked everybody to raise their arms in the air, then put them down to their chests. "Ok...now what do you feel? Their nipples, correct?" Everybody cheered. "All of you have them. James Iha has three nipples. Josh Freese only has one nipple, but he has three testicles." It was hilarious, and got everybody in a great mood. "Now...does anybody feel like killing anybody or blowing anything up?" He then proceeded to dedicate the entire set to nipples, and periodically checked in on their status throughout the show.

The presence of a "Rock the Vote" and a gentle urging from Maynard to help make a difference was a nice touch too.

Overall, this was definitely one of the top 10 concertgoing experiences I've had the pleasure to have had. It was made even better when Billy announced that they would be coming back to Colorado Springs on June 12th and Red Rocks on June 13th. I guess that'll add 2 more shows to my list this year!

Next up: Tesla @ the Fillmore in Denver this coming Tuesday the 23rd. Rock on!

Chris