Concert Review: A Perfect Circle at Austin360 Amphitheater: band brought politically themed new album ‘Eat The Elephant’ and more to vivid life at Texas show.
★★★★★
Austin’s Wednesday weather necessitated a rescheduled performance, and luckily A Perfect Circle opted for a one day delay vs a cancellation.
The skies were clear and cool and the moon was full this past Thursday, setting the mood for an atmospheric evening.
LA electro duo Night Club brought their brand of dark pop to open the proceedings, after which trip-hop pioneer Tricky cast a nocturnal, hypnotic spell over the audience.
APC came next, kicking off with the title track off their politically themed new album Eat The Elephant. The band’s light display, which showed projections broken up into artfully placed shards added ambience and mood to spare.
Frontman Maynard James Keenan stood in the back, his silhouetted form grasping the microphone, allowing bassist Matt McJunkins (Eagles of Death Metal) and primary songwriter guitarist Billy Howerdel to prowl center stage. Failure’s Greg Edwards pulled double duty on guitar and keyboards, adding dense layers to the band’s sound (the mix was solid throughout).
The band pulled largely from the new album, including the anthemic new wave stomp of So Long (and Thanks For All The Fish), which managed to sound even more massive and euphoric than on record, and the blistering Talk Talk, which sees Keenan take on the “thoughts and prayers” responses to school shootings by wailing get the fuck out of my way!
The band also gave choice cuts from their classic debut Mer De Noms, including brooding takes on Rose, Thomas and The Hollow.
The group also played selections from their moody sophomore effort 13th Step, including a gorgeous rendition of The Noose, and punishing takes on Weak and Powerless and The Package.
Given we’re in an election year, it seemed appropriate for the band to include cuts off their 2004 protest album Emotive, and the band didn’t disappoint, including their understated, gothic cover of Nick Lowe’s (What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, and Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums, which took on horror show portent thanks to its dread inducing synth snarl and Keenan’s scorched earth delivery (drummer Jeff Friedl’s inhuman wallop should also not go unmentioned).
As my friend who attended the show with me noted–the stark stage lighting, haunting performance and moon-lit night brought to mind the imagery of Dario Argento’s Suspiria–and not the failed remake (sorry, we were both underwhelmed).
But for anyone expecting Keenan to espouse a “get out the vote” message, he offered a different tact, noting that we live in crazy times, and instead of focusing blame on those with differing opinions, we should try to talk to each other, before joking that past that, he can’t be held responsible if things went awry.
The band surprised fans by playing their smash hit Judith late in the set, as they’ve excluded it on more recent tours, and the crowd went mental.
APC has become infamous for their no phones policy at shows, and this was no different, although Keenan gave fans a break during the set closer Delicious (although he quickly left the stage post announcement).
A Perfect Circle occupy a unique space in music, blending classic rock crunch with post-punk angst, and their ability to translate their complex sound live is impressive as it is infectious. Their mix of beauty and brutality offers an odd sense of comfort in uncertain times, helped by a judicious dose of social commentary.
In an era where popular music has run away from social issues, they play an important role. The fact that they rock like hell, helps the medicine go down all the better.
Set-List:
Eat the Elephant
Disillusioned
The Hollow
Weak and Powerless
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Rose
Thomas
(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
Vanishing
The Noose
3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix)
The Contrarian
TalkTalk
Hourglass
The Doomed
Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
Judith
The Package
Delicious