Secret Agents, Celebrity Clonings, and Alien Semen: Welcome to the Pusciverse
Puscifer Brings Out All The Stops At Ovens Auditorium
It is often said that there’s a fine line between genius and insanity and nobody knows how to walk that line like American musical genius Maynard James Keenan. Maynard doesn’t just think out of the box. He takes that box, shreds it into a million pieces, tosses them up in the air, and comes up with ideas that seem very far-fetched. But to Keenan, it all makes incredible sense. Out of all his musical projects, the experimental rock group Puscifer brings his most unique madness to light. This past Tuesday evening, Charlotte area fans got to experience his genius for themselves as Puscifer brought their avant-garde spectacle to Ovens Auditorium.
As fans packed into the theatre, the usual announcements of no cellphones or other electronic devices would be allowed as Keenan prefers to have the complete attention of his audience, and for very good reason. This is a show that must be experienced without distraction to really soak in all that is happening.
Opening the show was the electronic band Night Club. The duo consists of Mark Brooks behind the DJ desk and singer Emily Kavanaugh. They run the gamut from pop-synth to darkwave with a definite dance groove. Kavanaugh’s vocals were spot on and songs like “Die in the Disco” and “Candy Coated Suicide” made you want to get up and move. Their set was short but memorable and I highly recommend getting to the show early enough to catch their performance.
After a short break, the venue lights went dark and we were shown images of Keenan on screens as his altar ego Agent Dick Merkin warned us of the dangers of using our phones before the band came out. A huge scaffold was set up with the drum kit ensconced beneath it. The lights were dark silhouetting just a tiny amount of light on Maynard and Carina Round as they dive into “Bread and Circus” from their latest offering Existential Reckoning.
In fact, the first segment of our adventures in the Pusciverse revolved around the new record. The band was dressed in black suits taking on the persona of secret agents as they spotted who they were looking for in the front of the audience, kidnapping them and bringing them onto the stage to be carried off by the agents. Off to a crazy start and it only got crazier from there.
Cue more video screens that have Maynard talking about cloning celebrities and the investigation behind it mentioning that Mila Kunis was cloned from Fran Drescher and even mentioning himself as a possible clone of someone else. Keenan would eventually make his way up to the top of the scaffolding asking about a drink and joking that nobody should mess with his drink. At one point, he claims his drink is alien semen before chugging it down as the agents from earlier now appear as aliens as things take an even weirder turn.
Of course, the show is not just crazy fun. After all, this is about the music and I can tell you right now that Puscifer is at the top of its game. The band sounded phenomenal. Maynard and Carina were spot on vocally as they played off each other, trading vocals and harmonies throughout the set. The lush instrumentations washed over you with accompanying lighting sequences to create the mood further.
Maynard took a moment to tell the crowd about the concert films that are available for streaming now and then told us we can take out those phones and go crazy for the last song. He strutted from one end of the stage to the other shouting “Vagina!” and the crowd went nuts. “Vagina!” Cheers. “Vagina!” Thunderous cheers. Puscifer wrapped up the set with an amazing live version of “Bedlamite” which was, pun intended, bedlam.
Puscifer is giving its fans an incredible concert, a little theatre, a little comedy, and everything in between. This is an experience that you won’t want to miss. So the question remains, genius or insanity? Only you can decide. Get to a Puscifer show and find out! Let the probing begin!
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