Celebrating his 60th Birthday, Maynard James Keenan is hosting a wild series of birthday parties in the form of the Sessanta Tour. This Triple-Headliner features two of Maynard’s own bands: Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, and his good friends in Primus. All three bands shared the stage throughout the night, each taking turns playing a few songs and lounging on couches in the background.
Hosted on Sunday, April 21st, The Greek Theatre at Berkeley is the longest-running outdoor amphitheater. It’s hosted historic shows and people since 1903. President Theodore Roosevelt gave the inaugural commencement speech in 1903 and the venue hosted artists such as Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and many more. Between 1967 and 1989, The Grateful Dead performed 29 times at the Greek. This makes it the perfect location for three legendary bands to come together to celebrate the birthday of the incomparable Maynard James Keenan.
Following the trend of previous Maynard shows, no one was allowed to film or photograph the show until the last song. The intended effect was achieved and the entire crowd was far more engaged and involved in the show than almost any other show I have attended. The crowd’s energy was palpable and there was dancing in the aisles and singing along from every corner of the theatre. Not having to endure a sea of phone screens between you and the stage is also a luxury that has rarely been seen in the last 20 years.
The performance itself was one-of-a-kind and extremely engaging.
With no openers and a 10 minute intermission, the show banged from start to end. The back half of the stage was raised 6 feet higher than front of stage, with red couches and refreshments for the musicians to relax between performing. While there were stairs to the backstage, there were also stairlifts on each side that Maynard hilariously used as a prop to make him look older and more frail. But actually, they were all extremely active and energetic for 3 straight hours.
Puscifer mystified us with their chilling and powerful tunes, with Carina Round and Maynard running back and forth across the stage, dancing and crabbing through every mini set. At one point, they brought out a ping pong table and played a quick game while the rest of band jammed out to “Bullet Train to Iowa”.
Primus played a continual onslaught of bass and guitar solos that had everyone bouncing in their seats to the throbbing beat. Les Claypool claimed that they wrote the bassline for “My Name is Mud” in the green room of the Greek.
A Perfect Circle stunned everyone with screaming guitar riffs and Maynard’s powerful voice. Not a single butt was in a seat when “Judith” started playing.
The show’s finale was marked with three brand new songs, one from each band from the tour’s accompanying Sessanta E.P.P.P. Afterwards, the final song of the night was Puscifer’s “Grand Canyon”, with every musician on stage, including all 3 drummers, making for a raucous epic end to the night.
As Maynard put it, “Now THAT’S how you turn 60!” and he was right.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a milestone, than with thousands of friends, listening to incredible music under the stars on a beautiful clear night in Berkeley. If you’re interested in celebrating with him, check out the new EP, and be sure to catch a date while this unique experience is still on tour.
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[…] shows beginning on September 6th in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., hosted by famous venues such as The Greek Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and The OVO Arena at Wembley. The tour also includes a festival appearance […]