By Josh Herwitt //
Sessanta: Primus, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle //
Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles
April 20th, 2024 //
4/20 has become an infamous day of celebration for the cannabis community over the years, but for those of us who paid a visit to the Hollywood Bowl last Saturday, the 2024 edition of April 20th will be forever remembered as a celebration of Maynard James Keenan.
Following two “Cinquanta” shows a decade ago at LA’s Greek Theatre to ring in his 50th birthday, the singer and primary lyricist for Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer has expanded upon that concept this spring for his 60th trip around the sun with a full-fledged tour from coast to coast he’s calling Sessanta.
Serving as a “resurrection” and “expansion” of Cinquanta over 21 dates in the U.S., the performances were intended to follow a similar format featuring A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and another (90’s rock) act Keenan has been close friends with sharing the stage throughout the evening. Failure had earned that honor back in 2014, but this time it was Primus’ turn. We have always been fans of Les Claypool, and after seeing his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade reunite last year for their first concerts in two decades — including a sold-out stop at The Wiltern (see photos from the show here) — we were excited to see the legendary bassist paired with one of our favorite vocalists.
The setlist for the “Sessanta” tour has been anchored mostly by three- or four-song stretches from each band before reaching a total of 30 tunes over the course of three hours, but with MJK’s ties to LA where his music career took off in the early 90’s and became what it is today, we had a feeling that something special was in store on this particular night. It started with the birthday boy guesting on Primus’ “Tommy the Cat” and continued with A Perfect Circle guitarist James Iha — also of Smashing Pumpkins fame — joining his bandmates for “The Hollow” off the alt-rock supergroup’s debut LP Mer de Noms. Then there was original members Paz Lenchantin and Troy Van Leeuwen appearing onstage later to revisit APC’s first single “Judith” that’s nearing the quarter-century mark
But even with Primus drummer Tim Alexander sitting in on APC’s “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums” and APC guitarist Billy Howerdel doing the same for Primus’ “Southbound Pachyderm” well past the gig’s midway point, the biggest surprise had to come after all three projects performed their contribution to the Sessanta E.P.P.P., the new three-song split EP with a track by each band that Keenan spearheaded and worked on to release just prior to the tour. Because when guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor walked out after MJK had finished singing Primus’ “Pablo’s Hippos” with Claypool, the capacity crowd erupted like it would at a Tool show.
For only one song, that’s exactly what we got. Somewhat reminiscent of the first Cinquanta event when Carey, Chancellor and Zac Rae of Death Cab for Cutie backed Keenan on “Sober” toward the end of the gig, this time they went with something even more fitting geographically and aggressive as Jones began playing the opening riff to “Ænema” on his signature Gibson Les Paul. MJK’s feelings about the City of Angels, after all, have never been a secret to his fans ever since Tool unleashed their sophomore studio album Ænima in 1996, but he stills spends a lot of time working here despite all of the materialism and plasticity that eventually compelled him to make his home in Jerome, Ariz. With many of his colleagues and friends in LA though, he doesn’t have much of a choice but to come back. And as he told us before saying goodbye via Puscifer’s “Grand Canyon” under the Bowl’s iconic bandshell, he has been fortunate to know some of the “best musicians in the business.” What he forgot to mention was … he’s right there with them and always has been.
Setlist:
Act 1: A Perfect Circle
The Package (A Perfect Circle song)
Disillusioned (A Perfect Circle song)
The Contrarian (A Perfect Circle song) (with Carina Round)
Primus
Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers (Primus song)
Too Many Puppies (Primus song) (partial)
Follow the Fool (Primus song)
Puscifer
Galileo (Puscifer song)
Horizons (Puscifer song)
Indigo Children (Puscifer song) (Versatile mix)
Act 2: Primus
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver (Primus song)
My Name Is Mud (Primus song)
Tommy the Cat (Primus song) (with Maynard James Keenan)
Puscifer
Flippant (Puscifer song)
Momma Sed (Puscifer song) (Versatile mix)
Bullet Train to Iowa (Puscifer song)
The Underwhelming (Puscifer song)
A Perfect Circle
The Hollow (A Perfect Circle song) (with James Iha on guitar and Tim Alexander on drums instead of Josh Freese)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (A Perfect Circle cover) (with Les Claypool on upright bass with bow)
Weak and Powerless (A Perfect Circle song)
The Outsider (A Perfect Circle song)
Act 2: Puscifer
The Humbling River (Puscifer song) (Versatile mix)
The Remedy (Puscifer song)
A Perfect Circle
Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums (A Perfect Circle song) (with Tim Alexander)
Judith (A Perfect Circle song) (with Paz Lenchantin on bass and Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar)
Primus
Southbound Pachyderm (Primus song) (with Billy Howerdel, Josh Freese and Gunnar Olsen)
Sessanta E.P.P.P.
Kindred (A Perfect Circle song)
No Angel (Puscifer song)
Pablo’s Hippos (Primus song) (with Maynard James Keenan)
Tool
Ænema (Tool cover) (with Tool) (Les Claypool sang with Maynard)
Primus, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer
Grand Canyon (Puscifer song)
Looks like a rad show