Danzig (member) at FFF Fest 2011 (more)

Bonnaroo has made some additions to their lineup which already included Radiohead, The Beach Boys, Bad Brains, St. VIncent, tUnE-yArDs, and many others. The new additions include Danzig Legacy (aka Danzig and Doyle playing Danzig, Samhain and Misfits), Puscifer, Santigold, The Cave Singers, fun. and The Temper Trap. Tickets for the festival are still available.

Hopefully Danzig will have a better experience at Bonnaroo than he did at Fun Fun Fun Fest last year.

Updated lineup below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo adds 'Danzig Legacy' and other bands"

photos by Paul Birman

...The material, though unfamiliar, was an excellent vehicle for Keenan's gifts. Most of it was swaggery and driving, pitched right between the sinister and the playful. But some of it was downright balladic, with a distinctly loungey feel, with Keenan coming off like a histrionic though entirely sincere Vegas crooner. The music and the presentation had a gimmicky element, but crucially, Keenan played it straight and sang his ass off. (To be fair, the band ruled, especially the really solid, crushing drummer and an excellent female vocalist--Carina Round--who served as an excellent foil for Maynard.)

The stunning quality of his performance had the really remarkable effect of legitimizing everything around it. Gradually, all the cheesy video interludes came to seem delightful; the theatrical hubbub going on simultaneous to the music began to come off like a charming complement to the already vaguely Broadway-ish material. (Former Primus drummer Tim Alexander played the role of a flight attendant, while opening acts Neil Hamburger (!) and Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival sat in faux airplane seats at center stage, chatting, drinking and reading the paper during the majority of the performance.) Overall it was like watching a performer jump the shark, but doing so in such a professional and expertly choreographed fashion that the joke was on you for trying to put them in an aesthetic box in the first place. You actually felt like you were being forced to accept an aspect of Maynard James Keenan that you weren't ready for and you couldn't help but be won over. [Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches]

Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer made their NYC debut with a pair of shows last weekend: March 11th at the Grand Ballroom/Hamerstein Ballroom (where the above review and pictures here are from) and March 13th at the Apollo Theater. Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival and Neil Hamburger opened (and also participated in Puscifer's extensive stage-show set-up).

Their tour continues through March. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Puscifer (Maynard), Neil Hamburger & Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival played the Apollo & Grand Ballroom (pics) "

by Klaus Kinski

My name is Maynard James Keenan. Welcome to the party that goes on in my head 24 hours a day. Welcome to PUSCIFER, my creative subconscious. Welcome to my island of misfit ideas who've found no home with TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE, or CADUCEUS. Life is too short NOT to create something with every breath we draw. Puscifer celebrates this creative process. We embrace all mediums. Music, film, cuisine, winemaking, useless stuff made in china by slaves who beat baby seals, and very specific forms of martial arts that are completely ineffective but appear mysterious and edgy. There are more mediums, but spell check doesn't work very well on this profile thingy. Welcome to our clown car. Love, Maynard & Puscifer. Booty Bass from Jerome, Arizona.

I love Maynard James Keenan and all of his musical projects, but I am particularly intrigued by the whole Puscifer concept. Sure, it seems silly and a little schlocky, but it's such a fun concept that I can't help but give it huge props. Maynard is the only permanent member of the troupe, but there's a huge cast of characters in the rotation. And comedy fans with a keen eye and a good memory might remember that Puscifer's first documented appearance (with Maynard and Tool's Adam Jones) as a real entity occurred in the very first episode of Mr. Show (video below). Puscifer has NEVER appeared in New York City. But that's about to change when they play the Grand Ballroom on March 11th and then the Apollo Theater on March 13th. There's also a TBD NYC date on March 12th. There's a presale happening RIGHT NOW (password = METRO), but act fast because it ends in a matter of hours!

UPDATE: Tickets are now on general sale.

All dates and videos below...

Continue reading "Puscifer (Maynard James Keenan) - 2010 Tour Dates including their first NYC shows ever (presale)"