'That is how you turn 60': Maynard James Keenan, Primus and Puscifer go hard in Phoenix
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Maynard James Keenan was nearing the end of a freewheeling stop on his 60th birthday tour, Sessanta, basking in the afterglow of “Southbound Pachyderm” as performed by a sprawling collective of extremely talented musicians from A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus, when he told the crowd, “And that, mother (expletives), is how you turn 60.”
He was technically still 59 at that point. He turns 60 on Wednesday, April 17, when he returns to that same stage with those same friends at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, just down the hill from his home in Jerome, Arizona.
But it’s doubtful many people have embraced the thought of turning 60 with a more inspired blend of self-effacing humor, undeniable vitality and unabashed artistry than Keenan.
Maynard James Keenan's Sessanta was as untraditional as promised
The night was every bit as untraditional as promised, played out on a two-tiered stage with sofas and three drum kits on the upper level and a chairlift to transport musicians from one level to another, not because they’re too old to climb the stairs but because it added to the entertainment value of the night.
And that goes double for the people playing ping-pong during “Bullet Train to Iowa” and Keenan and Carina Round of Puscifer squeezing a game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots into Puscifer’s “The Remedy,” which features some of Keenan’s greatest lyrics (“Yes, we’re being condescending/ Yes, that means we’re talking down to you”).
The premise of this tour is that the members of A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus will not only share a stage but share musicians as the night unfolds, resulting in some truly awe-inspiring feats of musical cross-pollination.
Having multiple drummers definitely added layers of intensity to the proceedings. You never knew when Les Claypool of Primus would show up in another goofy mask to join one of the other bands on bass. And Keenan gamely guested on lead vocals on Primus’ “Tommy the Cat.”
It felt like crashing a really cool party at a rock star’s house and watching the musicians let their hair down, except for one thing. You could tell they put some thought and effort into making sure it sounded right.
It was all about musicianship and friendship and the magic of collaboration.
How Keenan's Sessanta played out on the eve of his 60th birthday
The concert began with a video of Keenan in a Spam commercial driving home the zero-camera policy by warning fans that if you chose to disobey this policy, you would be asked to leave, at which point you would find yourself fed through an oversized meat grinder outside the concert, thereby becoming the secret ingredient that makes Spam such a culinary favorite of “cannibalistic cultures.”
As threats go, it was pretty entertaining.
Each band took a turn in the spotlight, starting with A Perfect Circle, who followed Keenan’s PSA with a haunting rendition of “The Package.”
At the song’s conclusion, Keenan took a moment welcome the crowd to his birthday show with “Let’s confirm what we already know… Arizona.”
The audience cheered, but not enough to satisfy him.
“Sounds like California,” he scoffed, an insult met with boos. “Let’s fix it. Arizona!"
Maynard James Keenan's Sessanta setlist: What A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus played.
Maynard James Keenan weighs in on Arizona's return to 1864
That did the trick. Then, Keenan took a moment to address the local news.
“OK, so I’ve been out of town for about three weeks, out of state,” he said. “Anything change that I should know about? I dunno, like 1864? Jesus (expletive) Christ, people. Here’s my short speech, then I’ll (expletive) off. Register to (expletive) vote, please.”
Then it was back to the music with “Disillusioned.”
Each band did a three- to four-song set before rotating through the lineup two more times while changing up the order.
After bringing it all to a head with “Southbound Pachyderm” and telling the crowd this is how you turn 60, Keenan said, “I have been blessed with the privilege of working with some of the best musicians on the (expletive) planet… For my birthday, I got three new songs.”
And with that, the three bands dusted off the three songs featured on “Sessanta E.P.P.P”: A Perfect Circle’s “Kindred,” Puscifer’s “No Angel” and the Primus song “Pablo’s Hippies.”
Keenan closed his birthday celebration 'witnessing the majesty'
As the Primus song ended, Keenan joked, “Holy (expletive), you’re still here?”
Then, he brought the concert to a suitably majestic close with Puscifer’s “Grand Canyon,” singing “Witnessing the majesty.”
He’s referring, of course, to the majesty of the Grand Canyon. But it certainly applied to what we’d all just witnessed in the course of that performance.
Sessanta returns to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on Keenan’s birthday — Wednesday, April 17.
Maynard James Keenan's Sessanta setlist 2024
Here's every song A Perfect Circle, Primus and Puscifer played when Maynard James Keenan's Sessanta tour hit Phoenix on Tuesday, April 16:
A Perfect Circle Set 1
“The Package”
“Disillusioned”
“The Contrarian”
Primus Set 1
“Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers”
“Too Many Puppies”
“Sgt. Baker"
"Follow the Fool"
Puscifer Set 1
“Gallileo”
“Horizons”
“Indigo Children”
Primus Set 2
“Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”
“My Name Is Mud”
“Tommy the Cat”
Puscifer Set 2
“Flippant”
“Momma Sed”
“Bullet Train to Iowa”
“The Underwhelming”
A Perfect Circle Set 2
The Hollow”
“So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish”
“Weak and Powerless”
“The Outsider”
Puscifer Set 3
“The Humbling River”
“The Remedy”
A Perfect Circle Set 3
“Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums”
“Judith”
Primus Set 3
“Southbound Pachyderm”
Sessanta E.P.P.P.
“Kindred” (A Perfect Circle with Les Claypool)
“No Angel” (Puscifer)
“Pablo's Hippos” (Primus with Maynard James Keenan and Mat Mitchell)
Puscifer, Primus, A Perfect Circle
"Grand Canyon"
Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EdMasley.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Review: Maynard James Keenan's epic 60th birthday concert in Phoenix
