June 13th 2012
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| Puscifer Live, Hard Rock Live, 06.13.12. Orlando FL ©2012 Movement Magazine. |
Arriving to the hall of the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL we find it filled with the belting, sultry and siren-esque vocal temptations of one miss Carina Round and her accompanying band. As her standing ovation ended, the crowd dispersed the bars, bathrooms and merch table as videos popped up in the middle and to the sided of the stage flickering with outtakes from the last tour peppered with vignettes involving Maynard James Kennan's evangelical character Bille Dee and his 'ding bat' counterpart Hildie and wrapping up with a stern message from a military officer by the name of Douché ("It's French") also played by Maynard, warning the audience, NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY.
Maynard, Puscifer's braintrust and epicenter, drags out a mini-airstream trailer tot he middle of the bare stage, wheels it around and begins unloading. He sets up a camp style table and chair set as other members of the band wheel out their instruments and gear, all the while giving a dissertation on life, its perceptions and interpretations, and wrapping with letting the audience know that they are people who "believe life is too short to not create something with every breath we draw."Amen.
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| Puscifer Live, Hard Rock Live, 06.13.12. Orlando FL ©2012 Movement Magazine. |
The next hour and a half was the visceral audio-visual picnic that is Puscifer. Accented perfectly by Maynard's own brand of wine, a feature at this feast, with glasses poured for all the band members, including the remarkable Carina Round on vocals (who absolutely fucking killed it on the best ever version of Rev 20:22 that's ever had the pleasure of fucking my ear holes). The best thing about a Puscifer show is that you may think you know the songs from the CD, but unless its a newer track that has yet to grow its live legs, its unlikely you'll ever hear an album track verbatim at a show. Most songs get their own unique re-envisioning and re-imagining from tour to tour, some with only barely familiar elements of their original incarnations, but always amazing. The stage set is relaxed and unusually casual. Members, including Maynard, when their talents aren't needed for a track or in between, sit at the table(s) sipping wine and watching the others play. The modular stage set up makes for some fun moments also, the drummer switches kits to one on a rolling dolly and at one point is rolled off set behind the airstream trailer while still playing.
At the end, as we've seen him do with TOOL, Maynard and the band forgo the traditional walk off stage to encourage the audience to chant and cheer them back out for an encore, opting rather to take their seats at their picnic tables right in front of the audience for a short break and a few sips of wine. This is how its done, and Maynard says, "... when you're old and grumpy." It none the less riled up the audience and got the cheers going.
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| Puscifer Live, Hard Rock Live, 06.13.12. Orlando FL ©2012 Movement Magazine. |
As a long time TOOL fan, as well as A Perfect Circle, both largely due in part to Maynard's stand out style and vocal creativity, Puscifer has become a solid third element to complete and balance out the trinity of his musical projects. Where TOOL and A Perfect Circle are heavy with social, political and spiritual matters, Puscifer is more akin to a prankster out of control with a poking, prodding, tongue-in-cheek bombardment of creative abandon. Energetic, powerful, moving and clever as fuck. This what makes Maynard, Maynard. And we are thankful.
I fucking love Puscifer.
You should too.
Check out Condition of My Parole and more tour dates at:
http://www.puscifer.com.
Text and photos by Max Michaels
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| Puscifer Live, Hard Rock Live, 06.13.12. Orlando FL ©2012 Movement Magazine. |
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