There has always been something deliberately off-center about Puscifer, but on this tour, that unease feels less like style and more like statement – a dark, theatrical reflection of the world Normal Isn’t was made to confront.
From the moment the opening pulse of “Thrust” kicks in, the show leans into the album’s tension-first philosophy. The track, noted for its slow-build intensity, feels sharper live and sets the stage for the almost confrontational posturing between Maynard James Keenan and Carina Round. Alongside lost civility, casual aggression, and toxic doom-scrolling, that is the new normal, and Puscifer’s new album, Normal Isn’t, reminds us that it does not have to be that way.
Mid-set, Keenan and Round shoot each other across the stage with toy guns during “The Remedy,” a figurative and visual means of resolving conflict, though frankly, the thematic elements of a Puscifer show require a certain amount of concentration and, perhaps, memorized lyrics. I am not sure the audience is fully there yet for the new album. Still, it does not matter. Every Puscifer tour is different, and the visuals from this one will likely settle in with time.
Meanwhile, it rocks.
Puscifer is an experimental electro-rock band that blends the heavy low-end sonic depth of Keenan’s other projects, but it is built on dark post-punk foundations. It is not as industrialized as Nine Inch Nails, but for this tour it shares a measure of goth commonality with Gary Numan. That low end, driven by touring members Josh Moreau on bass and Gunnar Olsen on drums, was fabulous. The songs are not as intricate or as lengthy as those of Tool, nor should they be, but it fits the Keenan cosmere so, so well.
Mat Mitchell’s synths and guitars notwithstanding, the cabaret aspects of Round and Keenan are the real draw here, costumed, as the “Bangers and Mashups” video alludes, as Fannie Grey and Bellendia Black. I am not entirely sure what it all means yet, but it is dark, theatrical, and unmistakably Puscifer. The band has even released a graphic novel to help make more sense of these newly introduced characters in the Pusciverse.
The evening began with comedian and musician Dave Hill in a fairly absurd routine of guitar flash, coughs, and adult-themed pick-up line jokes somewhat tailored to Atlanta. If there is one thing experienced comics do, it is insist that the crowd get involved — Dave! Dave! Dave! — and for what it is worth, his absurdly horrible guitar briefs can only come from someone who plays really, really well.
He both opened and closed the evening, offering familiar solos as an outro as Puscifer left the stage. An odd choice, right? Well, not really. They also invited Atlanta favorite Puddles Pity Party to join in during “Conditions of My Parole.” He has a long history of showing up locally, long before his 2017 appearance on America’s Got Talent.
Between the two, it serves as a great reminder that Keenan started this band as a plaything, an outlet for whatever he wanted to do — originally at Tantrum, a small improv comedy and variety night in Los Angeles. In that sense, the whole night comes full circle.
Or maybe, given the company, it is something closer to a perfect circle.
The band’s tour continues through May nationally.
Setlist:
Bangers and Mashups video
Intermission
