PUSCIFER WRESTLES WITH GREATNESS AT TERMINAL 5

Maynard James Keenan is a visionary – every note of music he has ever made, when translated into a video or live concert setting gets the full treatment by using powerful and unique visuals that makes everything come alive. Back in the old days, when music videos where still a thing on MTV, Tool had some of the most outrageous and artistic videos that made songs like “Sober” and “Prison Sex” come to life with stop-motion techniques. So, when Puscifer came to Terminal 5 this week, it was no surprise that every attention to detail was met with a high degree of thoughtful, and outrageous art in the form of Lucha Libres (masked South American wrestlers).

Wrestling

Touring off their new lush masterpiece Money Shot, Puscifer has been treating fans with an all out spectacle filled with Mexican culture sure to make a certain presidential candidate shudder. Starting off the night was a highly entertaining wrestling match featuring two co-ed tag-teams pitted against each other. The action was wild and fun for the VIP’S that were seated stadium-style on the stage with luchadores flying mere feet above them. Luchadores, as we now know, also need frequent “disco breaks” and every so often, the lights would drop, alcoholic beverages appeared out of nowhere and a party would ensue.

Wrestling

Speak To The Hand

Wrestling

Disco Break

Wrestling

Drink and disco break

For a bit, it looked like the “red team” would pull off the victory, but Black Spiderman (you know, the Tobey Maguire emo-Spiderman) showed up and took everyone out with a twisting flip off the turnbuckle ending the match.

Wrestling

Spiderman wins

In the quickest stage turnaround in concert history, Puscifer appeared out of the shadows with their own masks mere minutes after the wrestling, and blasted us with “Simultaneous,” “Galileo,” and “Agostina.” Keenan, along with female vocalist Carina Round, were perched in the very dark wrestling ring, while percussionist, Jeff Friedl took up residency front and center as guitarist Mat Mitchell and bassist Paul Barker stood off to the side. If the wrestling didn’t catch your attention, the stage setup and sparse, yet dramatic lighting certainly did.

Puscifer

Maynard James Keenan

Paul Barker

Mat Mitchell

Carina Round

Jeff Friedl

For the next hour and a half, the band mesmerized us with every track off the new album including “Grand Canyon,” “Money Shot” and the most impressive version of “The Remedy.” Mixing in older tunes such as “Vagina Mine” and “Man Overboard” at the right times, worked perfectly in the grand theme of the night. The luchadors made more appearances throughout the gig, as well as some stuffed roosters, making the show more like a play – a full aural and visual rock experience, that we won’t soon forget.