A PERFECT CIRCLE: THIRTEENTH STEP 2003-2004
ATLANTA, GA [THE ROXY]
7.30.03
By Kelly
I got to the show about 2 hours early and there was quite a line...it got super long when doors finally opened. Everyone was searched like crazy...not even lighters were allowed! Because they were doing such crazy searches, less than 1/4 of the sold out audience was in the venue when Pigmy Love Circus started.
I was pretty close (behind 2 people) and around the center...when PLC walked out, Mike and the guitarist were wearing camo kilts and blue war paint, and the other guys were dressed normally. Not 10 seconds into them being on the stage, thing guy in front of me said "Take off your pants!" so Mike Savage pulled up his kilt, exposing his penis! They were a crazy band with great music, freaky lyrics, and props. Danny's drumming was amazing, and he played a bad ass drum solo toward the end. They were on for about 45 minutes, and Danny was introduced as "Merl" (I totally forget the last name given)
As the wait for A Perfect Circle progressed, more frat guys and drunks tried to push their way up, but me and my new found concert brethren (you must talk to and make friends with the people around you at shows) held our ground. One thing I noticed was that a curtain made a box on a riser in the back middle of the stage, Josh's set was beside it on the right side (looking at it) and there was a mic on the far left and right of the stage...interesting positioning. When they walked out, the new album's "renholder" was playing and Billy (right of the stage) wore a black long sleeve shirt unbuttoned at the top with black pants...he's still bald. Jeordie, a.k.a. Twiggy (left of the stage), wore a dress shirt like Billy and his hair is now just above his shoulders and some was pulled back. I couldn't really see James (back left of the stage) was in front of lights, but he was dressed up like Billy and Jeordie. Josh was in a t-shirt since he's a drummer and gets way hotter. They started playing a heavy new song, and you could see Maynard's shadow from the "curtain box". The wig is still with him, but now he has two little pig tails on each side with the rest worn down. After the song, the house went dark and the curtain came down to show Maynard wearing lace up purple pants, a suit vest, and a dress shirt...which later came off.
Some funny things said during the show:
Maynard: "Is everyone feeling comfy?"
Maynard: "I'd like to introduce Jeordie White a.k.a. Twiggy...James Iha...Billy Howerdel...I'm Gaylord Perry and that's Josh Freese"
Maynard: "James has a joke" (Maynard makes James take the mic) James: " Uhh...hey. So I went to the gas station the other day. And I got gas. I asked the attendant 'how much will that be?' and he said '$8.75' so I asked, 'do you need a friend?' and he said 'I certainly do' so I said, 'follow me'." Maynard: "Somewhere in that was a joke that was funny. Funny like this song" (start playing "Thinking of You")
Maynard: "It's a little warm in here. Someone, I'm not going to say who, but someone...didn't wear deodorant. I'm not going to say who, you know who you are, but next time...Right Guard"
Maynard: "Thank you for coming to our sound check warm up tour. We'll be back in the fall"
Maynard: "We'd love to play more new songs for you, but some bastards will record them and leak them to the internet"
They played the best show I've ever seen, and they all sounded well together. Twiggy was excellent and also sang. James pulled off some nice work, and as always, Josh and Billy owned. This time, Maynard was way more energetic...and I think he would have been even more so had he not been worried about making that wig come off. Here's what they played (in as best the order as I can remember):
*New song - very heavy, and included lyrics about the boogy man, sleeping tight, and ignorant people
"The Hollow"
"Magdalena"
"Weak and Powerless"
"Rose"
"Thinking of You"
*New Song "Package" - slower, builds up to heavy at the end
"Orestes"
"Thomas"
"3 Libras"
*New song - heavy, included the lyric "and if you pull the trigger" in the last verse
*Cover song - didn't catch the band name, and didn't know the song, but contained the lyrics "she has everything I want" and "...all the other boys"
"Judith"
After the show ended, I was completely blown away...I was trying to walk to the merch table but no one was moving. I finally saw the reason: Danny Carrey was there and signing Pigmy Love Circus CDs. I decided to make my way, and I finally bought one and he came over, asked my name, and signed it. While signing I said "I was wearing my Green Jelly shirt until it got hot" and he chuckled and said "Really? That's cool" then shook my hand. Afterwards, I remembered my drummer brother would want one, so I bought another (most of the people had cleared out by now) and said "My brother Ben wants one, he's a drummer too" so he signed it, shook my hand again, and laughed since we'd just done that 5 minutes earlier. He was so cool to sign everyone's CD and personalize them (note: he was signing PLC CDs ONLY). And he was so nice and really tall...I was up to his bicep! I also got the guitarist to sign them, and he talked a little bit...cool guys.
For those interested in the merch, it was all pretty expensive. The tour shirt was $30 ($35 for XXL), the album shirt was $30, the girls white tee with the logo that changes color was $35, and the APC hat was $35 and the long sleeve shirt was $40. PLC shirts were $30 and their hoodie was about $45. Their CD was only $12, however.
Well, that's it. I hope everyone gets to see them when they tour in the fall...I'll be there. This was THE BEST show I've ever seen...