A PERFECT CIRCLE: THIRTEENTH STEP 2003-2004
SOUTHHAMPTON, UK [GUILDHALL]
2.9.04


By Annie Jones


So my friends and I arrived early by about an hour, not many people were there which surprised me but I didn't mind, if it got me closer to the front then I fine. Amy T and Katy were quite withdrawn about the whole thing because they had spent a good £18.50 on a band they had never even heard of before so they were really hoping they liked the band (and by the way they did like it). Me and Amy B? We were so excited about the whole thing; she almost loves A Perfect Circle as much as I do, almost but not quite. We were bouncing and giggling and loud all the time, and that was just the car journey to the Guildhall! We must have seemed more like 12 year old Busted fans then we did 17 year old A Perfect Circle fans. We couldn't help it, we are always hyper and the excitement of seeing A Perfect Circle was just like an over load for us.

When we were finally let in Amy B and I went on a hunt to find the toilet before A Perfect Circle came on, there was no way I'd lose my spot because I needed the loo. When we got back (yes we found the toilet) we waited for about another ¾ of an hour for Auf De Maur to come on stage, they were late on because their set up crew took forever but it was worth the wait. They were great and Melissa's voice is so powerful and they came off a lot heavier then they sound on the T.V. I was highly impressed. I'd really like to see them again if they ever come back near me on their own tour.

So then when they finished we waited for A Perfect Circle to come on stage and had a pleasant surprise when it took half the time that Auf De Maur took to set up.

Everyone has now heard about Maynard's box so I won't go into all that. When Maynard started singing it instantly it just hit you, the atmosphere, the sound, the energy and the experience you just knew it was going to be even better then you had ever imagined. I was really disappointed at first because my friends and I were standing just right to the middle of the stage and I couldn't see much of Jeordie because of the 6ft guys in front of us I asked my friends if we could move more to the left side but they didn't want to. After Maynard unveiled himself from his box two songs later (I can't remember their set list for the life of me) I decided that enough was enough and I went off on my own to watch Jeordie. Don't get me wrong seeing Maynard's' distant head with no recognisable facial features was nice (he seriously could have been a bit closer, I mean he was near the back of the stage which was a shame) and the drummer looked totally cool but ever since liking Marilyn Manson all those years ago I have adored Jeordie and since Mason never played a show near me this was my first and possibly only chance to see him.

When I finally got to the left side of the stage I somehow managed to get myself right to the front without getting killed I ended up standing in the front row right at the end of the barricade, I was as close to the stage as the security guard would let me and I had the best view of Jeordie I could imagine. No one in front of me blocking my view, no people around me pushing me about and right by the speakers! Perfect. The only downside is that I couldn't see Maynard or James but that was okay because you couldn't see much of them anyway.

About eight songs into the show Jeordie looked over to me while playing and stared for a few seconds, I'm sure he was looking at me because all that was behind me was a fire exit and a security guard. So after he stared at me a bit he paused for a few seconds and touched the middle of his chest with his hand and then nodded and smiled at me, I was kinda confused at first but then I looked down and to my amazement, my button, just underneath my breasts…it was undone. My button was undone! I was so excited, he must have been telling me that it was undone because I can't think of any other reason that he would do something like that. So that made my whole evening complete, I knew it was going to be the best night of my life, and it was. Next time he looked over at me I pointed to my button and shouted out "Thank you Jeordie!" I don't know if he heard me or not but I hope he did because in the strangest way it meant the world to me that he pointed it out.

The rest of the show was breathtaking. Jeordie would sometimes look so so happy to be up there performing and then other times he was so deep into it all that he just stared into space for minutes at a time, but you could still see he was having a great time. He looked blank but not in a way that he was bored. He would move about the stage and strike cool poses and he looks very peaceful when he steps up to the microphone to sing and one part that was very cool is that while playing he bent down lower and lower until he was almost on the floor and then he rose slowly back up, it was amazing. I sound like a groupie or some sort of demented obsessive, but I'm not really.

Maynard told Josh to perform a drum solo and got the whole crowd chanting along "Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh."

He didn't do one but it was really amusing the way the whole thing was hyped up and then he just didn't, it was cool in it's own kinda way. Maynard tries to say he isn't a funny person but I find this very hard to believe, he's highly amusing and doesn't need to tell sex jokes or toilet humour to make people smile and laugh which is one of his many great qualities. Before they played Weak and Powerless he said some mumbled things into the microphone that I didn't quite catch and then said, "This is a song called 'Old Southampton!"

And then they moved into the song, it was very cool indeed. They played the best variation of 'The Nurse Who Loved Me' I can think of although they could probably still make it better because they're a great band like that.

When the concert was over I found my friends again and waited by the barricade to see if anything would be thrown down and I narrowly missed catching Jeordie and James' towel so I was a bit bummed out about that but the experience was well worth it and I didn't need anything other then the experience. I hoped while we waited an hour outside for Amy B's dad to pick us up and drive us home that they would come out to the tour bus but we weren't there long enough so I didn't get to thank the band for the best first ever concert I could imagine going to or to thank Jeordie for telling me about my button which was a bit saddening, if Amy B's dad wasn't picking us up I would have waited for them until they did come out, but alas, I could not.

To sum the whole show up I would say that to call A Perfect Circle anything less then utterly breathtaking and remarkable is indeed a crime. If they ever came back to such a small venue such as the Guildhall then I would be first in line and I would take my brother along for sure. But I don't think they will come back here, no bands ever do, but it would be outstanding if they did come back, I would willingly pay £30 or more for an A Perfect Circle ticket if they ever came back here.

To A Perfect Circle: Don't forget about the little people. People like me loved seeing you live more then anything but can't travel to larger venues such as London and Birmingham. You sold out this time and if you came back you would surely sell out again. People don't have to be in a big city to love a band, so many people neglect this fact.