A PERFECT CIRCLE: THIRTEENTH STEP 2003-2004
STRASBOURG, FRANCE [LA LAITRIE]
1.16.04
(2 Reviews)
By Murdertwig
It was about 1 o'clock when we arrived at Strasbourg after one hour driving!After we parked behind the hall we heard some sounds, we followed the sound and had a look-around. And there the 2 Tour-Buses of Beat The Street already stood. Now we stood only times quite a while, and froze ourselves the ass off! There it with the time getting colder and colder and we had to search for a toilet, (we found one) and after that we had the idea to do gymnastic, stretch exercises and turn around in circles again and again, pretty funny. If the guys had seen that, they probably thought that we're totally crazy or are totally inspired by our performance!So at 4 o'clock, the tour bus drove away and returned some time later with the guys, who ran into LaLaiterie! And guess what, Jeordie was the fastest.....and James formed as the slowest of all the tail light!
We went into LaLaiterie at approx. 19:30, almost frozen to death, where wewent on the left side of the stage, in front of Jeordie. The hall was very full! 1500 people! The lights turned off and they started with Vanishing at 20:30. The band was groovy and the fans went nuts, best crowd we've ever seen!!! During the breaks, we (Murdertwig, Penicillin Penny, Gemini and New Model) started our battle singing:
"There's a guy named Jeordie And he's got a pair of slacksUhhhh Jeordie`s got slacks..."
But Maynard didn't wanted to let Jeordie sing "Fred's Got Slacks", so he only said to us: "NO Slacks, we are playing another song!" Unfortunately we had to give ourselves thereby to peace, but well...By then already ¾ hour had certainly passed, when Maynard asked us: "You want to hear James sing"? Of course we all wanted to hear James singing!! One heard nearly 1 minute long: "JAMES, JAMES, JAMES, JAMES!" Jeordie supported our screams with his bass! James sung a song of the Backstreet Boys while Maynard threw some plastic flowers at his feet and Jeordie laughed all the time!
During 3 Libras the "chick checker" from APC came to us and pressed Penicillin Penny a pass into the hand and pointed to Jeordie!
Unfortunately after 1 hour and 25 minutes it concluded and unfortunately gave no addition, but we were content! I have 2 guitar pics, among them one of Jeordie's, and to my joy, Jeordie's towel, which I will never wash in my life!!!
Thereupon we left LaLaiterie and waited in front of the tour busses.. after 20 minute James came (to whom we said a short hello) and we surveyed him interested how he tried to come into the bus! Finally, we left the place of the happening and drove home.
Setlist:
Vanishing
Pet
The Hollow
Magdalena
Weak and Powerless
Orestes
Blue
Rose
Backstreet Boys cover by James
The Package
3 Libras
The Nurse Who Loved Me (heavy version)
The Outsider
The Noose
Judith
By ROCKMAG
(Translated by Luce)
The Perfect Circle
Actually world touring, A Perfect Circle teases as well curious people as fans. To know (or see) more about it, ROCKMAG went to Strasbourg's hall, "La Laiterie" the 16th of January, three days after their first European show in Roma.
It's been rarely seen, but Tool leader's project has managed to become a real band with its own soul, despites the last line-up change. APC guys made it so well, that we cannot move much tonight. La Laiterie became full at its maximum. There's no denying that some guys had been teased by the famous names what are nowadays part of APC. In the entrance, I can see passing by some fans with T-shirts of bands like Tool, Marilyn Manson or The Smashing Pumpkins. We nearly want to push them to the merchandising stand to buy appropriated clothes (Twiggy a.k.a Jeordie White and Marilyn, Billy Corgan and James Iha, all of that belongs to the past decades !!!)Besides, the merch point has attractive stuff: T-shirts, caps and even APC breeches, strings for those who hope tease their man, disguised themselves in Maynard James Keenan. A guy,who nearly forbids us to see him. Just lacks the boarding with all that's prohibited. Are prohibited: smoking, all kind of pictures and sound recording and even cell phones. Professionnal photographs are also threatened by MJK's kicks if they do submit to the rules.Almost as paranoiac as Michael Jackson [lol i love this point of view that's real fun!] , Maynard doesn't really want us to see him, hiding as much as possible during the whole show.
Play with Shadows
In fact, APC wants more us to listen to their music than us to see them playing. This is a special point of view compared to the actually Us rock world, becoming more and more blatant. The small scene stays deeply in the shadow. A sinister music rings out, like a lost soul roving in the desert, whose arrival among the being blows a cold wind and frightens. Jeordie shouts and at this moment we perceive his shadow: Maynard's standing on his pedestal like a king on his throne, hidden by a black curtain. He seems completely unleashed while the title "Vanishing" is played. But during the song "Pet", the lead singer appears no more as a shadow and we all see his very long wig. As an animal in a cage, the frontman wriggles, crouches, and prowls like a tiger, denouncing his confinement in this blatant rock universe... The rest of the band contrasts because of their real calm, but they never look austere. Billy and James play burning riffs, drummer Josh Freese's hits jar against Jeordie White's tragic bass riffs. Aggressive parts are cooled down by emotional melodies, as Maynard does with his own musical instrument, his subtle chameleon-like voice. A guy, who doesn't probably give a shit of APC, took off his Manson's shirt and shows it to Jeordie, pretty cute in his suit, who goes back to the bottom of the scene, near to James."Bonsoir" [good evening] Maynard greets the huge crowd and introduces the members of the band. A few fans ask Josh Freese for a solo. No? Next comes "The Hollow". Jeordie comes back behind his microphone. The Manson fan goes on, without any effect on Jeordie. "Magdalena" is full of energy, as atmospheric as it's metal music, just before going on with "Weak and Powerless". Maynard is often bending forward, as if his lyrics were painful to sing. He seems to be suffering and he sings with all his heart and his soul the title "Orestes". Most of the time he doesn't speak between the songs, even during the long silence before "The Noose"; he's he! re only to sing. The shouts "Josh solo!!" are going on. MJK makes gently fun of the french accent and says: "We're gonna play a song, allright?" Yes. He picks a tambourine on "Blue", and "Rose" shows how APC goes from an eruption of emotions to exploding riffs waving like Maynard's wig.
You are my fire... the one desire...
"Who wants James Iha to sing a song?" Us!!!! Is it a new one ? While Maynard goes to him with a bunch of roses , James sings a hit from... The Backstreet Boys. No we're not dreaming. this is really "I Want It That Way". Well done, i agree. It also shows that the band isn't the rock n' roll serious false-brainy-apocalyptic-prophet band people could once imagine. Jokes are done, let's sing back." This song 's called "the Nurse who loved me"." Maynard doesn't like speaking a lot, but he's in France, and he feels obliged to apologize. "we'd like just to apologize for our president". No problem. "we've got a new album called Thirteenth Step. This is the new song called The Outsider". A song that could indeed describe Mister Bush. Or himself, the best rock prophet, full of mystic poetry and ironical, a man apart, like Trent Reznor. The sound and the lyrics bring to pain and hopelessness without completely making us give way beneath it. "We're A Perfect Circle.Thanks very much, see ya". As a gift, Maynard throws 3 bottles of water to thirsty fans. Lights make us blind at the end of "Judith", a musical bomb. And when lights are off, the hall is empty and silent. We all go back to the calm, the lost soul roving has left the desert and found its way."