Sessanta v2.0 Was a Fabulous Party in St. Louis
–by Sean Derrick
Most co-headlining tours fall under the same formula: opening band(s) plays then the two co-headliners alternate who will close with their on full sets on each night of the tour. On May 29 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre the Sessanta v2.0 tour threw that tried-and-true formula right out the window.
The Sessanta tour is a birthday celebration tour for Maynard James Keenan (vocalist for Tool, A Perfect Circle. and Puscifer) as a coheadlining tour with A Perfect Circle, Primus, and Puscifer. The term is Italian for 60, and last year was the initial tour. This year they restarted the tour in celebration of Keenan’s 61st birthday and labeled it version 2.0.
Sessanta is a unique concert experience. it is immersive and dynamic with each band rotating in mini sets as well as band members from the other bands on the bill. During the mini sets the other bands stayed on stage but retreated to couches on the 2nd level riser or hanging out on the side stairs.
The backs of seats were adorned with notices to the crowd that all cell phone photography was strictly prohibited, and expulsion was mandated for offenders. This was humorously, but effectively, conveyed in a pre-show video that played an old creepy Spam commercial, advising that violators of the policy would be ground up and made into Spam if they did violate said policy.
A Perfect Circle kicked off the show with the percussive hammering of “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums” as roadies rolled out party hats, glasses and cupcakes for Maynard James Keenan he gave his cupcake to a fan in the front row. Afterwards Keenan asked the crowd to “unplug and tune in” to the bands, the music, and the experience. It was a wonderful change of pace to not see hundreds or thousands of cell phones held up distracting from the view on the stage.
Primus followed APC’s 3 song set with the low bass drone of “Here Come the Bastards” while vocalist/bassist extraordinaire Les Claypool asking the signer for the hearing impaired if she had to sign every word that he sang or spoke and promptly fit the word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” into the evening. Typical fun reverence from Claypool.
Puscifer is the enigma of the three acts, hard to define or even put into words. But the incredible vocal range of Corina Round is a highlight and compliments Keenan’s impressive vocal capability. Their 1st mini set included “Man Overboard”, “Horizons”, and “Indigo Children” where the lighting on the stage was impressively staged like candles.
By far the coolest visual of the night was during Primus’ “Southbound Pachyderm” as Las Claypool performed the entire heavy funk driven song wearing a mirror ball helmet, reflecting the spotlight that shone on him into the darkness of the amphitheatre like a thousand beams of moving light. I really wish we could have been allowed to photograph that song as well. Ambitions for the future, fingers crossed.
In fact the entire allotment of songs we could shoot was limited to just one, the last song “Grand Canyon”, where all three bands played at the same time (ala a Supergroup style). The song itself clocks in at under 7 minutes long (where a typical 3 song allowance gives us an average of 15-17 minutes) and was the last song of the night. The vast majority of the shows I have shot have been the typical 1st 3 (Metallica in 1992 comes to mind as they made us shoot the last 3. So, this is not new for me, just unusual).
The lighting was typical low light for Primus and Keenan’s bands, but what capped it off was at the last minute we were told the pit wasn’t big enough to safely accommodate us so they put us outside the barricade where we could only shoot from one spot. It was one of the more difficult shoots I have ever had, to say the least.
However, the interactions and uniqueness of the show overshadowed any issues with shooting the show. There were many highlights and very few lowlights, if any. One of the more interesting moments occurred during the Puscifer song ‘Bullet Train to Iowa” as APC’s drummer Josh Freese played ping pong with local celebrity Clownvis. If you have never heard of Clownvis, you have got to google this guy, pure fun.
At one point Corina and MJK played a game of Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots, and the intermission included a video of Keenan as an old man in a wheelchair randomly awakening from a nap and telling awesome dad jokes (Yeah, that’s my kind of humor) which elicited a mix of groans and laughter from the crowd.
Overall, the show was a refreshingly unique style where the bands continuously blended mini sets with great music, impressive artistry, with a not too serious attitude. This made for a fun birthday celebration and a memorable evening for those who attended. Here’s hoping there is a version 3.0 next year.
Sessanta Setlist:
Act 1:
A Perfect Circle
Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums
Disillusioned
Blue
Primus
Here Come the Bastards
Groundhog’s Day
Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread
Puscifer
Man Overboard
Horizons
Indigo Children
Act II:
Primus
Little Lord Fentanyl
Welcome to This World
My Name is Mud
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
Puscifer
Flippant
No Angel
Bullet Train to Iowa
The Algorithm
A Perfect Circle
The Contrarian
The Doomed
Weak and Powerless
The Outsider
Act III:
Puscifer
The Humbling River
Polar Bear
The Remedy
Primus
Pablo’s Hippos
Too Many Puppies
A Perfect Circle
The Noose
Kindred
Judith
Primus
Southbound Pachyderm
All 3 Bands
Grand Canyon (Puscifer song)
