A Perfect Circle at Uptown Amphitheater 7-19-2011

I still think that A Perfect Circle's "Mer de Noms" album was one of the best hard rock albums ever written, but despite the band's putting on a good show in Charlotte, I still left disappointed. Understanding that A Perfect Circle's most recent album "eMotive" centered on cover songs with a political theme, I was not surprised that much of their set consisted of these re-made familiar songs, but I was a bit disappointed in the overall energy of the performance.

The first band, Red Bacteria Vacuum offered a bunch of screaming punk and a lesson in Japanese. All girl Japanese punk band, eh? Interesting choice for an opener, APC. I found it kind of weird; the members were all these cute little short chicks, but with veins full of raging angst--kind of like Hello Kitty with PMS. The drummer's kit looked like a disassembled Mickey D's play land, with bright yellow pipes supplanting normal drum shells. The ladies jumped around and thrashed a lot to their overly simple riffs and beats, but seemed to be having a ton of fun--but who wouldn't be, opening for an awesome American band?

Since jumping into the local scene myself, I have come to expect that major label bands will lack in stage antics in comparison to local and regional independent bands, but normally the major label artists still have some energy in the music, itself. Maynard James Keenan is one of the most talented singers in today's rock world, but Tuesday night he seemed a bit detached from the emotion of his lyrics and didn't seem to get into it very much. I even detected a bit of off-centeredness from a strong pitch in his voice for the first couple of songs--an indicator that he may not have warmed up his voice sufficiently. There was a song or two where he shone through with emotion, such as "Magdalena" from the best CD ever, but some of the rest of the songs just came across as flat from his hiding platform in the back corner of the stage.

I can't say that I was thrilled about all the cover songs; if I had wanted to see a cover band, I could have done that much cheaper and seen a lot more energy. The worst cover they did, though, was of their own song "3 Libras," also from the best CD ever, but it was so far removed from the song I know that I literally did not even recognize it anymore--I had to look up the song on YouTube to hear what I should've been listening for. The soul of the song was gone, replaced with weird samples and repetitions of lyrics of the song taken out of context in a way that made me uncomfortable, similar to how some of Maynard's other band Tool makes me feel. I'm glad I didn't recognize it when they played it, because it probably would have made me mad. I recognize that artists have a right to alter their own songs, but they must recognize that fans have an equal right not to like it. I didn't.

What I did like was their performance of "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums;" this one actually had feeling in its performance. The thunderous war drums evoked a feeling of oppressive, martial control, and the heavier guitars displayed the underbelly of angst from the oppressed. I will have to go back and give "13th Step" another listen to find this one.

The bad thing about loving a band's work and being ultra-excited to see them in concert is that expectation are high. Few bands could live up to the build-up I gave this concert. I am still glad I went so I can add another notch in my concert belt, but I'm not sure I would go see them again if they are this lethargic onstage every time.