Puscifer with Moodie Black at McFarlin Auditorium in Dallas, TX.
Words By Matt Stubbs of the Jerry Jonestown Massacre Podcast
Photos by Dustin Schneider
On Thursday night we either witnessed madness or genius on the campus of SMU. It was a night of performance art mixed with unique sounds. Dustin has told me how wild and amazing Puscifer shows are for years. I finally witnessed the spectacle that took over McFarlin Auditorium. This amazing night of music and tracers got started by the spacey noise rap of Moodie Black.
I wasn’t expecting anything that happened at this show. Especially, being introduced to a genre of music I didn’t even know existed. And this was displayed to me by Moodie Black. This noise rap band was a treat. This three-piece of sound was full of vocal delays and echoes. Their music is a plethora of lyrical martial arts and simple heavy grooves from the guitars and drums. Moodie Black was freakin gnarley and I would highly recommend checking them out any chance you get. I liked the music, I liked the message and the raging spirit behind all of it.
Moodie Black set the stage perfectly for the headliner Puscifer. This was the first time that I’ve seen Puscifer live. I’ve always been a fan of Maynard’s theatrics and catchy music. I feel like Puscifer is a project that is dialed into Keenan’s personality the most. Even though I’ve never met the dude, it just feels that way. The Existential Reckoning is Puscifer’s latest release. This concept seems to be a visual representation of research being done by extraterrestrial beings on humans. And the live show presented this research with great visuals and pizzazz. From the threat of being turned into SPAM if you dared take your phone out during the show. To the windows of outer space being projected on their two giant video displays. This performance was captivating. Agent Dick Merkin’s charisma was perfectly coincided by Agent Carina Round on vocals. Their twisted dances almost felt choreographed at times. Mat Mitchell (guitars), Greg Edwards (bass), and Gunner Olsen (drums) were focused on the task at hand of probing us for data via their human instruments. All was capped off by a special guest appearance from the drunken Billy D.
I don’t know if this performance art music piece was an interpretation of how big of idiots we are on Earth or a glimpse into Maynard Keenan’s different personality traits and egos. I don’t think it matters. It was a show that was up to your own individual deconstruction. This riddle is my favorite part of Puscifer. Its meaning is whatever you want the meaning to be. You enjoy the performance as much as you want to enjoy it. And you take away from the music whatever you want. Is Maynard a genius or is he a madman? Or are you a genius or a madman? I loved the whole night. Thank you very much, Moodie Black and Puscifer.
Puscifer
Moodie Black
