Maynard James Keenan’s Sessanta tour braves storms and weather to persevere

Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle descended on Azura.

May 2, 2024

Allison Scavo,

Sessanta. // photo by Allison Scavo

Sessanta
feat. Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle
Azura Amphitheater
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Maynard James Keenan’s 60th birthday was April 17. To celebrate this milestone, he set out to put miles on the ground. Maynard and Les Claypool are similar musicians in that they are both extremely creative, passionate, and experimental with the concept of sound and how it’s made. Together they joined forces to go on tour under the name Sessanta. Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle combined their gear to make one massive two-story stage with double-sided stairs.

The show was essentially one long set with a figuratively speaking rotating stage of various artists from all three bands. While all three bands had their own time on stage, the members intermingled between songs. The large screens displayed which band was playing due to the speed at which the rotations occurred. One thing that stuck out to me is that Sessanta is enforcing a no cell phone photography or video tour which I found to be refreshing. I’ve been to shows that lock your phone into a bag, but Sessanta trusted us to just simply not use them. It was a leap of faith that only Maynard is willing to take. I saw phones all over the place taking video towards the end of the night and just as quickly as they lit up, security came to swoop them up. When Maynard James Keenan gives you trust for his birthday, you don’t break it.

Given that this specific show was amidst tornadoes, high winds, and heavy rain that delayed the show by an hour and a half, I think it was an exceptional display of resiliency, passion, determination, and dedication. Having shown up for a 7:30 show, I arrived to closed gates and private parking lot parties. The rain lasted until 8:00 and gates opened at 8:30. The show started at 9:00, so the supergroup had no choice but to cut the show short. From what I gather through the grapevine and research of previous shows from this tour, it appears that the newer songs were cut. No one seemed to mind except those who are generally unhappy with everything. The rest of us were riding or dying. Happy Birthday, Maynard!

All photos by Allison Scavo