Music Tonight: A Perfect Circle, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s Art Metal too-successful-to-be-a-side-project he co-founded with guitarist Billy Howerdel, has been back on the road after a seven-year break. The band started its hiatus after the release of eMOTIVe, a war-and-peace-themed collection that included several interesting, seriously reworked covers (John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Depeche Mode’s “People Are People,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”) and was released on Election Day in 2004. Since the band didn’t tour behind the release, many fans are hearing those songs live for the first time. Tonight when the group plays Riverbend’s PNC Pavilion at 8 p.m. (tickets — $58.90-$70.15 — are still available), those fans will also hear a new song, which Howerdel told CityBeat is the first APC song that has been “road-tested.” —-
“We’re doing a good amount of the eMOTIVe stuff and the older songs we’re flying in and out, depending on the night,” Howerdel told CityBeat‘s Brian Baker. “We’re getting our stage legs and the show will expand from there. The new song is really interesting because it’s the first time since we’ve been a signed band that we’ve offered something new without it being released; you’re hearing the live version before the studio version. It’s liberating that you’re able to try it out and confirm that’s what you want to do. The other side is there are a lot of shitty recordings via shitty Blackberry microphones out there, and people are hearing the new song in less than best state, so it’s give and take.”
Here’s the video for APC’s “Thinking of You” from its debut, Mer De Noms.
• The free, every-Monday Fountain Square Lounge shows featuring The Chris Comer Trio have also included several special guest artists from the local Jazz scene so far this summer. Tonight, Comer and Co.’s guests are extra special and should make for a great night of music on Fountain Square, starting at 7 p.m. IsWhat?!, the long-running experimental Jazz/Hip Hop fusion group who’ve become a favorite in Europe, will make a rare local appearance. Frontman Napoleon Maddox is involved in so many cross-continental projects, it’s a wonder he even has time to eat or sleep, let alone make a hometown appearance. It’s made even sweeter by another special guest, occasional IsWhat?! collaborator Melvin Gibbs, an extremely versatile (and supernaturally gifted) bassist who has worked with everyone from John Zorn, Rollins Band and Arto Lindsay to dead prez, DJ Logic and Femi Kuti.
Here’s an excellent music video for the IsWhat?! song “Trouble” from the group’s amazing Big Appetite album.
(Leave your suggestions/promote yourself or your favorites by telling everyone about your favorite music event recommendations for the day in the comments below.)
Momentous Happenings in Music History for Aug. 8
On this day in 1992, the Montreal date of the Metallica/Guns ’N Roses stadium tour became one of the more memorable in both of the headliners’ histories and also one the audience will likely never forget. First, Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield was severely burned by stage pyro and the band’s set was cut short. Then, Guns ’N Roses had a chance to soothe the restless crowd with a stellar showing, but Axl had a sort throat and the monitors weren’t working properly, so the band ended its set prematurely as well. Unhappy fans rioted in the streets of Montreal, setting fires and looting as if their favorite hockey team just lost the Stanley Cup. The tour was at least an educational experience for Metallica. On MTV, the members said they learned from Axl what not to do on a big tour.
Here is CBC’s report on the fateful Montreal concert:
Born This Day: Musical folks born on Aug. 8 include underground Rock music promoter and album cover designer Andy Warhol (1927); cofounder/drummer of ’80s New Wave fave A Flock of Seagulls, Ali Score (1956); guitarist of British Ska/Pop madmen Madness, Christopher Foreman (1958); cheeseball, shirtless singer for Rock band Creed, Scott Stapp (1973); and guitar player Dave Evans, better known to most as U2 guitarist The Edge (1961).
In honor of the modern guitar hero’s 50th birthday, here’s a video culled from the fantastic, creative documentary about the electric guitar’s role in Rock & Roll, It Might Get Loud, which focused on The Edge, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and White Stripes mainman Jack White. This clip collects highlights of Edge’s appearances.
This article appears in Aug 3-9, 2011.
