Perfect Circle

A PERFECT CIRCLE
The Metro
August, 10, 2003

Review by Niva Bringas

Photos by Justin Birnstihl

Comedic irony struck me shortly after I joined the anxious ticket holders on Clark just south of the Metro. The line actually started to the north of the Chicago club's famous marquee, proceeded south down Racine, turned east at
Waveland, and, finally, north on Clark again, effectively creating a ring around the block. A passer by casually asked who was playing, and was answered by a handful of excited fans who shouted out –– "A PERFECT CIRCLE!

    Even an uninitiated streetwalker who didn't recognize the name of nu-metal's premier group couldn't ignore the spectacle that marked their triumphant return to Chicago.

    The show started with an opening set from the noisy and unapologetically abrasive Pigmy Love Circus, a side project of Tool drummer Danny Carey. Their appearance established that, as of this tour, A Perfect Circle have taken their place among the benefactors of the spoils of rock 'n' roll. As Nine Inch Nails introduced Chicago to APC when they toured in support of "The Fragile" CD, so the torch has been passed to Carey's travelling Circus.

When the headliner emerged with a prompt nature that only true professionals display these days, the sold out house was introduced to the project's latest incarnation of a hard rock royalty summit whose most recent annexation was
Chicago's own James Iha. The former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist took the stage on a riser directly behind the band's other recent acquisition, Jeordie White, known in a previous life as Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez.

    Joining them were APC alumni Maynard James Keenan, the unmistakable voice of Tool, and Josh Freese, known for his work with Paul Westerberg and Chris Cornell (as well as a dozen other artists you could name). Front and (barely
left of) center was reserved for the brainchild himself, Billy Howerdel, whose musings during NIN's "Downward Spiral" tour emerged in 2000 as "Mer de Noms," the now legendary studio debut from A Perfect Circle.

    In all fairness, with regard to the expectation that such a legacy carries with it, the live set satisfied if it did not exceed expectations. The set list wisely began with a generous portion of recognizable "Mer de Noms" numbers while easing into material from the September 16 release, "Thirteenth Step," that blended seamlessly.

After seeing APC fill the Riviera stage on their last tour, each member seemed confined by the Metro's quirky riser configuration that seemed to focus more on sightline visibility to showcase celebrities over style itself.

Keenan, atop a six foot platform, maintained his trademark obscurity by performing the first number silhouetted behind a veil of white linen, and prolonged the tantilization of his admirers with posturing that never completely revealed his face. Howerdel continued to play with the same confident humility of the 2000 inaugural tour that suggests he is hardly aware that he is responsible for assembling the most awe-inspiring collective of musicians in a generation.

Howerdel intriguing development of musicianship, membership, and folklore is confirmed in that his "Thirteenth Step" is indeed a step closer to perfection.

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