Brightest Young Things

Before there was Lady Gaga, there was Maynard James Keenan.

If you've been living under a rock the past twenty years, Tool is the Grammy-winning megagroup that your mother will never, ever enjoy.  Your father probably wouldn't like them either.  Grammy or no Grammy.  They burst onto the 90's alernative rock scene with dark, disturbing music and even darker, more disturbing imagery associated with their act, like H.R. Giger-inspired album covers and other-worldy videos that will either give you nightmares or came from your nightmares:

Maynard James Keenan is the twisted brain behind Tool and a Perfect Circle and Puscifer and a host of other crazy projects that will make you think about how fucked up the world is and worry about your children when they aren't with you.  He's amazing.  And to top it all off, he was good friends with one of the greatest comedians of all time, Bill Hicks:

Just when you thought he had gone all soft and winemaker on us, Maynard's back with a new act.  He's bringing his 3-ring circus sideshow into town under the moniker of his newest band, Puscifer.

Here's what Spin magazine had to say about the new tour that's rolling through town this weekend:

With a battery-operated, leg-humping dog strapped to his calf, Billy Dee bantered with Hildy about blowjobs, herpes, and "ass sex" in between countrified re-workings of songs from Puscifer's 2007 full-length, V Is for Vagina. Guitarist Johnny Polonsky cranked out slide versions of "Drunk With Power" and "Queen B" before launching into a cover Electric Sheep's "Cuntry Boner."

And that was just Act One!

When the lights came up again, the entire outfit had ditched their country garb for a more modern look, with Keenan and back-up singer Brit chanteuse Carina Round performing behind flat-screen monitors -- their bodies were readily visible, but their faces were only seen on screen. The band ripped through seven album-like versions of Puscifer songs, including four from the soon-to-be-released C Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) EP. And, yes, that's the official title.

And another review from IGN Music:

Keenan brought an all-star cast of performers to Las Vegas to fill the roles of the live band, including (but not limited to): Tim Alexander of Primus, Gil Sharone of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails, and actress/musician Milla Jovovich. Keenan also reached out to little-known rockabilly duo Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival to open all three shows. IGN was on hand for Puscifer's first-ever performance on February 13, read on for our full-review.

Check out this Puscifer video:

And if you don't come see his show, you never know what may happen...

Puscifer plays shows this Friday and Saturday night at the Lincoln Theater at 8 p.m.