Rock band Puscifer, a project of Maynard James Keenan, brought its music-meets-live-theater performance to the Baton Rouge River Center on Saturday, Oct. 29. 

Hordes of fans dressed in Halloween costumes and band merchandise filed into the venue. Puscifer combines the talents of Keenan, British singer/songwriter Carina Round and guitarist Mat Mitchell for a truly out of this world experience.

Before Puscifer infiltrated the stage, the dark, electro-goth duo Night Club opened the concert. As lead singer Emily Kavanaugh energetically bounced around to the pulsating synth beats, flashing exchanges of red, blue and white lights lit up the stage.

After Night Club’s fantastic performance, the curtain was pulled back to reveal a geometric set design with two massive parallel screens and a large scaffolding of ladders. 

The concert, part of the second-leg of Puscifer’s “Existential Reckoning Tour,” was based off the band’s 2020 album of the same name. 

“With each album we have a different theme and that means a different live production,” Round said.

Puscifer’s performances tell stories by combining elements of live theater and concerts to create a fresh experience unlike any other. 

At the Baton Rouge performance, Pusicfer singer Keenan became an alien character. Keenan’s character appeared on the screens onstage. His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a suit and bright red lipstick. He shared a message about how aliens produce Spam meat from abducted humans. 

Following Keenan’s message, the full band quickly appeared on stage in matching suits to kick off the rest of the show.

As Puscifer performed, various bald men in suits filed onto the stage and pulled up a character from the crowd. Screaming, she was carried away, presumably to be made into Spam. 

To fit their alien character roles, Keenan and Round danced in a stiff robotic fashion to Puscifer’s pulsing, avant-garde music. The music from the “Existential Reckoning” album incorporates electropop, experimental rock and industrial influences. It is unlike anything previously produced by the band. As a whole, these influences form together to create a wave of oscillating and rhythmic songs.

Eventually, the on-stage screens turned back on to show Keenan’s character explaining how all celebrities are clones grown from original host bodies. He cited “evidence” in the form of pictures of celebrities, such as Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, connected by yarn on a board.

“I enjoy seeing how the crowd reacts to our presentation,” Keenan said.

There was lots of laughing. A great part of Puscifer is it never attempts to take itself too seriously and is willing to have fun with its content and delivery.

After an intermission, Keenan and Round returned to the stage in different outfits, now playing new characters. Keenan approached people wearing alien masks and asked them where he could get alcohol. This boisterous new character seemed to be more free-spirited than the stiff alien character before, and the aliens were happy to give him a glass. 

 “When in Baton Rouge, do as the natives do!” Keenan said, as he took a swig from his alien-prepared drink.

Though the tour comes two years after the release of the album because of the massive impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the music industry, the band said it was well worth the wait.

“I always enjoy spending time in Louisiana,” Keenan said.