A Perfect Circle Brings Magical Show to Grand Rapids

Story and photos by Anne Erickson

“With your halo slipping down. Your halo slipping down. And not to pull your halo down, around your neck and tug you off your cloud.” Maynard James Keenan’s moody vocals cut through the haze during A Perfect Circle’s tour stop at The Deltaplex in Grand Rapids on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 22). Maynard has a voice and spirit that gives anyone goosebumps, and that’s one of the reasons fans are happy the band is back. View A Perfect Circle concert photos from the Grand Rapids stop below.

This year marked a major one for A Perfect Circle. The guys announced a record deal with BMG and a new album — which will mark their first since 2004’s “Emotive” — on the way for 2018. They also released a new song, the epic “The Doomed,” and embarked on a fall tour, including the aforementioned show in Grand Rapids.

If there’s one descriptor for A Perfect Circle’s live show, it’s majestic. Band members seemed to float from one side of the stage to the other, as Keenan cloaked himself in the shadows at the back of the stage. Even hidden in the dim lights, Keenan’s presence radiated into the crowd. His mystery and emotive, warm vocals darted through the darkest corners of the stage.

A Perfect Circle is the kind of band that performs as a unified whole. Band members have a ton of pedigree: Billy Howerdel, the band’s chief songwriter, also fronts Ashes Divide; guitarist and keyboardist James Iha comes from the Smashing Pumpkins; bass player Matt McJunkins and drummer Jeff Friedl perform in the Beta Machine, which opened the concert. Band members had high energy for full set, performing up close to fans and interacting with the crowd. Howedel has a distinct, magical guitar tone that makes A Perfect Circle’s concerts memorizing.

Thank you, A Perfect Circle, for resurrecting in 2017 and giving fans something to look forward to next year. The band will remain on its 2017 fall North American tour through early December, and then, following the holidays, the group will hit Europe for a string of shows in January. Find A Perfect Circle’s full tour roster via their official website.