Puscifer @ The Louisville Palace - Louisville, KY
April 21st, 2026: Puscifer, Dave Hill @ The Louisville Palace - Louisville, KY
Puscifer | Photo Courtesy of: Emily May
Puscifer, the Los Angeles rock band led by Maynard James Keenan (Tool/A Perfect Circle) and which features long-time collaborators Carina Round and Mat Mitchell, brought their Normal Isn’t Tour to The Louisville Palace on April 21st, with comedian/actor/musician Dave Hill opening the show. The project is considered by Keenan be his creative subconscious, with each tour allowing the fans to dive into the world he creates with each album. This tour celebrates the band’s latest album Normal Isn’t, which was released on Februaury 6th. The album sees Keenan appear as his goth alter ego Bellendia Black and Round as Fannie Grey, with both performing in their costumes and make-up and playing out a tension between the two on stage, with each of them mid-set shooting at each other with toy guns. There were a few moments like this throughout the set, with Keenan and Round engaging in humorous antics, with the crowd loving every moment. The very start of the set saw a video play with Keenan and Round, acting as their alter-egos, telling the crowd to keep their phones put away and that taking photos or video was strictly prohibited. In a bit of cheeky humor, with which the fans were good sports about, they asked the crowd three times to repeat “We understand” in response to the rule. And from what I could tell, no one violated the rule throughout the evening. It’s a rare occurance, but a refreshing one, to attend a concert where no one has their phones out and are fully engaged with the performance!
The stage was set up with two platforms at the back, one on each side, and a set of stairs running down the middle, allowing Round and Kennan to alternate between standing on the platforms and moving about the front of the stage. The lighting was really nice, with the different colors and tones almost matching the tension of the performance. Sometimes the lighting was deeper and had harsher tones and sometimes it was a bit brighter or softer. Throughout the set, the screen behind the stage was lit up with different colorful representations of the Puscifer logo, as well as a pre-recorded video skit which played into the theme and alter-egos of the tour. It also alerted the crowd when it was time for a brief intermission. The extensive 18-song set was heavy on songs from the new album, as well as some older favorites such as “Bullet Train to Iowa”, “The Arsonist”, “Conditions Of My Parole”, “Momma Sed”. The band ended the night with “A Public Stoning”, which saw Dave Hill return to the stage to join in. Puscifer always puts on a great show with an incredible and creative stage production, giving their fans an experience they won’t soon forget! And what an experience it is, getting to take a dive into Keenan’s creative subconscious for a bit!
Dave Hill
