Review 4
Date: Sunday April 12th 2026
Venue: Hershey Theatre
City / Town: Hershey PA
Subjects: PUSCIFER, Dave Hill

So here we are on Wednesday April 8th and its finally time for me to see Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) third project. I’ve seen Tool and APC numerous times in fact I’ll see Tool again next month at Sonic Temple. This particular act has eluded me. Around 4:00 or 4:30 we get word that the show is being postponed. Hershey Theatre, which has just been renovated and remodeled had a plumbing issue. I cannot comment on the remodel as I was never there to see it before. However, I will say I love the place now. Free parking right across the street, beautiful inside and well-constructed. My one complaint is the steps you have to go down to one of the bathrooms. My god they make you work for that piss or shit you got to take.

So here we are on Sunday April 12th as we try this again. By the way the irony of the plumbing issue was not lost on anyone as all the comments on the band and Theatres pages were pretty funny. Also The band blamed it on opener Dave Hill, saying he took a shit too big for the system. Is it true? I guess we’ll never know. Speaking of Dave Hill, when I found out about him being the opener on the bill I must admit I thought to myself “That guy? I can’t stand that guy.”. He does Tik Tok videos and just random comedy and acts like he’s the dippiest of dipshits. I had VIP tickets which granted early entry into the venue which for Puscifer is pretty important as you get first crack at the Merch which they have certain items that are limited to 50 or 75. These include Signed Event posters that are specified for each city, signed, regular and foil versions. Signed copies of the Puscifer Comic Book and a signed vinyl of “Normal Isn’t” that has a date and venue specified sticker on it. The early entry ended up not being a huge deal after all as most things were priced so high that they lasted far into the night. The signed Poster was $150 as was the Vinyl. The merchandise is very nice though as they have a very nice selection of things. Oh the VIP also gets you a Autographed Lithograph and a few other things though apparently those things come in the mail, we did get our lanyard though.

Maynard James Keenan of Puscifer Performs at Hershey Theatre on Sunday April 12th 2026.

30 Minutes after that we get a voice from the loudspeakers telling us that we will be ejected if we take any video or photo of the show. Then the curtain comes up and we get our first glimpse of the Puscifer stage set. Five minutes after that the lights go out and as if the man on the loudspeaker wasn’t enough we then get a video featuring cartoon versions of Maynard and other Vocalist Carina Round insisting we repeat after them that we “Will not use our phones during the set”. The band then saunters onstage w/ no special intro, just takes their places and kicks off the set w/ the opening track to the new record: “Thrust”. There was no speaking to the crowd until the end and inbetween songs was just silence and you could even hear Maynard placing a mic in the stand at times. Also that Dave Dave Dave chant came back a few times as well as some other oddball things people would yell out. The band was unphased and simply continued their onslaught of music.

My point in that little detour is that though I wasn’t a fan of Dave Hill prior to the show our VIP status had me there at 5:30 so that would lead to an inevitable viewing of the Dave Hill Experience. The guy comes out on a bike, fumbling over and crashing onstage w/ a one piece Evil Knievel type getup though it had random designs on it. He slaps the mic chord on stage as he gets through the first track which i believe was “Caveman is a Spaceship” a cover of The Saucermen. The track was being played and all he did was stumble through the words. It only got weirder from there as he encouraged a chant of “Dave Dave Dave” anytime there was silence after a song and I gotta say it worked all night. Picking up the Guitar to do a 60 second cover of “Mother” by Danzig, though he only really knew the “Mother” part and mumbled the rest. He had great crowd interaction asking where people are from, telling folks to “Calm Down”, “Shut the fuck up or I’ll stab” you and other things as they yelled out. I must admit I was very entertained. Eventually he brought a band out, Drummer and Bassist who helped him get through a few original songs. “Pick up Lines that only work in Hershey” which I’m pretty sure he tailors to whatever city he’s in. Closing with a track called “I Was in a fight” which is a ridiculous all over the place spoken type song about how he got in a fight one time and it sucked, but kind of didn’t. You’ll have to see it to understand. I think I’m a fan now?

The first portion of the set relied heavily on tracks from the new record. In fact they played only new songs off “Normal Isn’t before the first interlude which came after the 7th song. For the evening, they hit every song off the new record. There was an interesting parody cooking video called “Bangers and Mashups” featuring Maynard and Carina played on the screens which saw them use their magical powers to cook and then blowup the host. Coming back out for a few songs before Intermission they hit on the track “The Remedy” which features lyrics such as “You speak like someone who has never been slapped in the fucking mouth” and “You speak like someone who has never been knocked the fuck out”. I say this because throughout the song the two vocalists share some improv acting which starts w/ them getting in each other’s way walking the stage and ends w/ them in a fight using nerf guns. It was comical and entertaining.

After a 10 minute intermission the band once again came back onstage, no fan fair, no theatrics just up to their positions and began an ascent into some older tracks starting w/ “The Humbling River” off of “C is For”. With a few new ones mixed in the second portion featured mostly older classics such as “Momma Sed”, “Grand Canyon” and “Conditions of My Parole”. That song saw the band stop and Dave Hill ride his bike back out onstage from one side to the other w/ a bewildered look on Maynards face and then of course they broke right back into song exactly where they left off. One thing about all Maynards bands is the attention to musicianship that all members have. They are excellent musicians and are tight as well on stage. Before closing out the night w/ “A Public Stoning” Maynard finally spoke for the first time to Thank everyone for coming out, mentioning that the band got food poisoning yesterday in Atlantic City so the show almost got postponed again however the gods were on our side. He apologized for Dave Hill which was pretty funny in itself. Before telling us they’ll be back he informed us we can take out our phones and record the final song.

I believe this tour is on its second half but I highly recommend it as its every bit its money’s worth. We sat in row 2 and it was absolutely magical not only the music but being able to sit down whenever we chose. The majority of the audience seemed to stand for the most part however this was a show that sitting wasn’t in my opinion frowned upon as the music is very mesmerizing and honestly can almost send you in a trance if you let it. Kudo’s to all for getting this rescheduled so quickly.

PUSCIFER SET LIST (From Setlist.fm)

opening “We Understand Video”
01. “Thrust”
02. “Self Evident”
03. “Bad Wolf”
04. “Normal Isn’t”
05. “The Algorithm”
06. “The Quiet Parts”
07. ‘Pendulum”
"Bangers and Mashups Video”
08. “The Arsonist”
09. “Mantastic”
10. “Bullet Train to Iowa”
11. “The Remedy”
Intermission
12. “The Humbling River”
13. “ImpetouUs”
14. “Momma Sed” (Versatile Mix")
15. “Seven One”
16. “Grand Canyon”
17. “Conditions of My Parole”
18. “A Public Stoning”