A Perfect Circle Maintain Their Legendary Status with Meticulous Brixton Academy Performance [Show Review]

Eight years ago, nearly to the day, alternative art rock behemoth A Perfect Circle sold out two nights at the Brixton Academy in support of the release of one of the year’s most polarising, and without question their most experimentally ambitious album to date, Feed The Elephant. These shows have since taken their place amongst a pantheon of legendary moments from one of alternative music’s most beloved and iconic bands and led to a sell-out show later that year on the much grander stage of Wembley Arena. So we find ourselves here today, with one new single since, and very little indication that they were, in fact, ever coming back at all. Yet, there is a sense of jubilation and a sense of big occasion in the air that only a band of this magnitude can command by simply turning up with a near-flawless twenty-six-year resume of outstanding work in their back pocket; it’s what legendary bands do.

So, over the years, I’ve found the best way to enjoy any Maynard James Keenan performance in the live space is to go into it with anticipation for greatness and to surrender to the fact you have no idea what’s about to unfold, just trust it’s going to blow your mind and you are in capable hands. For example, never would I have anticipated all five thousand of us being told to “Please stick your phones up your asses and leave them there until the last song”, a bold yet not unreasonable request that seemed to be duly appreciated and acknowledged by everyone. Not an overly surprising request at all, and to be honest, from experiencing Ghost’s most recent tour in both London and Amsterdam, where they enforced the same, it does completely alter the dynamic and engagement from the audience to a noticeable degree.

The second thing that wasn’t overly expected was the Times Square volume of lighting they would implement for this performance. The three risers in the middle of the stage were front-mounted with eight circular lights, which, when illuminated together, felt like three eighteen-wheeler trucks going full beam. A stage-wide screen played APC-centric videos throughout, with twenty-two fifteen-foot LED strips hanging in front. And why is all of this of importance? Because A Perfect Circle live isn’t a “concert,” it’s a meticulously thought-out art installation where the aesthetics matter as much as the sonics. Imagine if every colour of paint on a palette made a different sound when put to the canvas, that’s the level we are witnessing here, and they know it, and the crowd seemingly adore it.

The next thing of note from this show was how absolutely heaven-sent the quality of sound was. Brixton Academy is my least favourite venue in the whole of London, and one of the main reasons is the number of incredible bands I’ve seen there who, on the night, sound like their equipment has been hardwired through a tumble dryer. But tonight we get whatever the 4K UHD version of audio is, and it sounds breathtaking at times. The instruments are all mixed to within an inch of perfection, the volumes aren’t overbearing, and the keys are audible without being overbearing. Which sets us up perfectly for the performance itself.

It would be easy to sit here and make this entire review about Maynard James Keenan, the reluctant icon with the musical Midas touch, but the truth is that A Perfect Circle is made up of five equally as important and significant moving parts. Each member brings such a unique sense of self to their respective positions, adding layers and textures that work together in aiding and building the songs, never for the sake of standing out or being flashy.

Opening the night with a one-two-three of “The Package”, “Disillusion” and “The Contrarian” feels like being strapped to a rocket and fired into a space where the rules and tropes of modern music just don’t apply. They never feel like they are producing just an arrangement of notes and sounds; this is a symphony of sonics and emotional expressions that have been crafted and calculated with surgical precision. “The Doomed” and “The Rose”, although two songs miles apart in construction and delivery, both have that hypnotic eastern groove and slow, weighted drive rather than exploding with heaviness, they build beautifully and are given so much space to breathe and grow in the live space, they feel like they are being unravelled for the first time.

As far as deep cuts go “Kindred” from the 2024 Sessanta E.P.P.P split EP with Pucifer and Primus was a welcome and surprising addition, whilst a cover of John Lennons “Imagine” was a great one of one live moment for the die hards, personally I’d rather they had just played one of the many 10/10 songs they have in their back catalogue that didn’t find themselves on tonight’s setlist. Now, if I were ever to guess and honestly welcome a band to have a ten-minute interval mid-set, it would be A Perfect Circle. Such is the intensity of the performance and the need to take in each moment like the chapters of a novel, having time to regroup and assess was actually absolutely fine by me. Especially when the closing of the performance contains four of the best alternative rock songs ever written and a new track which could be a teaser for A Perfect Circle’s end-of-year takeover.

Firstly, I’m open to the conversation, but for my money, “The Noose”, “3 Libras” and “Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drum” is not only the strongest hat trick of live songs in modern alternative rock, but is a twenty-minute celebration of the talents of every member of this band. Like watching an orchestra reaching the pinnacle of a concerto and feeling the power and raw energy of that collective wall of sound, its penetrative and provocative energy is absolutely mind-blowing and a stark reminder of the legacy and body of brilliance this band has crafted. New track “Starless” takes its place perfectly amongst the encore, with its jagged riffs and expansive, ethereal vocals, it’s A Perfect Circle 101. In an album setting, the context of Starless will no doubt become clear, but as a stand-alone song, it’s everything you want from them in 2026 and puts everyone on mass alert for the future of this band.

Rounding out this special occasion with their multi-generational grand slam anthem “Judith” as the Brixton Academy turns into an early 2000s field of banging hair, air drums and mass sing-along, it feels like we are all witnesses to another chapter in the story of one of alternative music’s most accomplished and important bands.

It can’t be understated the influence A Perfect Circle have had on modern music, whether you see it and hear it or not, you need to look harder. And more importantly, in my opinion, you need to witness it in the live arena to fully appreciate and understand it. Legends are legends for a reason, and A Perfect Circle are still undeniable, an incredible performance.