Puscifer in Cincinnati

About Puscifer

Puscifer is Maynard James Keenan's side project, a deliberate detour from Tool's mathematical heaviness into something weirder and more theatrical. Started in the '90s as an occasional experiment, it became a full creative outlet where Keenan could indulge his taste for industrial textures, deadpan humor, and unsettling imagery. The project embraces absurdity—album artwork featuring fictional characters, song titles that are deliberately crude, and a general refusal to take itself seriously while remaining sonically ambitious. Where Tool demands reverence, Puscifer invites skepticism. The live experience is deliberately theatrical and occasionally confrontational, with Puscifer often acting as a character rather than just a musician. It's Keenan's playground for exploring the uncomfortable space between aggression and artistry.

Puscifer shows are deliberately weird and sometimes hostile to the audience. Keenan treats crowds like they need to be earned, not entertained. Expect industrial soundscapes, theatrical staging, and an atmosphere that's more unsettling than cathartic. Not everyone leaves happy. That's intentional.

Known for Conditions of My Parole, Mommy Daddy Smoke Crack, The Remedy, Hungry for Heaven, Apocalyptical

Puscifer + Cincinnati

Puscifer rolled through Cincinnati in November 2022 at The Andrew J. Brady Music Center with the kind of setlist that rewarded the people who actually know this band. They opened with "Bread and Circus" and spent the night threading together deep cuts like "Fake Affront" and "UPGrade" alongside the kind of songs that justify the devoted following—"Momma Sed" and "The Humbling River" hit differently live. The set closed with "Bedlamite," a perfect ending that felt earned rather than obligatory. Eighteen songs in, it was the kind of show that made you understand why Puscifer's fanbase treats them like a secret worth keeping.

Puscifer in Cincinnati News

• Puscifer bringing its Normal Isn't Tour to Akron. What you need to know about the concert Akron Beacon Journal · Oct 22, 2025
• Puscifer Announce 2026 North American Tour + Album, Debut New Song Loudwire · Oct 21, 2025
• PUSCIFER announce new album and 2026 tour with biting single "Self Evident" Revolver Magazine · Oct 21, 2025
• Live Review: Puscifer @ Andrew J. Brady Center – Cincinnati, OH – Nov 2022 MNPR Magazine · Jun 9, 2025
• A whole bunch of Cincinnati concert announcements this week 🤘 Cincinnati Enquirer · Jul 13, 2022

Live Music in Cincinnati

Cincinnati's music landscape has always had room for the strange and uncompromising. The city's history with prog-adjacent alternative acts runs deep, and Puscifer fits that tradition—artists who demand attention rather than demand applause. Venues like The Andrew J. Brady have carved out space for bands that aren't trying to be everything to everyone, which is exactly the lane Puscifer occupies.

Cincinnati road trip to see Puscifer?

Stay in Hyde Park, Cincinnati's most elegant neighborhood, with tree-lined streets and restored Victorian homes. Dinner at The Eagle—a fine dining spot that takes Southern cooking seriously—pairs well with Stapleton's sensibility. Spend your afternoon at the Cincinnati Art Museum or walking the grounds at Spring Grove Cemetery, one of America's most beautiful cemeteries. Both offer quiet reflection before heading to the show. If you have time, catch the view from Skyline Chili's main location; the city panorama is worth the detour, even if the food is divisive.