On September 11th, 2000, A Perfect Circle were in La Jolla, California, headlining the RIMAC Arena in support of their hit debut album, Mer de Noms, released just months earlier. TOOL's Maynard James Keenan and APC bandleader Billy Howerdel were in fine form, leading their comrades — guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Paz Lechantin and drummer Josh Freese — through a stunning 13-song set that opened with "Magdalena" and closed with "Judith."
But the standout moment of the evening might have come with the 11th song of the set, an unlikely live mash-up of Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary of a Madman" and the Cure's "Lovesong" that the band aptly dubbed "Diary of a Lovesong."
"This next song goes out to bad jokes," Keenan, wearing a blonde wig and not much else, introduced the inventive dual cover. "Hair lips. Handjobs. Josh Freese. And heavy metal."
APC played "Dairy of a Love Song" over 50 times over their career, including in 2010 during the taping of A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo, released three years later, but the La Jolla performance was one of their finest takes. Flashback above.
