Oh MAN what a show - Claypool was indeed in fine form. He played the entire show on his Carl Thompsons, with the exception of a couple of upright moments.
There was no opening act - just a solid evening of Primus goodness. The first set started off with 'Harold of the Rocks' and 'Pudding Time' - then a couple of songs I didn't recognize (presumably from the new album, don't know their names but they were good tunes), and finished up with 'Groundhog Day'.
After the intermission, Les broke out the electric upright and launched the second set with an extended version of 'Seas of Cheese', and then proceeded to play out the entire album. Tim Alexander played a SMOKIN' drum solo that clocked in just a little under 10 minutes, after which Les came back out and did some genuinely sick stuff with a 1-string electric upright, detuning it from the peg while beating on it with a bow, creating a percussive counterpart to the drum solo that just grooved like nobody's business. During 'Is It Luck?', Les wandered out of the song and into a lighthearted version of the Beatles' 'Taxman'. The second set ended with a massive extended version of 'Los Bastardos', complete with a throng of masked, costumed people on stage beating wildly on tri-toms, and the encore was a stunning rendition of 'Southbound Pachyderm'.
This all took place at the Celebrity Theatre here in Phoenix, a venue with about 2500 seats and a circular stage, which was rotating throughout the show. The band played to the round room very well, utilizing the rotating stage like it was the arrangement they dealt with every day - I've seen a number of bands at the celebrity that just can't hang with a moving stage, and Primus is NOT one of them. Les was everywhere, and there was a huge ball-shaped projector screen above the stage that had scenes from marijuana propoganda films and '<a href=http://www.archive.org/movies/movies-details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=03534>One Got Fat</a>' shown on it. At one point, a crowdsurfer (after being repeatedly warned by Les (Get down, Monkeyboy!)) knocked over a mic stand, and was escorted out of the building. Les popped a string during the beginning of 'Sgt. Baker' and had to break for 20 seconds to get another bass, and at one point, Les traded a fan a couple of shirts in exchange for the fan's mask.
Great show. Great tunes. My only regret is that I'm too old to get into the pit anymore.
When they come to your town, GO.
-72
There was no opening act - just a solid evening of Primus goodness. The first set started off with 'Harold of the Rocks' and 'Pudding Time' - then a couple of songs I didn't recognize (presumably from the new album, don't know their names but they were good tunes), and finished up with 'Groundhog Day'.
After the intermission, Les broke out the electric upright and launched the second set with an extended version of 'Seas of Cheese', and then proceeded to play out the entire album. Tim Alexander played a SMOKIN' drum solo that clocked in just a little under 10 minutes, after which Les came back out and did some genuinely sick stuff with a 1-string electric upright, detuning it from the peg while beating on it with a bow, creating a percussive counterpart to the drum solo that just grooved like nobody's business. During 'Is It Luck?', Les wandered out of the song and into a lighthearted version of the Beatles' 'Taxman'. The second set ended with a massive extended version of 'Los Bastardos', complete with a throng of masked, costumed people on stage beating wildly on tri-toms, and the encore was a stunning rendition of 'Southbound Pachyderm'.
This all took place at the Celebrity Theatre here in Phoenix, a venue with about 2500 seats and a circular stage, which was rotating throughout the show. The band played to the round room very well, utilizing the rotating stage like it was the arrangement they dealt with every day - I've seen a number of bands at the celebrity that just can't hang with a moving stage, and Primus is NOT one of them. Les was everywhere, and there was a huge ball-shaped projector screen above the stage that had scenes from marijuana propoganda films and '<a href=http://www.archive.org/movies/movies-details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=03534>One Got Fat</a>' shown on it. At one point, a crowdsurfer (after being repeatedly warned by Les (Get down, Monkeyboy!)) knocked over a mic stand, and was escorted out of the building. Les popped a string during the beginning of 'Sgt. Baker' and had to break for 20 seconds to get another bass, and at one point, Les traded a fan a couple of shirts in exchange for the fan's mask.
Great show. Great tunes. My only regret is that I'm too old to get into the pit anymore.
When they come to your town, GO.-72
