In Concert Archive

Monday, 14 May 2007 01:00

Primus Still Rockin' After Nearly Two Decades

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PrimusPrimus was off to a great start after opening with my favorite song, "To defy the Laws of Tradition" - the first track off of Frizzle Fry. They then played "American Life" from their sophomore album Sailing the Seas of Cheese, which was a bit of a refresher since up until then I feared they were just going to play Frizzle Fry...

PrimusPrimus made their first major label release in 1990 with Frizzle Fry. Now sixteen years later and finally back to the original lineup of Les Claypool on vocals and bass, Larry Lalonde on guitar, and Tim Alexander on the drums, they've decided to go on tour for the third time in three years. Since they got Alexander back on drums I've seen them at each of their appearances at the Aragon and, I can say with much confidence, that they still manage to hold their spot as one of the greatest live bands of all time.

It took me awhile, longer than most, but I finally started listening to Primus in 2001, in which the band’s creative bass work and unique guitar craft-work instantly left a lasting impression on me – I was hooked. So when I heard they were releasing a new EP and going on tour with their original lineup in 2003, I freaked and began counting down the days to their arrival. That was pretty much my reaction when they came back in '04 and again this past November. I figured why not go see a band that I knew wouldn't let me down.

Primus was off to a great start after opening with my favorite song, "To defy the Laws of Tradition" - the first track off of Frizzle Fry. They then played "American Life" from their sophomore album Sailing the Seas of Cheese, which was a bit of a refresher since up until then I feared they were just going to play Frizzle Fry from beginning to end (they did that in the '04 show). A few songs later it seemed like it had been hours since the show started seeing as how they managed to fit a seven-minute jam session in the middle of every song thus far.

About midway through their performance, Les busted out the upright bass, which usually means one thing: he's getting ready to play the infamous "Mr. Krinkle" from the album Pork Soda. It was by far the best rendition of the song I’ve seen yet, especially since right before starting the song he decided to teach the audience how to count in 3/4 timing.



Now before I go any further, I’d like to explain a surprise element of a Primus concert for first-timers. You might not believe it but Primus shows do have mosh pits. In fact, the songs "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver" and "My Name is Mud" created bigger mosh pits than I’ve ever seen before. To be honest, I hate mosh pits. I go to concerts to enjoy music, not die. But when the whole crowd is moving in unison and Les is singing about beating someone with a baseball bat, you can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside (as sick as that sounds).

When the show was "over" and the band left the stage, you could tell the audience was not going to settle without an encore, and, to the fans desire, and without too much of a wait, Primus came out for one more song. The band ended the show with the classic "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" from Tales from the Punchbowl, which was a treat for me because until that night, I had never seen that song played live.

Like the last two Primus shows I saw, they played nothing from The Brown Album or Antipop probably since those are the two albums in which Brian “Brain” Mantia replaced Alexander. They also neglected to play anything from the EP released in 2003.

The show was a great experience but, like watching most bands live, there were a few songs that would've been nice to hear that didn’t make their set. Still, without a doubt, Primus knows how to rock and should definitely make your “to do” list the next time they come to town.

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