Primus Live

By Chris Olsen

Hey, this is Chris again for second concert review. As you may know I went to Ozzfest over the summer and some people thought my opinion on some of the bands there was off. I recently went to a Primus concert at the Agora in Cleveland.

There is no argument that Les Claypool is one of the greatest bass players in the world. When you put Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander together – the original Primus – you might have one of the greatest bands ever. Alright now on to the concert…

As I walked through the crowd to get to my spot to take pictures right next to the stage, my fellow bass players were comparing the Primus songs they can play and how to play them.

I was tempted to join in on the conversation but I am not close to being able to play a Primus song, so I decided to abstain. I was greeted by a large security guard asking my age and making comments on how I should be at home sleeping. I wanted to calmly reply “please lick my butt and leave me alone” but I decided not to because I did not want to jeopardize my position to live. I was chilling when all of a sudden the lights went dim and Les Claypool in all of his glory walked out on stage joined by Tim (“Herb”) and Larry.

They started off by playing “Harold of the Rocks” then other songs from Frizzle Fry like “DMV,” “Toys Go Winding Down,” and more. Everyone knew the words to practically every song. Les would stop singing and hear the crowd blurt out the words. Then came the intermission.

Then they came back on stage and Les brought out his stand-up bass and played the opening song to the Sailing the Seas of Cheese CD. Then came “Here Come the Bastards” where everyone started going crazy and you could hear the crowd actually singing over Les. In the stage background there were two very large balls hanging from the ceiling with pictures cast on them. There was awesome lighting.

“Sergeant Baker” was next in the line-up and once again I thought a riot was going to break out. I thought I was going to be the one who started it. Then came an extended version of “American Life” that was awesome.

Then came … you guessed it, “Jerry was a Race Car Driver” and the place went nuts. Everyone was singing and moshing beyond belief. I was filled with so much excitement I could not contain myself. I felt like I was five again waking up on Christmas morning and looking at a roomful of presents.

After that Tim (“Herb”) came out with an amazing drum solo that had to have lasted five-to-ten minutes. It was incredible. After that I could have died a happy person.

Because it was a school night I had to leave a little bit early – I quickly escaped to my car. But that was not the end of it. I got extremely lost and drove around for half-an-hour looking for the freeway entrance. I finally got on but somehow ended up going northeast instead of southeast.

I got off after about 10 minutes of that nonsense and stopped at a gas station to ask directions – all I heard out of three minutes of speaking was “take a left.” So I wearily took his advice and finally made it onto the freeway going the correct way and made it home safely.

It was an awesome concert I can now die happy and if they come to your town I suggest you go and not miss a second. Peace out until the next concert!
Chris
(photos by Chris Olsen)