Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Primus Sucks at The State Theater


Detroit’s State Theater was home to Primus for the evening, Tuesday, November 14th in a brief but entertaining show. Aesthetically The State Theater provided a perfect place for Primus to play with mix of gothic fixtures and medieval armor. The crowd piled in as Rasputina took the stage. Whoa, leave it to Les Claypool and Primus to find these bands. Rasputina was a power trio unlike any other; seeing as how most power trios do not feature two cellos and a thrown together drum set. Soon enough though the Native American head dressed female cellist was gone and Rasputina had filed offstage. A gigantic inflatable astronaut rose up and hovered over the stage and the real power trio came out.
Primus opened their one set show with “To Defy The Final Laws of Tradition” from their album Frizzle Fry. “Defy” opened the show quick and immediately the crowd got that signature Claypool slap bass they had been itching for. The crowd right in front of Claypool were the most animated for most of the night, but a mosh pit in the center kept people moving. The jam during “Defy” was probably one of the best of the night, as it got very spacey and Claypool’s finger tapping bass notes lingered with guitarist Larry LaLonde’s whining riffs and mirrored finger tapping. “Here Come The Bastards” came next as the crowd chanted along with the chorus while Claypool and LaLonde played off each other trading off riffs back and forth. Towards the end Claypool grabbed his microphone stand to use it as a slide, scraping it up and down the strings of his bass. Both Claypool and LaLonde were switching to new instruments almost every song.
“American Life” had Claypool and drummer Tim Alexander locked up perfectly as Claypool’s bassline and Alexander’s frantic fills meshed into one. “Those Damn Blue Collard Tweekers” followed for more from Sailing The Sea of Cheese. “Tweekers” sent the main floor into a shitfit as the mosh pit careened sweaty bodies like pinballs. Crowdsurfers littered the show, and for some reason, people kept throwing various things at Claypool, a few sandals and a shirt. The lights pulsed on the crowd as Claypool played on an upright bass with a bow, stringing and slapping across the strings. Only Claypool could make the sound that whale makes while getting into car crash come out of a bass guitar, that has to be somewhat of his specialty. Veering off of Sailing The Seas of Cheese, “Mr. Krinkle” came next, the only song from Pork Soda in the evening. Claypool stayed on the upright bass for “Mr. Krinkle” but soon it was Alexander taking the spotlight. Whereas drum solos usually suck, Alexander’s was fairly short and the drums, with almost a timpani feel, made you feel the beat from your ass to your toes. As Claypool and LaLonde came back the drum solo soon gave way to “Eleven.”
The crowd filled the silence after “Eleven” with chants of “Primus sucks! Primus sucks!” Claypool responded with, “well…I’m not arguing with that.” After a fan asking him to “play something sweet” Claypool answered by teasing what sounded like “Mary The Ice Cube” asking LaLonde if he was feeling his “sweetness.” After Claypool said fuck it to “Mary The Ice Cube” they slammed into “Shake Hands With Beef.” Claypool seemed to get a bit frustrated walking offstage at one point with his hands in the air during “Shake Hands.” Most likely due to all the shit being thrown at him. However, “Groundhog’s Day” closed out the roughly hour and a half set with a bang. LaLonde’s guitar work really took the lead for the first time in the night, as he provided some stellar solos with heavy, whining sounds screeching out of his guitar. The strobe lights beat on the crowd as Claypool slapped out huge bass thumps to finish the show. For a brief three-minute encore “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver” was highlighted by LaLonde’s hectic slide guitar style that sent his hands up and down the fretboard at a frantic pace.
After the show the crowd had generally mixed feelings, some fans booing as lights came on and others walking out with ear-to-ear grins. Although it would have been nice to see a little bit more out of Primus, the show wasn’t disappointing by any stretch of the imagination. The crowd was very into the show, with crowd surfers and moshers galore. It definitely was a diverse crowd to say the least, Tool fans next to silly hippies. However it felt like it was a run of the mill show for the band and they were just going through the motions until they could get out of Motown. So next time Primus, don’t worry, Detroit won’t bite, you can stay a while.

by Pietro C. Truba

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