Primus Numbers

Last night, I went to see Primus in concert. They were returning to Denver after playing Red Rocks only a few months ago, to further promote their recently released album, Green Naugahyde. This concert, in a much smaller and intimate venue, was probably more my speed anyway.

The thing is, the three musicians in Primus (Les Claypool on bass, Larry LaLonde on guitar, and Jay Lane on drums) are crazy talented. Whether you like their music or not, I think you can still appreciate that there just aren't many rock musicians today that can play at this level. At a place like Red Rocks, I don't think this can be fully appreciated. But last night, at the Ogden Theater, I was looking forward to really watching them play, to see how they were making the music with their instruments.

From that standpoint, I'm sorry to say that the concert was a little bit of a disappointment. I felt like a group of magicians were doing their best to actively prevent you from figuring out how the tricks are done. The drummer was hiding behind a massive kit of at least 20 pieces; it was hard to see inside and actually watch him play (from my vantage point below stage level). The guitarist was standing in the dark for most of the concert; the lighting design seemed uninterested in showcasing someone who wasn't the vocalist, and he had no idea how (or desire to) find a light to stand in. And leading the band, Les Claypool didn't seem to want to face the audience any more than was strictly necessary; whenever he wasn't singing (and if you don't know many Primus songs, know that they tend to have much longer instrumental sections than vocal sections), he spent about 80% of the time with his back to the audience, twitching-dancing in place and maybe watching the giant video screen behind the band.

By all that, I mean that I wouldn't call myself a "fan" of Primus, I'm absolutely an admirer of their skill and technique, and felt disappointed that I wasn't really able to study it during the show.

It was still a good show, at least. They played two sets themselves; no opening act. The first set was a sampling of many of their best-known classic songs, while the second was the entirety of their new album, in order. The crowd was certainly into it, with some people putting on a bit of a show themselves with their air instruments and wild dancing. (And of course, Primus having a bit of a reputation as a "jam band," lots of weed wafting through the air.)

Unless you're actually a fan of the band, or way into the technique of making music as I am, I'm not sure you'd enjoy seeing Primus live. But if you're in either of those camps, you should definitely check out the band if they tour near you.