Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Primus recently finished up the second leg of their A Tribute To Kings tour which pays homage to classic rock icons Rush and their album A Farewell To Kings released in 1977. Primus toured for two months plus on this second leg and stopped at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, CA on this particular date with The Black Angels. It was a packed house with fans excited to see Primus perform their hits but generally stoked and waiting to hear their rendition of Rush’s classic album played in its entirety.
Opening the night was psychedelic rock vets The Black Angels from Austin, Texas. They started with “Prodigal Son” and “Young Men Dead” off their first album Passover which was released in 2006. The colors and lights synced up perfectly with the tempo of the music and lit each member up highlighting their talents. Alex Maas perfectly executing his tambourine while singing his heart and even picking up the guitar on a couple songs. Stephanie Bailey not missing a beat on the drums while making it look easy as Jake Garcia on the guitar puts his personality into the sound. Christian Bland and Ramiro Verdooren are seen playing bass, guitar, keys, and a drone machine depending on which song needs what and they are doing it like pros.
During “Entrance Song” and their latest single “El Jardin” The Black Angels lights were a sight to see. Matching up with the tempo and speed of the choruses, the quick flashing strobes over the entire band made it seem like a psychedelic trip and you couldn’t look away. The movement and groove of the band with those lights were something to see live, everything matched up perfectly. They did this for the last song as well, “Empires Falling”, which will be on their forthcoming album Wilderness of Mirrors, and it was captivating. A must see band live that’ll exceed your expectations.
Primus came to Riverside to play some jams and to show how much they love Rush by performing one of their albums in its entirety. These alternative funk metal legends walked on stage to a warm and rowdy applause and performed their hits to perfection. Less Claypool’s immaculate style of playing his bass is mesmerizing, Larry LaLonde franticly playing as calmly as possible is a sight to see, and Tim “Herb” Alexander gracefully hitting the skins as smooth as water flows is nothing short of amazing. These three have played with each other for a bit and feed off of each others energy while jamming which makes seeing them live that much more intriguing. Each night you never know what songs from their vast library they’ll play, they like to mix it up and keep all their loyal fans guessing and on their feet.
Opening their first set with fan favorite “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” the audience erupted with excitement and started a mosh pit in the middle of the auditorium. The crunchy riffs and bouncing beats to this song always gets people started and prepped everyone for an amazing night. “Lacquer Head” off of Antipop followed and kept the mosh going. After the song Les said hello to the crowd and wondered about special seating on the sides upstairs. He was generally curious about how to get those seats and what needed to be done to secure them, not sure if he ever found out though. “The Last Salmon Man” off of Green Naugahyde was next followed by “The Seven” off of their latest album The Desaturating Seven. These two songs were definitely zingers and sounded amazing live. Their latest opus off of their EP of the same name “Conspiranoia”, which is eleven and a half minutes long, gave the crowd a mellow Pink Floyd-ish vibe that meshed perfectly with Primus’s style. Apparently they wanted to write a twenty minute song, which turned out to be pretty difficult if you can imagine, and ended up with the adventure that is “Conspiranoia”. It’s an epic song that gives us that jam band feeling as if they’re playing one of their three minute songs and expanding it into a journey. Primus live is unique and a must see to really enjoy the experience and magic that they bring while playing.
The Brown Album tracks “Over the Falls” and “Shake Hands With Beef” were part of the next four songs which kept the crowd moving and grooving. “Lee Van Cleef” and the seven minute opening track on Tales From The Punchbowl, “Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats”, had the audience bouncing around and getting rambunctious with the beat of the songs. A perfect way to end the first set as the trio walked off for a brief rest and reset. Everyone was getting excited for the next set and the chants of “Primus sucks” were heard from the die hards that were ready for more. As soon as they were back on stage, Larry went up to an acoustic guitar that was on a stand and started “A Farewell to Kings” and the cheers from the audience was deafening. The lights behind Larry spun and put you in a trance while watching the start of the song. Les walked out with a double neck guitar/bass and manned the keyboards as Tim looked cool in his sunglasses ready to jump in at the right moment. Primus covering the entire album and sharing it with us is a unique treat that fans won’t soon forget.
For “Xandu” Larry switched it up and joined Les with a double neck guitar, with his being a six string and a twelve string, and they jumped right into the eleven minute epic. Primus sounded great and made it look easy as they played Rush’s brilliant album. Next was “Closer to the Heart” followed by “Cinderella Man” which are two of Rush’s big mainstream hits. Everyone sang along and it was amazing to witness. The last couple songs, “Madrigal” and “Cygnus X-1 – Book One – The Voyage” were played to perfection and the crowd was in awe with how the set went. Primus’s rendition of Rush’s A Farewell To Kings was nothing short of a legendary performance that was a must see.
For the encore Primus gave us four songs. “America Life” and “Here Come The Bastards” off of Sailing The Seas Of Cheese with one of their new songs “Follow the Fool” in the middle. Primus ended the set with “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” with the crowd going crazy and jumping around to the fan favorite. Riverside definitely got a show of a lifetime with the array of songs that were played.
If you missed this tour you missed something special because it’s not everyday that your favorite alternative funk metal band covers one of their favorite band’s albums. Primus is one of the best live bands around today and it seems that there’s no slowing them down. Make sure you check them out the next time they tour because you won’t want to miss it. Each show they play is as unique as the show posters they offer every single date they play. Go see Primus and always remember that “Primus sucks!”.
The Black Angels
Setlist:
Prodigal Son
Young Men Dead
Entrance Song
El Jardin
The River
Bloodhounds On My Trail
Black Grease
Old Sniper
Without A Trace
Empires Falling
Primus
Setlist:
Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers
Lacquer Head
Last Salmon Man
The Seven
Conspiranoia
Over The Falls
Lee Van Cleef
Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats
Shake Hands With Beef
A Farewell To Kings
Xanadu
Closer to the Heart
Cinderella Man
Madrigal
Cygnus X-1 – Book One – The Voyage
American Life
Follow the Fool
Here Come the Bastards
Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver
