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Writer's pictureSeth Kahaian

Primus – The Orpheum – 10/20/12


Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian

October 20, 2012

The Orpheum

Boston,

Set List                    (Set One)                         Primus

1-    To Defy The Laws Of Tradition                              Les Claypool-  Vocals, Bass 2-    Fisticuffs                                                              Larry LaLonde-  Guitar 3-    Groundhog’s Day                                                         Jay Lane-  Drums 4-    Glass Sandwich 5-    Eternal Consumption Engine 6-    Mr. Krinkle 7-    Spagetti Western 8-    Moron TV 9-    Harold Of The Rocks

      (Set Two)

10-The Return Of Sathington Willoughby 11-Eyes Of The Squirrel 12-Dirty Drowning Man 13-Southbound Pachyderm 14-Lee Van Cleef 15-Hats Off 16-Jilly’s On Smack 17-My Name Is Mud 18-Jerry Was A Race Car Driver

Encore 19-Hamburger Train 20-Here Come The Bastards


Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian

This is my first time seeing Primus and the first time Primus went 3D. An interesting first date (Primus and myself), you might say. My friend who loves these guys to death, introduced me to their music. He went on to tell me that I haven’t lived or that my rock concert experience wouldn’t be complete until I saw them live. Who am I to leave that unchallenged and so that’s how I arrive in Boston to experience Primus. First off, no opening act, but they did two sets and a couple of encores. They played over 2 hours and you can’t do much better than that.

Being a new fan, I wasn’t sure what to expect. They were well past their hey-day in the early to mid 90’s. Primus also has an interesting political take if you can read between the lines of their songs. It makes you think differently so that is an experience in itself that I enjoy. They kind of reminded me of this generation’s Frank Zappa. At least that’s the style of music it reminds me of.  I did experience a 3D concert when KISS made the mistake of doing so on their Psycho Circus tour. Primus gave better 3D glasses than KISS did (KISS had thin cardboard ones and Primus had plastic). I didn’t enjoy the 3D experience like others did at the show. I believe you really need to be in the center of the stage for your view to get the best effects; I was on the side so maybe that made the difference. For me that was the only negative.  Because of the 3D setting they had various clips playing in the background, in most cases, that related to the songs being played. Most people didn’t keep their 3D glasses on long either, sometimes on and off through out the sets.


Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian

Admittedly I am not all that familiar with all of Primus’s back catalog but I did enjoy a few of the tracks live; Groundhog’s Day and Moron TV stood out for me in the first set, and Harold On The Rocks (which included a bit of Hello Skinny, by The Residents).  I think my favorite from the whole show was Eyes Of The Squirrel that had a cool feel live. I didn’t realize it at the time but Dirty Drowning Man was played live for the first time and I was glad I experienced that. Finally, one of the highlights for me was Jerry Was A Race Car Driver and the crowd went nuts as well.

Now to say what really impressed me was how great they sounded live, trust me RUSH has nothing on this trio. I never saw a band that was so precise and tight live. Musically they were unmatched in that regard. A great thing was how they extended songs with jams and how the songs flowed throughout the sets. The crowd was really into the trippy-like atmosphere the band provided. Some even attempted moshing, which was fun to watch even in 3D.


Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian

It is well known that Les Claypool is a great bass player and you come to realize that seeing him play live. He did some amazing things with the basses he played. Larry and Jane weren’t bad either. I truly enjoyed the show and have since added more of their music to my collection. The one song I wish I did see live that I didn’t was Wyonna’s Big Brown Beaver. For the encores and even at the end of the show, I was surprised to see and hear how the fans show their love and call out to the band to come back. It has been my experience that you usually say thing s like “We Want Primus,” but here it was “Primus Sucks” (not what one would expect) and if that is how they want their fans to appreciate them then I can concur they suck royally.


Here is a great video of this show, which is the debut of the tour and first time live for Dirty Drowning Man.

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