Primus – May 16th – Red Rocks Amphitheater

Photos by Tim Dwenger

The Scene: Yes, it was early in the season, but Red Rocks was crawling with people from the moment I arrived on the scene.  From my vantage point down by the Trading Post, the line to get in the lower South entrance snaked at least half-way down the ramp and by the time I got into the amphitheater well before The Claypool Lennon Delirium took the stage, the first 25 rows were packed.  It was a Tuesday, but people were primed (pun intended) for a rager on the rocks.

Opener: The Claypool Lennon Delirium. In a move that may have that may have been seen as “vain” by some haters, Les Claypool chose to open for himself at Red Rocks this year.  Had I not caught the set that he and Sean Lennon put together, I might have been inclined to agree, but from the moment they took the stage I was transfixed.  The pair bent minds as they delivered a spellbinding set that was a blend of originals and unique takes on covers of song by the likes of Pink Floyd (“Astronomy Domine”), The Who (“Boris The Spider”), King Crimson (“In the Court of the Crimson King”) and The Beatles (“Tomorrow Never Knows”).  When their 75 minutes was up I was a fan.  If you allow the weird and wonderful world of Les Claypool into your brain, then this is something you have to experience.

Primus: I have to admit that this was my first Primus show . . . errr, I mean experience.  It was just that, an experience.  Les, Tim, and Larry have a unique energy on stage that I can’t say I’ve experienced before.  While there is a certain darkness to Primus, there is also an undeniable joy that permeates the music.  I was caught up in the energy from the moment they opened with “Too Many Puppies” and it didn’t let me go till the band left the stage after “Southbound Pachyderm” nearly two hours later.

This is a band that puts their souls into the music and doesn’t give a fuck – after all, they are the ones leading the “Primus Sucks” chants – but there is no debate that their music betrays a certain level of professionalism that has allowed them to cement their place in the scene.  After all, ten thousand fans singing along with “Those Damn Blue Collar Tweakers” can’t be wrong.

Over the course of the night, Les and company delivered a varied setlist that showcased crowd pleasers like “My Name Is Mud,” “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver,” and “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver” alongside some deeper cuts and even the live debut of a brand new song called “Seven.”  We got a little bit of everything, and it was glorious.