Legendary guitarist Adrian Belew was kind enough to spend some time talking with us as he waited out a fire drill in his Denver hotel on the eve of the “Remain In Light” tour that launches at the Ogden Theater here in Denver on February 16th.
“Hello! We are Primus and we suck” was the start to one hell of a night at the Fox Theatre. The band is currently touring with the original lineup and playing with the balls of their younger years. The setlist was 90% old school, yet they played very few of the tunes fair-weather fans might expect like “Jerry was a Race Car Driver.” Instead they played some fan favorite, deep cuts, like “Frizzle Fry,” “Pudding Time,” “Here Come the Bastards,” “Groundhog’s Day,” “American Life,” “Spaghetti Western” and even “Bob.”
The list of bands that can pull off a full length remake of the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory soundtrack is a short one. Very short. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Primus is the band that did it, releasing Primus & The Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble last October. Last Thursday night, in the pouring rain, they brought the whole thing to Red Rocks, performing the album in it’s entirety along with a full set of original Primus songs.
Music is all about connectivity. It is nothing short of miraculous how human beings called musicians create vibrations that mingle together to forge cohesive (or dissonant) sounds that then float through space and time to find the ears of other human beings who in turn interpret what they hear through words, dance, and visual mediums creating a web of interconnected thoughts and ideas that spread out into the universe infinitely.
Albert Einstein once said, “The most beautiful experience we can have in life is the mysterious.” hat beauty and mystery is perfectly reflected in the auditory styling of EOTO as they certainly provide a mysterious experience. One must wonder how two men can create such a wide variety of sounds, which come off as so cohesive, purely in the moment. Simply put, EOTO is an elevation of the today’s EDM music scene.
Primus has hit a lot of ears over the past 20 some odd years, and all types of folks packed the Fillmore last Saturday to see their favorite band in 3D sight and 4D sound. The crowd instantly reacted to the first couple notes of each song, and it was clear just how deep this band fan base goes. Bald Eagles and bubbles floated over the heads of the crowd on the Fillmore floor while Les Claypool’s bass hit us like a tidal wave. Primus is rock, they’re metal, they’re dark, and they’re funky. Primus is intense. “Primus Sucks.”
It’s time for Part Two of the wonderful and wacky world of Wakarusa! Days three and four of the festival featured music from everyone from Matisyahu to Big Gigantic and while there were several massive thunderstorms, they didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd or our team of reviewers and photographers. Saturday morning kicked-off with a potluck breakfast and by the time Sunday evening’s epic rainstorm rolled around our team was already planning for next year!
Primus rocked The Ogden Theatre last week with an energetic, expertly played show that delivered countless classics and a whole set dedicated to the bands new record “Green Naugahyde.” While the new album has a funky dance party type of vibe to it, the crowd favorites were an expected blur of punk excess, head banging and fist pumping. It was Primus and there is no one like them.
Listen Up Denver! had the privilege of sitting down with Sidecar Tommy, Zoe Jakes, and David Satori of the genre-bending world-fusion group Beats Antique before they walked on stage to open the sold-out Bassnectar show this past weekend at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Stay tuned for our review of the massive spectacle!