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[personal profile] maugorn
We saw Primus the other night. I'll talk about them in a second.

Opening for them was the band Rasputina. Two gals in victorian undergarments playing cellos (sometimes thru effects) with a mad gothy drummer. It kinda worked for me. Their cover of Heart's "Barracuda" was not quite what I would have done in their shoes, but was excellent nonetheless.
It did in fact Rock.

The acoustics of DAR Constitution Hall were not their friend. I'm not sure if their PA was over or under powered for the size, but basically for all of the supposed control that a completely digital mixing board was supposed to give, the vocals for both Rasputina and Primus were lost in a mud of noise. And no, I don't blame the Hall. Jethro Tull and ABWH (of Yes) both sounded pristine when I saw them there.

Anyway, enough of the sound. I like Rasputina. I'm not sure I love them. They definitely get style points for their sound, show, and their very wicked sense of humor that they're not afraid to aim at themselves. They're not headlining shows yet, but if you see them on a lineup, don't miss them.

And now for Primus. Ah Primus. One of those bands who are the polar opposite of "Easy Listening". I am so thankful that they exist. They really are one of a kind, and even tho their sound and style can be identified instantly, they are nonetheless one of the most original composers of modern music that you can get. As I mentioned, their vocals were shredded in the hall acoustics, so their lyrics were totatlly lost on me. I'm only peripherally familiar with most of their work and was looking forward to hearing more of what they had to say. Alas, no.
I know alot of their stories are character sketches of people who belong either in comics by Crumb, or on the Jerry Springer show. That's okay. Not everything I like has to be pretty or deep.
Now, instrumentally, they're not pretty either. This is definitely "difficult listening" and not for the weak or too sensitive. They strode over a range that went from wildly chaotic all the way to groove-based trancy riffs. It's very easy to dance to, assuming you're comfortable dancing to the occasional 5/8 as well as the more conventional 4/4 time. Conventional is an adjective that has never suited these guys, even as they wallow in cheap cliche' in their lyric imagery.
All of the band are definitely beyond competent at their respective instruments (in this lineup it was a typical "rock power trio" of bass, guitar, and drums). But no matter how many people are in the band or how well they play, this show was, is, and will be forever owned by Les Claypool and his bass playing.


The bass player is one of those essential elements of the Rock and Roll band, but a sometimes misunderstood part of it.
In the standard rock band, the bass player isn't usually the Hero. That role is played more often by the lead singer and also either co-played or owned by the guitarist(s). Instrumentally, it's the Lead Guitar player who is the Iconic Rock Star. At first blush, it's easy to see that the guitar player (especially playing lead guitar) is playing stuff that is much more complicated than what the bass player is doing. The archetypal rock guitar player might, in fact be insulted by having to play something that doesn't show his ability to execute passages of maximum complication and intensity. (Look up the story of how the solo for Journey's "One Girl" came about and weep. After days of working on complicated parts that nobody liked, the guitar player, in frustration, played the simplest, "stupidest" thing he could think of and that was the line that made the cut
That's not to say that the Bass player lacks ability. I've often used the analogy that playing good Bass often comes down to a skill that's akin to typing ABC--ABC__ABC-- over and over again and never ever deviating from it in execution or rhythm. It takes a concentration that makes a true competent bass player a beautiful (and rarer than it should be) thing to add to your sound.
A good bass player forms the cement that holds the entire structure of your song together.

Now, imagine that instead of playing ABC--ABC__ABC-- over and over, you had the ability and will to repeat phrases like MYXLPIXLICT together at insane speeds. Then you'd have bassists like Chris Squire, John Entwistle, Tony Levin and sometimes Geddy Lee.

Now imagine that you're good enough to call THEIR work EASY.

That's Les Claypool


I've never seen someone be able, with such ease, and casualness, to be able to basically do whatever the Hell he wanted at any time on an instrument and succeed on the level he does.
I'm not sure how much work he does on this offline, but onstage, he comes across as being so familiar with his instrument that whatever notes OR SOUND he has in his head to play, it just flows right out of his hands. His electronic effects are minimal, just there for shaping texture.
When you hear Les Claypool play, the sound and the notes, whether slow and sustained, or rapid fire at insane speeds are all him.
How does this gibe with the title of this essay?
This is how:
The Bass is not Les Claypool's instrument. It's his bitch.

He is the Master, and what the Master says, the Bass does. What the Master wants, the Bass produces. The sound the Master hears in His head is the sound that comes out of the speakers on command from start to finish.

There may be humans who can hear music "past" what he is capable of playing, either in speed or complexity. But there might not be other humans who can approach that level closer than Mr Claypool. At least not that I've heard.

That's why a Primus show is different from other Rock Shows. The Bass player might sometimes be the frontman, doing double duty as singer, but rarely will you see the bass be the center and focus of the sound like that.

Fortunately for us all, the band is far from uneven, too. One can't help but be motivated to reach for greatness in such an environment, and damn if the other two members didn't do a bang up job of keeping up. In another band they might even have been the stars of the show.

So, yeah, the vocals were muddy, and I'll be listening to them more closely on the records now.
That doesn't mean that I regret for one minute having seen these guys play.

If you get a chance, and can take some "difficult listening", music that is like eating a bowl of 2' long noodles lightly sprinkled with pure capsicum, dunked in alcohol, and set ablaze, see Primus.

2006-11-10 20:41 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] madbodger.livejournal.com
phrases like MYXLPIXLICT together at insane speeds


You misspelled
MXYZPTLK. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Mxyzptlk)

2006-11-10 21:10 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] maugorn.livejournal.com
And I can't play like Les Claypool either.

I'm just a tangled nest of imperfection. But Eris loves me anyway.

2006-11-10 21:09 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] boyprophet.livejournal.com
Did they, by any chance, cover Thela Hun Ginjeet? They play a live version from one of Les Claypool's other bands, LC's Frog Brigade, on Sirius Channel 17 regularly. It pretty much rocks. Otherwise, did they do any interesting covers? Just wondering.

2006-11-10 21:22 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] maugorn.livejournal.com
No they didn't. (Well, if they did, I might not have been able to recognise the words) At least I'm pretty sure. We have it on a LCFB live album. Yeah It ROCKS!

Saw King Crimson do it on the first Discipline tour. I was completely unprepared for that sound as my only KC album at the time was Lizard. Completely blown away doesn't begin to describe my brain that night. I knew of Adrian Belew from one of my Bowie albums, and that STILL didn't prepare me for the attack the dude made on my skull.

Anyway, Primus. No, No covers this time. (that I knew) It seemed to be all Primus all night.

And...
What brings an Alabama boy who only seems to know one of my friends this way?

(Nothing paranoid, just wierdly curious. Sometimes it seems like hardly anyone is reading at all)

2006-11-10 21:34 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] boyprophet.livejournal.com
I saw KC at Merriweather (sp?) Post on the tour for the album after Discipline (Damn I can't think of the name right now). Same lineup. My friend swore that Bruford had to have recorded tracks -- no one could play all that at once! Anyway, I used to live up that way in earlier times (HS in Vienna, Va.). I have to confess that I occasionally check out my friend's friends list to see if anyone has anything interesting to say. I like to check out your set lists, which I think are pretty cool (and sometimes obscure, but that just makes them more interesting). Hope you don't mind. Excellent concert review, by the way.

2006-11-10 21:33 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] revelrain.livejournal.com
Primus is awesome, IMHO. And Claypool is simply amazing beyond belief. Sounds like a great show. :)

2006-11-10 22:32 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] patches023.livejournal.com
It was very nice, Primus is more my band than Maug's. He came along because I wanted him to rather than the other way.

From memory, I am certain they did:
My Name is Mudd
Is it Luck?
Jerry was a Race Car Driver
enc: Winnona

They did a couple more songs that might have included (not remembering correctly):
Seas of Cheese

A short set but a good one.

2006-11-10 23:48 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] revelrain.livejournal.com
Awesome. The whole band is filled with amazing musicians, but Claypool simply is the best bassist I've ever heard. Seeing him play live must've been awe-inspiring. :D

2006-11-10 23:26 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] tafkad.livejournal.com
Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it was on? During Season 2, in the episode when it was Drucilla's birthday (or deathday, or whatever), Rasputina music is played. I've heard nothing else of theirs, but I loved what I heard.

2006-11-11 03:21 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] fizzygeek.livejournal.com
Darn, wish I had known they were gonna be in the area....I would have liked to have gone. The last time I saw Primus was probably about 10 years ago at some college or another in New Jersey. I remember they did a cover of Ministry's "Stigmata". :)

2006-11-11 05:19 (UTC)
- Posted by [identity profile] thelongshot.livejournal.com
Your wife mentioned that Rasputina was opening up. (Actually, she didn't remember the name of the band, but the description of "chicks with cellos" only describes a few bands.) They were recommended to me some time ago. I picked up one random album, but after a few spins, it went to the used CD shop. It just didn't work for me.

As for Primus, I got to see them open up for Rush when I saw them on the Counterparts tour in Cleveland. Primus only did a few shows for them that tour (another band that was hot that year opened up the majority of shows.) I remember Primus put on a good show. Most memorable was the Primus fans in front of us who actually left after Primus' set. I couldn't believe it.

Jason

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