The Bass is NOT Les Claypool's instrument...
Friday, 10 November 2006 20:09![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maugornWe 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.
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.
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no subject
2006-11-10 21:33 (UTC)no subject
2006-11-10 22:32 (UTC)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.
no subject
2006-11-10 23:48 (UTC)