Live Review: Primus, The Dean Ween Group

The Dean Ween Group were louuddd - like very loud. They put on a great opening set and one that the crowd enjoyed, with many arriving early to take them in.

The crowd noise was nearly deafening by the time Primus arrived, with many an excited punter cheering while the techs set up. Circus-esque music kicked in as the lights dropped.

Guitarist Larry 'Ler' LaLonde came out first, tinkering with his guitar while drummer Tim Alexander walked out and took his place. LaLonde played the opening riffs of Those Damn Blue-Collar Tweekers while the lights behind him flashed in unison.

A few bars in, frontman Les Claypool wandered out on stage, wearing his signature bowler hat and round glasses, and added the bass and vocals. He wandered around the stage during the parts where he wasn't required to sing, standing back to let LaLonde take the spotlight. Just halfway through the first song and the crowd had already experienced their first surge of the night, much to the dismay of a lot involved.

Three songs and near half an hour in, Claypool welcomed the crowd. "Sydney," he sung. "What the hell's going on here, Sydney?"

"Primus sucks, Primus sucks," they chanted back the tongue-in-cheek call Primus fans are known for. "Ah, the call of the wild," responded Claypool. "I think we've actually changed it to 'Ler Sucks'." He joked with them as it was going to be all new songs for the rest of the evening, before promptly delving into Groundhog's Day off 1990's Fizzle Fry. The crowd were certainly happy with this, especially since LaLonde didn't play keyboard like Eddie Van Halen in Jump like Claypool suggested he would.

Primus' reach certainly goes far and wide, which was shown in the crowd demographic, many looking like they'd been fans from the very start, while there were a few tiny fans also enjoying the show while rocking their kid sized earmuffs.

American Life got the crowd moving and Too Many Puppies/Sgt. Baker had the crowd the most excited they'd been all night, with pretty much the whole theatre shouting the lyrics back at the band. A massive one-two punch came in the form of a Jerry Was A Race Car Driver/My Name Is Mud combo, which saw the most intense mosh pit of the night and a very appropriate close to the main set before the band walked off.

There was a break before Primus returned for the much desired encore. They played through a couple of songs and went to start another before Claypool remembers that he promised some guys in the crowd that they would play John The Fisherman in honour of a friend who passed away last year. It was a fitting way to end a show that really was totally for their fans.

If you're looking for three-and-a-half minute songs that stick to the studio original version, you're not going to like a Primus show. If you're looking for a show where the band know their audience wholeheartedly and are willing to take risks and experiment still after 30+ years, this is your band.