Primus - Berkeley, CA December 2, 2006

I have just returned from a night of fantastic music at the Berkeley Community Theater from the group Primus. Although the set was rather short (around 90-95 minutes), the set was nothing short of spectacular and focused mainly on my two favorite Primus albums, Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese. The crowd was enthusiastic, with cheers of, "Primus sucks" running wild and the entire crowd was absolutely with Claypool and Co. every second of the show.

My brother and I arrived at the venue around 8 PM, I bought myself a shirt and then we sat and watched the opening band, Gogol Bordello (or something to that effect). They were energetic, and they had a folk/gypsy sound with a punk/alternative edge. They got on my nerves, though, as all of their songs sounded the same and they went on for a bit too long. Around 9:15, the lights went down and everyone went crazy as Les Claypool began the show with the riff from Here Come the b*****ds. From right then I knew I was in for a great night. After a rousing rendition of Mr. Knowitall, they followed the magnificent American Life, which had a tremendously extended middle section where LeLonde and Claypool got to show their chops.

Following American Life was one of my favorite pieces of the night and one of my favorite pieces in the Primus catalogue, the title track to their first album Frizzle Fry, which was always a magnificent piece in any context. Next up was Seas of Cheese, which got a mighty extension and had the entire crowd in pandemonium. Next up was Mr. Krinkle, always one of my favorite songs, followed by the De Anza Jig from Tales from the Punchbowl. Following that was a magnificent drum solo from Tim Alexander, which acted as an intro to the song Eleven from Sailing the Seas of Cheese. The next piece played was the tragic and haunting piece Bob, which was always a fun live piece. Ending off the main set were My Name is Mud and Jerry Was a Racecar Driver, both of which were energetic and full of intensity. They concluded the evening with an encore performance of the tongue-in-cheek piece Wynona's Big Brown Beaver from Tales from the Punchbowl.

One thing I could tell from seeing this band in person as opposed to the videos I have is this. They're more intense in person and the overall vibe that I got from the crowd was incredible. It was an intimate venue, which meant that even in the back rows you still were pretty close to the band. If you ever get the chance to see Primus live, I would highly recommend it.

Set List is in Bold