Primus, live in Atlanta

Rob and I have been know to travel for two kinds of shows: anything Cirque du Soleil and anything Les Claypool. This past weekend, Rob and I have been in Atlanta for the latter - Les Claypool with his band, Primus. Claypool is a bassist, a title which is way too reductive, given the kinds and range of sounds he can squeeze out of a bass... there's really no way to sum him up except to listen to his music (and lots of it - there's no single sound with him).

We caught Claypool last year in Baltimore, touring as his solo incarnation which includes accompaniment by Gabby LaLa on the electric sitar. It was a great show except that Rob and I have reached that point in our lives where the crowds bouncing into us, and the long hours standing on the cement floor before the show even starts, and the copious cigarette smoke really get to us... to the point that we swear off club gigs forever... right before another band pops up that we really want to see. But Primus is a must see, so off we went to the Tabernacle, an old church that has been converted to a venue. The organ pipes are still the backdrop to the stage; every square inch of the walls and ceiling have been decorated with geometric shapes in red, white and black. Two balconies ring the main floor - balconies with seats, mind you. We scored a couple of choice seats directly above stage right. When Claypool finally took the stage (after much anticipatory chanting of "Primus sucks" - endearment, believe it or not), we were 30 feet away from him which meant that we could watch his hands fly across his base, often playing one tune on the body and a completely different tune on the neck. As a bonus, there was no smoking in the auditorium - which, of course, didn't mean there was no smoking but there was certainly less, and people waited much longer to light up.

The set list was short but each song included its own enhancements and solos. Every song was flawless - even more impressive than on their recordings... I know almost nothing about music - except if I like it - so I won't try to describe or explain why it was such an amazing show except that I spent the entire time torn between watching the band and dancing like the idiot I am. It's the kind of music where you have no choice but to bounce - it just gets its grip on you. In the standing room section, there were even a couple of mini-mosh pits of the old school variety - the kind of good-natured pummeling where people check on the kid that fell before beating the crap out of him some more.

An unexpected treat for Rob was his favorite, a b-side if Primus has any, Sergeant Baker and finished the night with what Claypool called a Celtic ditty inspired - as is his entire career - by Sting: Wynona's Big Brown Beaver which is about the animal... sort of...

The opening band, Rasputina, was also impressive, particularly considering they are made of two cellists and a drummer - again, it was amazing the sounds they coaxed from cellos. It strikes me that Claypool seems to choose his opening bands in order to give up-and-comers exposure rather than the standard practice of choosing openers who are a draw on the own right.

Like all great shows, it was over before we were ready... and though I've seen some great bands - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Erikah Badu, BB King, Johnny Lang, Indigo Girls, etc - this easily ranks as the best show in the best venue... it's gonna be a hard one to top...