Primus Brisbane Review @ Eatons Hill Hotel

If you’re not interested in real musicians playing real music feel free to stop reading.




The room was filled with silent sardines; a sea of fish heads rolling in unison.

I washed into the Grand Ballroom (8 April) about the third song into Primus’ set; a particularly twangy bassline floundering about the Eatons Hill Hotel venue. It’s 'Sgt Baker', from their 1991 release. The Tool shirts being modelled by some punters feel especially apt for this one.




For the next two songs ('Candyman' and 'Mr Krinkle') Mr Claypool played a streamlined, electric upright bass, wearing a pig mask. During 'Mr Krinkle', its video clip played showing Les wearing a bigger, piggier mask and a full double bass.



I resigned to sitting against the wall, away from the three-deep, people-salt lining the margarita bowl that is the upstairs balcony, and realise it’s actually a great spot for a kind of low-level, passive periscoping. I’m in line with stage left (right for me), directly looking at Les, and able to catch sight of the others with little effort.


“This is another song that was really huge,” Les said, “back in the '50s.” We laughed respectfully, not just at his accent. “We’re gonna play it for you because it was named after you. It’s called ‘Brisbane’s Big Brown Beaver’ .” For some reason the crowd really loved that.



Last on the setlist, ‘Grapevine’ had the audience chanting along with the words, but still silent at the stops and starts.

Click here for more photos from the show.

The sound in the room was exceptional. Upstairs the bass was super-fat but downstairs it was pristine (or was it just the diversity in their playing? Because I did switch levels mid-song to check). How fabulous it was to be at a show where listening comfort was so high my earplugs from two nights ago never threatened to escape my pocket.



At the end of 'Grapevine', I could not tell what, exactly, the bass player was doing?! It was mesmerising and hectic and anyway, it gave Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde, guitarist some more chill time.



Closing the set was a prolonged instrumental, bearing looped footage of a real piglet. I hope it’s not the one the mask was made out of :-o



After Primus' exit, the savouring and still hungry revellers gently murmured, expectant of a reprise. 

Les, Ler and drummer Herb returned with a couple of dulcet and dense lullabies to send everyone home. 


Local sound guy, venue-managing champ Nev said it turned out some people in the pit were intentionally physical with moves to actually injure others, not the moshing behaviour you’d expect of fans of a mature outfit like this one. If that was you, dudes – cut it out.



Hryma, bassist extraordinaire from Baltimore Gun Club (who got ticket number 1 btw), was there to see his eighth Les Claypool show: seven with Primus, one for his side project The Fancy Band Tour for the album ‘Of Fungi Or Foe’. “I couldn’t be happier with the set list,” he said.

“‘Wynona’s’ (the real first word of ‘… Big Brown Beaver’) was a long time coming.” He was stoked to add one more paper setlist (Les always copies them and keeps the original) to his collection.

Thank you to bands like these guys, for keeping the next wave of talent inspired.