Thursday, May 31, 2012

Primus - Live at the Brady

Last night I had the fortunate experience of attending a Primus concert at the Brady Theater in Tulsa. It was my first trip to the Brady and it was my first time to see Primus. I was really impressed with the theater and its steep balcony where we sat dead center. Unless you were in the section closest to the stage, you had a perfect seat if you were up top. Underneath us was mostly flat seating and a standing room only area just in front of the stage. I've never really been one to want to bang into a lot of people while I'm watching a show, so I try to go for a place that I can sit down if I want to and still keep an eye on the festivities. I grabbed a double Jameson's on the rocks at the bar and got comfortable for an incredible three hour show.
I've wanted to see Primus live for years and last night my wish was granted. With two gigantic inflatable astronauts standing guard on either side of a big projection screen, an odd mood was set for the evening. As the band strode onto stage, they launched into "American Life" while loops of Abe Lincoln, The Statue of Liberty, and The Stars and Stripes flashed and morphed on the big screen behind them. Throughout the night, I heard song after song that I recognized, but some had been transformed into jam sessions of this fusion of rock, jazz, pop, and noise that only Primus could pull off. They were such a tight band that every note and every pause were exactly where they were supposed to be without it sounding like the music was being fed through a machine into the PA. If you can imagine Primus trying to achieve the jamming prowess of bands like Phish and Pink Floyd, then you've got an idea of what the show was like...which was thrilling and fantastic. About six songs into the show, the three of them left the stage. Seconds after they were clear, the big screen in the back started to show an early Popeye cartoon. The crowd loved it. When that one was done, they played another...then another. When the third cartoon was done, there was a pause. Then a fourth cartoon started up. Some people booed and screamed, but I laughed because I knew they were pulling an Andy Kaufman. How far can we push these people? Fittingly, the title of the fourth and final cartoon was "Can You Take It?" Perfect. The last cartoon finished and the show resumed. For the rest of the night, the music surged and ebbed like a big sea of cheese. It was a completely satisfying show and a good introduction to such a great theater.

Seek them on the webs. http://www.primusville.com/



See more reviews at www.talkingsimian.com

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