Primus & the Chocolate Factory @ Metropolis

"Primus Suce!"

Primus & the Chocolate Factory @ Metropolis July 15, 2015 - Presented by Greenland Productions & Evenko

Let me preface this review by stating that I'm not a casual Primus fan. In 1990, I took a chance and bought a used copy of Frizzle Fry after reading a small capsule review in Metal Maniacs magazine. As a recovering hair metal fan just getting into punk and alternative music, it took me a little while to warm up to this absolutely bizarre band that defies genre classification. However, the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. Then Sailing the Seas of Cheese came out in 1991 and I was upgraded to massive fan.

I've also seen them nine times over the years, and have never once been disappointed. Despite that, I've had a couple of unfortunate incidents while trying to see them and one that almost prevented from seeing them this time.

In 1993, a friend and I bought a bus/ticket package deal to go to Lollapalooza at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario where Primus were headlining. I was beyond excited to finally get to see them live. Unfortunately, as we waited for Primus to start, we came to horrifying conclusion that we'd have to leave to catch the bus back to Montreal. As we walked through the grounds, I could hear Primus starting up and playing "My Name is Mud" and I was pretty miserable. To make matters worse, the bus didn't actually leave for another hour, so I could of actually seen them except that we weren't allowed back into the park once we entered the parking lot. All was better when I finally saw them at Metropolis later that year, a concert I still consider one of favourites of all time.

This next one is embarrassing, and I'm wondering why I'm committing this to writing, but here goes… A few years back I bought tickets to see them in Burlington, Vermont, and on a Saturday evening a few months later, I was the Primus site and saw a picture of the Burlington gig poster, except that it had that day's date. My first irrational thought was that they must have made a mistake, but I then came to the quick realization that I had mixed up the date. It was too late in the evening to drive the two hours to the show, and to make matters worse, I had just booked a non-refundable hotel for the weekend afterwards. Not only had I wasted my money on two tickets, but I still had to go to Burlington the weekend afterwards to further remind myself of my stupid mistake (although all was better when I managed to get last minute tickets to see Weird Al, which was a fantastic show).

When I heard that they were coming back to town, I immediately asked for the CJLO Magazine writing assignment. Nothing was going prevent me from seeing this show… until a work emergency came up at the last minute that would force me to work that night. I swore that I was cursed to never see Primus again. Favours were pulled, and I managed to find someone to replace me for a few hours while I went to the show. Crisis was averted and I owe my co-worker a beer.

So finally, let's talk about this Primus show!

Primus are touring in support of their most recent release, Primus & the Chocolate Factory, where they channel the Residents and re-interpret the soundtrack to the original Gene Wilder movie from the '70s. I quite enjoy this latest album, and was looking forward to seeing them perform it in full. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the rest of show.

The lights went down, the curtain went up to reveal a bare-bones stage lit in blue, and the classic '90s (and in my opinion, the best) lineup of Primus walked out on stage: Tim Alexander (Herb the ginseng drummer), Larry Lalonde (Ler), and of course, Les Claypool. The distinctive opening guitar stabs of "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" rang out and we were off.

The opening set was a fine mix of tracks across their entire discography. They played the "hits": "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver", "My Name is Mud", and "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver". They played some songs from more recent releases which was a nice surprise considering they have tended in the past to not play those with Tim on drums (since he wasn't on those albums). They also a played a deep cut in "The Heckler" ,which I don't think I've ever seen them play live. Technically, they played at least one song from every one of their albums ("The Heckler" was on both the live album Suck on This and was included as a hidden bonus track on Antipop).

The band was in fine form musically, and were quite funny with their stage banter. Les talked about walking around the Nuits d'Afrique festival and hunting down some poutine. There was also the old joke of Les introducing Larry Lalonde as a native Quebecois, and having him speak to the crowd in French, to which he responds with a shy "bonjour". My favourite moment was when the crowd started chanting "Primus Sucks!" (the old band slogan that the discourages now for whatever reason). Les responded with asking what that would be in French, to which the crowd responded by chanting "Primus Suce!" After a few chants, Les commented that it "it doesn't really have the same zip-a-dee-doo-dah does it?"

They finished up the set with "Jerry" and the curtain came down so that they could prepare for the second set. After a short break, the curtain came up and revealed an elaborate stage setup to suit the presentation of the Chocolate Factory album: a large inflatable mushroom, oversized lollipops, and large-scale candies that surrounded the drum kit. 

Primus came out and proceeded to play the Chocolate Factory album from start to finish. The band were joined by the Fungi Ensemble: percussionist Mike Dillon and cellist Sam Bass, who helped flesh out the song arrangements. 

The whole set was presented like musical theatre and was a treat to watch. The band dressed appropriately to the subject material, and Les changed into a Willy Wonka outfit and wig before "Pure Imagination". For the four Oompa Loompa songs (Oompa Augustus/Violet, Veruca/TV), two stage hands would walk in unison onto the stage with massive heads, bob in time with the music and then shamble off when the song was finished.

Clips from the original movie were shown on the screen, looped and manipulated in time with the music, creating a very interesting effect, especially during "Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride" (the freakiest scene in a children's movie ever!). 

Musically, it was excellent, but that's par for the course with Primus. Les mostly stuck to hit mini stand-up bass, and Tim was playing as more of a percussionist than a rock drummer. Mike Dillon impressed in particular with his excellent work on the vibraphone and marimba, especially during his extended solo during "Golden Ticket". Also, for the first time that I can remember, Larry sang lead on the song "I Want it Now" and wasn't actually half bad!

Special mention to the people in the crowd who were trying to mosh during the Oompa Loompa songs. While I could tell that it wasn't a sellout, it was still a well-attended show, and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

All in all, I really enjoyed the "Chocolate Factory" set and I'm actually hoping that Primus continue to explore this type of presentation with future projects.

For the encore, Primus played "Too Many Puppies", and were then joined on stage again by the Fungi Ensemble to play "Southbound Pachyderms". Les introduced the final song as the prettiest song they ever wrote and asked the crowd to hug the person to the left (which some people actually did!). They then finished the night with a rousing rendition of the notably non-pretty song "Here Comes the Bastards"

Show was over and I rushed back to work and ended up finishing at around 7AM. In a week where I ended up working 65 hours, going to a show was probably not something I should have done. In the end though, I have no regrets. Primus came back to town and put on one of the more memorable shows I've seen them do. Ten shows in, and they still haven't disappointed me, so here's hoping that there's an 11th.

Setlist

Set 1:

Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers (Sailing the Seas of Cheese)
Last Salmon Man (Green Naugahyde)
Wynona's Big Brown Beaver (Tales From The Punchbowl)
The Heckler (Suck on This / Hidden track on Antipop)
Lee Van Cleef (Green Naugahyde)
Over the Falls (The Brown Album)
Frizzle Fry (Frizzle Fry)
My Name Is Mud (Pork Soda)
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver (Sailing the Seas of Cheese)

Set 2 - Primus & the Chocolate Factory:

Hello Wonkites 
Candy Man 
Cheer Up Charlie 
Golden Ticket 
Pure Imagination 
Oompa Augustus 
Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride 
Oompa Violet 
I Want It Now 
Oompa Veruca 
Wonkmobile 
Oompa TV 
Farewell Wonkites 

Encore:
Too Many Puppies (Frizzle Fry)
Southbound Pachyderm (Tales From The Punchbowl)
Here Come the Bastards (Sailing the Seas of Cheese)

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