Line-up

Headliner
Primus Last time in Glasgow: 34 years ago

Venue

Barrowland Ballroom

244 Gallowgate, G4 0TT, Glasgow, UK

www.glasgow-barrowland.com/

Capacity: 1,900

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Primus biography

Primus (originally formed in 1984), is an American rock band - currently made up of Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander.

Their style of music has been hard to pin point. Claypool said they were in the funk metal genre, but many people have described their music as alternative/ experimental rock and alternative metal.

The duo - Les Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, originally found it hard to get a drummer when they started out, eventually finding a friend of Claypool's to fill the spot. They went on to rise to stardom in their local music scene with their funk metal fusion.

After members coming and going from the band, the group decided to have a short break in 1989, but shortly after the trio got together and recorded their first album called "Suck On This". This lead to the subsequent release of their album "Frizzle Fry" and a tour with Jane's Addiction.

The group released "Pork Soda", which made number 7 in the Billboard Top 10 in 1993. The album had gone darker than their usual style of music, which included elements of suicide and murder. Following this, the band went on to headline at the Lollapalooza rock festival. Whilst playing their song "My Name Is Mud" the audience actually threw mud at them, which ended with a lot of anger from Claypool.

In 1999 the group released "Antipop", which included many big names such as Meallica, Rage Against the Machine and many more. From that album the group released a music video for the album's single called "Lacquer Head", which was banned from MTV because of references to drugs.

Primus went on to tour up and throughout 2011, including the Bonnaroo festival, shortly after followed by a Europe tour, before embarking on a "major fall tour" to support their new album. And the next year the band went on tour with their first ever 3D-enhanced live musical performance. Each show featured Quad Surround Sound and 3D visuals to make it a different experience for their fans.

Live reviews

Every now and then, you come across a band that genuinely stand alone as a real musical one-off; as a genre, though, metal seems to have more than its fair share. Primus fit pretty neatly into that particular category; their weird blend of heavy instrumentation, funk-driven song structures and progressive, expansive leanings makes them a genuinely intriguing proposition. Not to mention, too, that they do it all with their own quirky sense of humour running through proceedings; classic records by the band bear titles including Sailing the Seas of Cheese and Pork Soda. After an initial split back in 2000 - because “it just wasn’t fun anymore”, according to singer Les Claypool - they reconvened in 2003 and continue to tour to this day, playing shows that are equal parts eccentric silliness and technical proficiency. Their most recent tour of the UK, saw career-spanning sets that included classics like ‘Jerry Was a Race Car Driver’ and ‘Frizzle Fry’ and typically ended with a bombastic, extended rendition of ‘John the Fisherman’. With drummer Tim Alexander returning to the fold late last year after a seventeen-year absence, there’s rumours that Primus may head to the studio later this year, meaning further touring plans shouldn’t be too far around the corner.

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