"It's very heady. People that are going to be moshing around probably won't get any of this, but the heads will get it". - Les Claypool
Primus docked their 3D Tour at a packed Hammerstein in October and met the NYC crowd with some of their darkest jamming ever. Audience members were issued 3D Glasses after passing through the equivalent of a TSA search at the door (I was groped in a non-enjoyable way), and while we all knew the interactive theme of the night (the Tour also featured quadraphonic surround sound), none of us really knew what to expect. They were switching up the setlists and catering each experience to each venue. Does that mean the people in Rhode Island didn't get the Elephants bouncing on trampolines IN THEIR FACE like we did during Southbound Pachyderm? Cuz that was pretty cool. I mean, Elephants on trampolines. Providence missed out.
The size of the Hammerstein dwarfed the size of the screen in back of the dimly lit band, but from the 1st Mezz, we were able to watch a lot of the fun graphics reach out and dance above the audience on the floor. It started out really basic- like old skool Windows Screensaver style. It would not have been surprising to see a flying toaster pop up. However, as the show progressed, the graphics got more fun and the imagery more trippy. With each new effect, came a different reaction from the audience- most of whom were "glued to the set". I found the basic Fractal pretty satisfying, but the floating wedges of cheese were also fantastic. There was an Iridescent Lee Van Cleef layered on top of an old Western style building for Lee Van Cleef. But by far, the crowd favorite was an enormous FLOCK OF BIRDS that came SWOOOSHING across the screen and around the room towards the end of the night. AAAAGGGH!!!! BIRDS!!!!
Setbreak included some classic Popeye cartoons (they've been doing this for at least a year now) that kept the crowd entertained. About the 2nd song into the 2nd set, I couldn't deal with sitting anymore^ (the Mezz was all GA seating) and found a nice spot in front of a Mezz column, so I could properly Rock. There was some moshing up towards the front of the floor, spontaneous mosh pits here-and-there for some of the heavier moments, and a few crowd surfers, but as far as Primus crowds go-- it was a pretty well-behaved Primus crowd. I'm still glad we were in the Mezz.
I alternated between glasses/no-glasses about 50/50 all night. Some of that was out of concern for getting a migraine and/or Pink Eye, and the other part was because I actually wanted to watch the band, who were FUCKING KILLING IT. Primus were exploring deep, dark, evil jams. Les was relentless and was just letting us have it. Lal was shredding each lick as much as every solo. And Jay (who was not wearing glasses, "because he'll vomit") was making sense of it all. The sound where we were was slammin'. It was unbelievably fun.
Primus 3D Tour, 10/19/12, Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC:
Setlist No. 6 of the 3D Tour
-New York, NY (10/19/12)
Set I:
1. American Life
2. Prelude to a Crawl
3. Last Salmon Man
4. Frizzle Fry
5. Over the Falls
6. Lee Van Cleef
7. Eyes of the Squirrel
8. Hamburger Train
9. Del Davis Tree Farm
10. Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers
Set II:
11. The Return of Sathington Willoughby
12. Moron TV
13. Southbound Pachyderm
14. Eternal Consumption Engine
15. Glass Sandwich
16. Jilly's on Smack
17. Hats Off
18. Over the Electric Grapevine
19. Hello Skinny
-(The Residents cover)
20. Jerry Was A Race Car Driver
Encore:
21. HOINFODAMAN
22. Tommy the Cat
Brooklyn Vegan's got some awesome pics of the night. CHECK 'EM OUT!
^ ADHD
^^ Points given for getting to hang out with my Metalhead buddies Heinz & Cif. Thanks to their wives for lending them out for the night.