Les Claypool pulled triple duty at Starlight

Mike Dotson, Jason Colvin,
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Les Claypool. // photo by Mike Dotson

It was a rainy day on Thursday, May 28, when Les Claypool came through Kansas City with his triad of musical misfits at Starlight Theater. The “Les is more” tour is a night of a combination of Claypool’s bands: Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, and of course, Primus. Dubbed the Les Claypool Gold Tour, it was to be a night of multiple musicians joining forces to jam the night away.

As fans made their way into the venue, the rain had let up, and the cool, damp air welcomed them to the beautiful Starlight Theater. Kudos to the staff as they not only would take you to your seat but also took time to wipe seats dry for guests. At 8 p.m. sharp, a mustached, bass-playing flying frog appeared on the screen at the back of the stage, signaling what was to come first for the night’s show. Dressed in green jackets with tan pith hats, band members Mike Dillon on percussion/vibraphone, Harry Waters on keyboards, Paulo Baldi on drums, and Sherik on saxophone took to the stage. Joining them was Sean Lennon, nicknamed by Claypool as Shiner, on guitar and backup vocals.

With loud cheers and applause, Colonel Claypool made his way onto the stage. Claypool was sharply dressed and looked like he was ready to sell us a magical elixir to cure all our ailments. Claypool and co. jammed through a compelling four-song set that expanded with solos from every instrument on stage. Yes, there was a vibraphone solo. A very impressive one at that! Known to change up the set list for different shows, tonight was no exception as they added a cover of “Riddles Are Abound Tonight” by Sausage. That band being another Claypool project when in 1993 he reunited with the original short-lived founding members of Primus.

There was a brief intermission to set the stage for the Claypool Lennon Delirium segment of the show. This Claypool project was conceived in 2015, with Claypool knowing that Primus would take a year off after touring alongside Lennon’s band, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger. After the tour, the two stayed in touch and soon began discussing the idea of making an old-school, psychedelic, and progressive rock record. In 2016, they released their first album, Monolith of Phobos. While on tour, they are now promoting The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy. Released earlier this year, the album is an elaborate concept album inspired by the “Paperclip Theory”—a cautionary tale about A.I. taking over. The atmosphere instantly shifted to a more trippy, and (self-described) ‘progadelic’ vibe, with guitarist and vocalist Lennon taking the lead while Claypool played a significant but background role.

The music retained their trademark odd and eccentric style, featuring underground comic-like animations on screen and Lennon’s pleasantly drifting yet melodic verses anchoring the songs. The opening track, “WAP (What a Predicament),” immediately captivated the crowd as the returning rain came down upon us. Between songs, the two took time to talk about their collaborative efforts, telling stories about the writing process and their friendship. Lennon paused to point out his custom golden egg-shaped BiLT Guitar, which is made in nearby Des Moines, Iowa. Specifically brought out to play for the song “The Golden Egg of Empathy.” Claypool humorously described it as less resembling a ‘golden egg’ and more like ‘goldfish sperm,’ eliciting laughter from the crowd.

One of my personal highlights of the evening was when, for the band’s final song, they did a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine.” This performance unleashed a full-fledged jam session from the members of all three bands, including Brigade’s keyboardist, Waters, who happens to be the son of Pink Floyd’s co-founder, Roger Waters. It was pure psychedelic rock heaven for me.

After a twenty-minute intermission, the rain had settled into a light drizzle as the lights went back down and the screen began to play a highlight reel about what was to come next. With footage of the band through their spectacular history mixed with interviews ranging from musicians like Rush, actor Jason Mamoa, to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Fans cheered as they were eager to witness the return of Primus to the stage. Formed in 1984, Primus has evolved over the years to a more psychedelic jam band. However, they quickly kicked things off with “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” from the 1991 breakthrough album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Showcasing their signature thrash-funk sound, of course, the song extended out into a jam and allowed guitarist Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde to lead a musical charge with his atmospheric, dissonant axe-wielding. For the second song, the trio played “The Antipop,” from the 1999 album of the same name, making its debut for the tour.

The lighting for the band was dramatically darker, and the music was more purposeful, delivering signature Primus sounds. Claypool’s tight percussive slap bass tones at the rhythmic forefront, freeing up LaLonde to abandon traditional power chords to fill sonic gaps with weird harmonics, ambient effects, and twisted blues sounds. Drummer John “Hoffer” Hoffman delivered complex double-bass grooves and odd time signatures of progressive rock and funk rhythm, interlocking perfectly with Claypool’s bass lines. Claypool’s signature swampy, hillbilly vocals offered his sense of rural charm and lightheartedness to the surreal, satirical blend of twisted storytelling and working-class commentary. Unlike before with his other bands on stage, Claypool and co. did not take much time between jamming through the songs to address the crowd. Fans did not seem to care as they embraced every moment with pure joy, singing and dancing along to each song. By the time they reached the last two songs of the regular set, the now-classic “My Name Is Mud” and “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” not a single person was sitting still in the venue.

The fans’ energy was at an all-time high, and many were probably high in other ways, when the band then exited the stage. Fans quickly began shouting the traditional “Primus Sucks!”
The encore was a single song, “Southbound Pachyderm” from the 1995 album Tales from the Punchbowl, featuring Claypool in a disco ball-reflecting helmet while lights and lasers mesmerized the crowd. The stage was now crowded with the musicians from all three bands, as swirling elephant images danced on the video screen. LaLonde rocking out with a double guitar. Clocking in at an epic over fifteen-minute all-out jam, the band had to shut it down as they hit the venue’s 11 p.m. curfew. It was without a doubt a way to go out, and leave fans craving more.

Overall, the show wasn’t a nostalgic trip or a self-aggrandizing, overindulgent showcase. Instead, it celebrated Claypool’s ever-evolving growth and refusal to stay in one genre, band, or sound. Fans got to jam along through his musical career and experience a concert full of talent from multiple musicians.

One last thing: To end the night, walking out of the venue while frogs croaked in the Starlight’s fountains brought a smirk to my face. I could hear many other fans making comments about the perfect coincidence of the moment. This was the venue meant for this tour.

All photos by Mike Dotson

Claypool Gold setlist
Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade
Highball With the Devil (Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel cover) (Rapper’s Delight tease)
Buzzards of Green Hill (The Les Claypool Frog Brigade song)
Riddles Are Abound Tonight (Sausage cover)
Precipitation (Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel cover) (with John Hoffman)

The Claypool Lennon Delirium
WAP (What a Predicament) (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song)
Mantra of the Manatee (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song)
Meat Machines (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song) (with Mike Dillon)
South of Reality (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song)
The Golden Egg of Empathy (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song)
Troll Bait (The Claypool Lennon Delirium song)
Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd cover) (With all 3 bands)

Primus
Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers (Primus song)
The Antipop (Primus song)
American Life (Primus song)
The Ol’ Grizz (Primus song)
Jilly’s on Smack (Primus song)
Restin’ Bones (Primus song)
Bob’s Party Time Lounge (Primus song)
Welcome to This World (Primus song) (partial)
My Name Is Mud (Primus song) (partial)
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver (Primus song)
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Southbound Pachyderm (Primus song) (with all bands)

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