Going ‘Claypool Gold’ with Primus & Sean Lennon in San Diego

Let’s get weird — it’s Les Claypool night! Marketed as “Claypool Gold”, Les Claypool brought not one, not two, but three of his bands to town on June 1st, complete with the prodigal son Sean Lennon to boot. The place to be was Gallagher Square at Petco Park, home of the Padres, smack dab in the middle of downtown San Diego.

Walking up, attendees were rocking what seemed like every past tour shirt Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Primus, and The Claypool Lennon Delirium ever put out. You could also hear them offering each other mushrooms in the queue line. There were frog hats and Primus gear everywhere.

Clearly, I was amidst the diehards.

Although the grounds never got that crowded (I suspect the looming holiday as the culprit), Gallagher Square still felt full of vibes from the moment Sean Lennon and Les Claypool stepped onstage. Up first was the duo performing as Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, with backing band dressed as old-school safari guides. After a brief intermission, Claypool and Lennon appeared once again, this time performing The Claypool Lennon Delirium. The keyboardist had changed his shirt to groovy, metallic silver while the drummer rocked a top hat. Epic costume change if there ever was one.

Performing songs off the new album The Great Parrot-Ox and The Golden Egg of Empathy, Sean Lennon even rocked a “golden egg” guitar; seriously, it was oval and golden and he proclaimed it as such. I was personally delighted to hear the track “Troll Bait” live, a maniacal song about Internet trolls trying to take down the human race. If you haven’t dove into the new album, you can read our thoughts all about it here.

Last, but not least, it was time for the band that made Claypool who he is today — Primus.

Prior to the members taking the stage, a video played of renowned bassists commenting on Claypool’s uncanny musical abilities. Geddy Lee paid his respects, saying Claypool made him “rethink his instrument”, while Norwood of Fishbone stated “there is Bootsy Collins, then there is Les Claypool”. Wow, what powerful words coming from other bass legends. When Larry “Ler” LaLonde and John “Hoffer” Hoffman took the stage next to Les, it was like flashing back 30 years. And cheers to “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” sounding just as good three decades later!

But the real delight, at least for me, was at the very end. For the final song, Primus welcomed Sean Lennon back on the stage to do the unexpected — a Beatles song. The whole place exploded as Lennon sang “Tomorrow Never Knows” in tribute to his father… really, in tribute to the original masters of psychedelic rock. I cried.

If you have a chance to catch Claypool Gold on the road, this is an insane lineup with Les onstage the ENTIRE TIME. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Photography by Kristy Rose

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