Earlier this week, Primus frontman and bass guitar heavyweight Les Claypool revealed he received a bass lesson from Geddy Lee as the funk-metal outfit geared themselves up for their much-delayed Rush tribute tour, A Tribute To Kings.
Now, the fruits of Claypool’s labor have been revealed, and it seems as though the four-string lesson from Lee has been put to good use as Primus kicked off their two-and-a-half-month trip across the US on August 10 in style.
Performing their first show in Boise, Idaho, the three-piece tackled the entirety of Rush’s A Farewell To Kings from start to finish, making light work of the daunting setlist comprising A Farewell To Kings, Xanadu, Closer To The Heart, Cinderella Man, Madrigal and Cygnus X-1 – Book One – The Voyage.
From Larry LaLonde’s punchy musings on the electric guitar to Tim Alexander’s faithful drumming exhibition, the trio seemingly nailed every aspect of the performance – heck, Claypool even took to the stage wearing a kimono, modeled after Lee himself.
Elsewhere, the set also included the appearance of a Rush-accurate Gibson EDS-1275 for the thumping riffs of Xanadus, which Claypool propped up with a double-neck of his own.
As well as the comprehensive Rush tribute, Primus also performed a number of tracks from their own repertoire on the night, fleshing the setlist out with live renditions of Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers, Seas of Cheese and Over The Electric Grapevine.
Tales From The Punchbowl's Wynona's Big Brown Beaver and Southbound Pachyderm were performed as encores.
Last year, while Primus were hard at work preparing for the 45-show-strong tour – and before his 1-2-1 tuition with the Rush icon – Claypool revealed the band had received Lee’s personal blessing for their proposed A Tribute To Kings concert.
“I talked to Geddy about it,” Claypool told Rolling Stone. “I texted with him just to make sure we weren’t trodding on something weird. So I checked in with him to see what he thought of it, and he was excited about the notion.
“He just got excited,” he continued. “He thought it was a great idea. You know, we go way back with those guys, so I think it made him feel good that it was going to be us that was going to do this thing. But I don’t know, you’d have to ask him. I can’t put words in his mouth, but he seemed excited about it.”
Primus are next slated to take the stage on August 13 at the Riverfront Park in Spokane, Washington.
Head over to Primus's official website to see a full list of tour dates.
