Too many puppies… are just like me… they want to hear Lespecial performing Primus at Beanstalk!
Tribute sets are always tricky; when you cover something iconic, you are up against every single fan’s deeply ingrained memory of the original. Nuanced moments within the music that you may not even realize are different until you hear it fresh – a riff played slightly differently; a lyric delivered with an altered cadence – are all suspect to creep into the set at any moment. Luckily for fans at Beanstalk, it is clear the members of Lespecial think “Primus Sucks”, but you know… ironically.
Primus’s songs are weird and somewhat difficult to grasp from a musical standpoint, at least to us lay people. Dissonant and diminished guitar scales, polyrhythmic drumming, and that’s not even mentioning the absolute insanity that is Les Claypool, a bassist who has no peer when it comes to his percussive, muddy, thrash style. On top of that, Les Claypool’s signature vocal style is a mood all in and of itself. But as difficult as all this is to grasp, the guys from Lespecial have been able to accomplish not only a viable cover or two, but a true-to-form expression of the original material with just enough of their signature thrash style injected in to make this a truly unique experience.
Throughout the album you realize how much influence the band draws from Primus in their own sound. From the sharp metal tonality in their riffs to the punchy and melodic drum parts intermingled with their thumpy bass lines, Lespecial is less a child of Primus and more an off-shoot cousin that goes on Phish tour and misses family reunions. Their representation of Primus might just be the most genuinely executed I’ve ever seen. First and foremost, we cannot discuss this tribute without addressing how flawlessly drummer Rory Dolan is able to deliver the signature Les Claypool vocals. It all starts and ends with his impeccable imitation of Les’s megaphone-in-a-mumble style. Next up, we have Luke Bemand performing the other half of Primus’s front man’s key sound, the bass. There are few bassists who stand alone in style like Les Claypool. When discussing Les, it is less (no pun intended) about “best bassist of all time” and more a discussion about “most unique bassist” of all time. Rarely do we see a band feature the bass front and center like Primus does, and nailing that patented sound is no easy feat. Yet, Lespecial was able to deliver with a fitting tribute that was as true-to-form as one could be, complete with signature round-rimmed sunglasses and even Luke changing his posture when holding his bass, to a more horizontal care-free style, a nice touch for those familiar with Les Claypool’s stage presence. Lest we forget the final piece of this equation, the aggressive riffage of any guitarist tasked with following Les Claypool’s insane basslines. That role was filled, of course, by Lespecial guitarist Johnny Grusauskas who, just like the rest of the band, was able to fit right into the avant-garde puzzle that is Lespecial’s music, nailing the sharp metal tones, and even more importantly, the diminished Primus leads and riffs.
Covering a single Primus song is no easy task. Covering an entire Primus album seems almost so daunting, its not surprising we haven’t seen it done often before. Yet, I am not surprised that the band with big enough balls to do this was the same band that delivered us the thrash-metal version of the “T-Mobile” ringtone. Clearly, Lespecial is not afraid to take risks, and nothing sucks about that.
Lespecial | 2021-06-25 | Beanstalk Music & Mountains Festival at Rancho Del Rio, Bond, CO
-= One Set =-
01. (Intro Music)
02. To Defy The Laws Of Tradition
03. (Banter)
04. Groundhog’s Day
05. Too Many Puppies[1] >
06. Hello Skinny / Constantinople >
07. Too Many Peoples
08. (Banter II)
09. Mr. Knowitall
10. (Banter III)
11. Frizzle Fry
12. John The Fisherman
13. You Can’t Kill Michael Malloy
14. The Toys Go Marching Down
15. Pudding Time >
16. Sathington Willoughby
17. Spaghetti Western
18. (Banter IV)
19. Harold Of The Rocks >
20. To Defy the Laws Of Tradition
Show Notes: This set was performed on the second night of the 9th annual Beanstalk Music Festival. The band performed Primus’ “Frizzle Fry” album in its entirety. This was a debut performance of the album in front of a live audience. The band had previously performed the album via live stream.
[1] “Too Many Puppies” contained a “Blind” (Korn) tease in the intro.
Taper Notes: Mics setup FOB DFC raised around 7′ PAS. Board feed was split off of the PA sends but does not have the subs mixed in. As a result, the recording is matrixed with the audience feed to provide low-end as well as ambient sound. Thanks to sound engineer Richard Hartanft for the patch and mix!
ARCHIVE LINK: https://archive.org/details/lespecial2021-06-25.StudioProjects.C4.MKII.cards.AUD.SBD.Matrix.FLAC16bit
