Fort Wayne was the place to be on May 10, 2022 if you were a fan of Primus, Battles, or Rush. No, Rush wasn’t playing, but Primus, apart from playing a full set of their music, played Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety as a second set.
There was a big crowd, as it was the first time Primus or Battles playing in Ft. Wayne, and it was great to see young and older fans alike there to see the show. Battles were first up and the two gentlemen put on a math rock clinic for their set. Ian Williams doubled on synths and guitars and John Stanier, one of my favorite drummers of all time from his work in Helmet, wowed the crowd, and I lost count of how many time signatures they played in during their set.
Primus, who’d held a Q&A with VIP fans earlier, came out next and got everyone fired up right away with “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers.” They then ripped through a set of classics that included “The Toys Go Winding Down” and a live version of “Mr. Krinkle” that sounded so good it was like being in the studio with them. They also played their newest single, “Conspiranoia,” which is delightfully weird and psychedelic.
After a brief break, they came back with the Rush set. Apart from them having to do one song as an instrumental due to frontman Les Claypool having a bit of a scratchy voice (and wanting to save it for his vocals during the encore), they pulled off A Farewell to Kings without a hitch.
As if two sets weren’t enough, Primus then came back for a four-song encore that included “My Name Is Mud” (which hits even harder than an aluminum baseball bat live) and “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.”
It was a good show. It’s sometimes easy to get lost in Primus’ weirdness and lose sense of how good they can play. A live set by them is an instant reminder of that.
Keep your mind open.
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