Written by: Shay Coulson | Photo(s) by: "Iron" Mike Savoia
“A Tribute To Kings”: Primus To Play Tribute To Rush At SLC’s The Complex
What better way to celebrate a birthday than continuing to stride through your Fall tour? But not just any regular tour. Celebrating his 58th birthday today and paying tribute to Rush is none other than world-renowned bassist-vocalist and Primus frontman, Les Claypool.
Having kicked off their 2021 tour in August after rescheduling dates due to COVID-19, Primus is smack dab in the middle of playing homage to Rush on their “A Tribute To Kings” tour, where the band performs Rush’s platinum certified album A Farewell To Kings in its entirety.
“Finally, the clouds are parting, the planets are aligning, the dough is rising…whatever metaphor floats your preverbal boat, PRIMUS is going on tour again. We were poised and ready for a massive, bent-rock extravaganza when the gremlins of COVID came and yanked the rug out from under us all. I personally have been climbing the walls like a shit-house rat and, after my first season off in 30 some odd years, I’m very anxious and excited to stand in front of the microphone with my four-string piece of furniture and belt out some girthy ditties to sweaty throngs of punters,” Les Claypool said in a press statement.
While pulling off Rush’s unique sound and Geddy Lee’s vocal range is a feat in itself, Primus isn’t new to the block of holding their own. The funk-metal band opened for Rush on their 1992 tour and continued their relationship over the years, having Claypool perform at Rush’s Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame induction in 2006. Now, the close friends and iconic bands are seeing the overlap of their relationship and respect and influence of the music over the years with a whole tour dedicated to the album.
While preparing for a tour deems endless hours of hard work, Claypool has also revealed that he’s bene taking lessons from Geddy Lee and “learning from the master.”
“We’re rehearsing. It’s been invigorating for Larry and Tim and I since we never rehearsed that much. We would often decide to get dinner or drink some wine. ‘Kings’ forced us to be in a room to play and play and play. It opened a door for us. We’re working on our craft, and that’s a wonderful thing…this forced us to focus,” Les Claypool said to The Spokesman-Review.
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While the iconic album concludes at a quick 37 minutes, fans attending the band’s Fall shows should expect to still get “closer to the heart” of Primus with having plenty of time for the band’s original material. Claypool will celebrate his birthday tonight at Baltimore, MD’s MECU Pavilion before making his way with Primus across the country for their headlining performance at Salt Lake City, UT’s The Complex on October 13th. Psychedelic rock band Black Mountain will provide support for the night.
For tickets to Primus’ headlining A Tribute To Kings show in SLC, head here. For more information, visit the band’s website.