In the punchbowl with Primus

Primus came to Columbus Monday April 22 and rocked.

The opening band was a group called Weapon of Choice. Weapon got the crowd going with songs like "Outer Spice" where you had to wave four fingers in the air and scream to get the bassist, Meganut, to come and touch you. Weapon of Choice proved to be pretty groovy, matching a hard rock background with a trombone, singers and a dancing girl clad in striped pants and a bra.

By the end of 45 minutes, the crowd was ready for Primus, voicing cheers like "We want Les!," the ever popular "Primus sucks!" and the occasional "Marry me Larry!" Nestled among the crowd at the rail I got a full view of the stage which consisted of a monster drum kit in the middle. The lights went down and Primus walked on stage. Les Claypool, dressed in pants, a tropical shirt, shades and a black hat took stage right while Herb climbed behind the drum kit and Larry, the guitarist, took stage left. The band opened with "Groundhog's Day," and Les couldn't have been in more of a groove as he strummed his four-string Carl Thompson.

The mosh pit was rough right around the front where I was, but a few elbows in the back and feet to the head are worth being so close to Claypool. Primus followed with "Here Come the Bastards" and, off their new album, "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver," which brought deafening cheers from the crowd as Les strutted around the stage like an ostrich, looking more like someone from the Ministry of Silly Walks than the best bassist in the world. Primus continued with their set, hardly stopping as they played "Over the Electric Grapevine," "My Name is Mud" and "Eleven."

Les alternated between his six-string and four-string and towards the middle of the show, Les brought out his electric five-string stand up bass, complete with bow, endpin and dime-size pickups. Primus finished up the set with "Harold of the Rocks," then left the stage. Immediately the crowd broke out, yelling for more, and that's just what they got as Primus came on for an encore of "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats." Les' tapping and sliding was sensational as he explored the entire range of his six-string while Larry was all over the place with his guitar. The band closed with "Jerry was a Race Car Driver," always a crowd-pleaser and a great way to finish the concert.