{"id":113736,"date":"2025-08-02T19:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T19:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/113736\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T19:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T19:21:12","slug":"primus-new-drummer-are-gloriously-eccentric-as-ever-in-phoenix-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/113736\/","title":{"rendered":"Primus, new drummer are gloriously eccentric as ever in Phoenix concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a reason the members of Primus have adopted \u201cPure Imagination\u201d as their own, not only covering the \u201cWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory\u201d classic on their reimagined soundtrack to the film but piping in Gene Wilder\u2019s rendition to signal the end of their concerts, as they did Friday, Aug. 1, when the Onward & Upward Tour 2025 arrived in downtown Phoenix.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been living in a world of pure imagination all along \u2014 fronted by one of the more willfully eccentric characters connected to the alt-rock revolution of the early \u201990s, Les Claypool, who happens to be one of the more inspired bassists you could ever hope to witness.<\/p>\n

Those two qualities were both on full display in Phoenix, from the time Claypool hit the stage at Arizona Financial Theatre in his feathered bowler hat to lead his bandmates through the twists and turns of \u201cTo Defy the Laws of Tradition,\u201d the track that opens \u201cFrizzle Fry,\u201d their 1990 studio debut, as submarine videos played out on the screen behind them.<\/p>\n

That visual component was a huge part of the set from that point forward.<\/p>\n

What happened to the original drummer of Primus?<\/p>\n

The Onward & Upward Tour is so named to acknowledge a changing of the guard on drums.<\/p>\n

Tim Alexander, who drummed for Major Lingo, a band from Jerome, Arizona, before joining Primus just in time to play on “Suck On This,” a live release from 1989, has retired for health reasons.<\/p>\n

Who is Primus’s new drummer?<\/p>\n

Alexander has been replaced by John Hoffman, selected from more than 6,100 applicants to fill the void.<\/p>\n

In announcing the tour, Claypool issued a statement saying, “This fiery, cheerful, octopus-like drummer from Shreveport, Louisiana, has breathed a very potent breath of freshness into this band we all call\u00a0Primus.”<\/p>\n

Claypool added, “Come see why this amazing fellow was able to rise above over 6,100 applicants to win the Interstellar Drum Derby and become the latest, and possibly the greatest, drummer to sit on the\u00a0Primus\u00a0drum throne.”<\/p>\n

Now that’s a bold claim.<\/p>\n

Alexander is a brilliant drummer who did much to shape what we now think of as the Primus sound. But you could clearly hear what Hoffman brings to the proceedings that would make him stand out in a crowded field of dudes who want to be in Primus.<\/p>\n

Primus is as much about musicianship as eccentricity, and the fact that Hoffman could be counted on to rise to the occasion in the company of Claypool and founding guitarist Larry\u00a0LaLonde, who more than lived up to his reputation on Friday, tells you all you need to know about the man’s abilities.<\/p>\n

Primus setlist included a tour debut of ‘John the Fisherman’<\/p>\n

They’ve been changing up the setlist since the Paso Robles, California, tour launch July 5. According to the superfans on setlist.fm<\/a>, three songs made their tour debut in Phoenix: “John the Fisherman,” a track from “Frizzle Fry” that touched off an outburst of serious moshing in front of the stage; “Mrs. Blaileen” and “The Heckler.”<\/p>\n

Primus also found room in the set for their biggest alternative-radio single, “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” which led to a shock of euphoric applause and the formation of a circle pit down front.<\/p>\n

Claypool introduced their breakthrough hit coming out of a goofy routine about ignoring fan requests.<\/p>\n

“I’m just gonna play what I want,” he said. “(Expletive) you guys. Love it or lump it.”<\/p>\n

When the song stopped on a dime, he used the break to acknowledge a woman down front in a tiara that said birthday girl.<\/p>\n

“That tells me two things,” he said. “One, that you’re a girl. Two, it’s your birthday.”<\/p>\n

During “Southbound Pachyderm,” which featured video of elephants on trampolines, MonoNeon, the opening act, returned to the stage to trade bass leads with Claypool in a jaw-dropping showdown that couldn’t help but segue briefly into “Dueling Banjos.”<\/p>\n

‘That is how you turn 60’: <\/strong>Maynard James Keenan, Primus and Puscifer go hard in Phoenix<\/a><\/p>\n

MonoNeon was the perfect opening act for Primus in Phoenix<\/p>\n

MonoNeon made his entrance in a crocheted ski mask, sunglasses and what appeared to be quilted pajamas, a striped sock dangling from the headstock of his bass, to lead his bandmates in a very funky \u201cJelly Roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MonoNeon<\/p>\n

MonoNeon performs as the opening act during a concert at Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 1, 2025, in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Apparently, someone decided a roomful of early arrivals at a Primus concert might be likely to enjoy another willfully eccentric bassist flexing his chops at the helm of an experimental jam band.<\/p>\n

Fair enough.<\/p>\n

Like Claypool, MonoNeon is an utterly fantastic bassist \u2014 the last bassist hired by Prince before his death in 2016, as it turns out.<\/p>\n

His fellow musicians were more than capable of following their leader, who also fronts the band on vocals, on their instrument of choice \u2014 guitar, keyboards and drums \u2014 in a freewheeling fusion that incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, progressive rock and more.<\/p>\n

Highlights ranged from the jazz-inflected \u201cBasquiat & Skittles\u201d through the deeply soulful balladry of \u201cStereo\u201d to the epic rendition of \u201cLife Is a Glittery (Expletive)\u201d that brought their set to a dizzying close.<\/p>\n

Primus setlist 2025: Songs from the Onward & Upward Tour in Phoenix<\/p>\n

These songs made the Primus setlist when the Onward & Upward Tour 2025 came to Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 1:<\/p>\n