On a crisp November 2 night, Primus adorned Rochester, NY – a city not unfamiliar to Primus. With the original band back together and the recent release of a new studio album, the crowd was really anticipating the night’s show. At 8PM sharp hundreds of people filled into the Main Street Armory.
The night began and proceeded in a psychedelic punk rock fashion. Highlights of the show being “Jilly is on Smack” and “American Life”. These men are professionals in the art of suspense. What made “Jilly is on Smack” so special was how the band stepped pensively into the song. The crowd was left cliff hanging on the long gut wrenching bow strokes of Les Claypool on the upright bass. With a steady progression they drove deeper. Until finally a drop in by Larry LaLonde, whose guitar riffs sounded electric elastic, reminiscent of rubber bands.
When executed with as much freedom of control as it was last night, the tune ‘American Life,’ is a testament to experiencing music. As a classic and more pissed off Primus song, the reminiscence of the youth of the band showed through. The pitter-patter of a cold bass line is the cold grey fog cloaking the crowd. Through the muttered mumbles of lyrics, Claypool’s line, “It’s a cold day on Ellis Isle,” can be heard clearly lurking through the fog. When the lyrics ended, the rest of the song was delivered hard. Everyone was rocking out. A compelling victory to end set one.
To be read in the voice of Gene Wilder: “There is no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going… There’s no knowing where they’re rowing.” If you just shuttered a little, you probably had nostalgia of the Willy Wonka boat ride scene that was so creepy it scared everyone out of his or her little seven-year-old pants. As the curtains opened up to a second set, the stage had been transformed into a whole new place. The usual blowup astronauts were replaced by blowup mushrooms.
A screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was played as a backdrop. Les Claypool become none other than Willy Wonka. Primus played their version of the musical in its entirety. The audience was one cluster of genuinely happy folk. The acoustic sounds from the upright bass and cello in combination with electric guitar created a rare layering of haunting sounds perfect for a tribute to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
So much of the chilling whimsical experience can be attributed to outrageous sounds coming off of Tim Alexander, better known as Herb, who was completely caged in by a circus of different types of percussion instruments. It truly was a weird psychedelic trip down that same chocolate river on an electric wonder boat that was forcibly propelled through a current of percussion by cello and upright bass. No doubt about it, the Primus in Rochester and the Chocolate Factory experience is a lot of creepy and double the amount weird, but we can handle it, we are big kids now.
Doors are at 6:30PM but show time is slated for 8PM; this is Sunday show, and it is the Armory, so expect an early evening. Tickets are $39.95-$45.00, and available at the box office, 
With ever concert there are opening bands and performances. The first group to kick it off and get everyone moving and smiling was Vinyl Theatre. They had won battle of the bands in 2013 to open for Twenty One Pilots, newbies to the music scene forming in 2012. Gaining new fans with their sound of indie electronic rock that night they will surely keep them because of the passion. Each member exudes it when they are on stage. A trait of the performance that makes music worth watching. This was starting to transform the night into what has long been lost in definition as a concert by transforming the music experience into a new level. Their record label, Fueled by Ramen, seem to have targeted their artists having deep passion as they perform; making the record label one to watch as the sign artists.
Misterwives added to the build up to the night amping up the crowd. This group’s carefree and fun spirits is contagious in the crowd. Group participation as Mandy Lee, lead singer, led the audience to snap along with them during songs was a communication all of its own between the artists on stage and the people taking it all in. The whole band is amazing. Front women Mandy is a vocal powerhouse. She is the full package when it comes to lead singers. Has the energy to rock the whole performance with their pop style, has a personality that keeps it entertaining to watch and spot on vocals. The ability to reach the back of the room with her voice from such a petite body but then would have people leaning in at the right times for the dynamics and drama. Watching each of her Misterwives look as she performed smiling they all feed off one another with a pure look. The talent they had paid off by the response from everyone.
At the end of the performance, I caught up with Mandy to share how incredible her powerhouse of a voice is. Giving me a huge hug she was bubbly with an amped up energy level. She replied humbly with a huge smile hearing that their performance was so well received by their potential new fan base in Rochester, NY. She was gracious to agree to with Andy DeLuca Photo making sure we caught it all live and putting this together for us to share:
Taking the stage first was the freshly signed (Sony Music Entertainment) New York City trio, Unlocking the Truth. Considering their roots come from setting up shop in Times Square, along with the fact this was only their third stage show ever, one would assume that a hint of nervousness would be obvious, especially when not one member of the band has hit their fourteenth birthday yet. Instead what the crowd got was a surprisingly heavy sound from the incredibly talented and comfortable teens on stage. The band was able to get the night started on the right foot, drawing cheers and immense applause from awe-stricken faces in the crowd. They continue their route to fame in the fall as they tour with rock veterans, Living Colour.
