Primus were joined by Tool members Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor, as well as Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen, for a benefit performance at The Belasco in Los Angeles on Monday night (April 17th).
The show served as a fundraiser for Canadian director, animator, and writer Jimmy Hayward (Toy Story, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, Finding Nemo), who is currently undergoing cancer treatments. The filmmaker is a close friend of the members of Primus.
Per Setlist.fm, Primus and company played a 10-song set that included six Primus songs and four covers. Among the highlights was a performance of Tool’s “Ænema,” as well as a drum battle between Carey and Primus’ Tim Alexander during a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick.” Other covers included King Crimson’s “Thela Hun Ginjeet” and AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
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The set started out with just Primus performing “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” but they were eventually joined by Van Leeuwen, Chancellor, and Carey for most of the show. “My Name Is Mud” and the encore “Southbound Pachyderm” closed out the concert.
While Primus don’t have any additional shows scheduled for 2023 as of yet, frontman Les Claypool is reviving his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade for their first tour in 20 years. The 41-date US outing kicks off next month, with tickets available here.
Tool, meanwhile, will be playing a run of high-profile US festivals this year, including Welcome to Rockville, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, Aftershock, and Power Trip. Tickets for those events can be found here.
Update: Primus have shared pro-shot video of the “Ænema” performance on their YouTube channel. Watch footage of “Ænema” and “Moby Dick,” as well as the full benefit show, in the YouTube clips below. An auction to benefit Jimmy Hayward runs through May 10th at this location.