by Greg Ferguson.
San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. February 8th, 1991.
Opening for PRIMUS was FIREHOSE. I'd never heard these guys before, but I know that at least one of their members was in the Minutemen. I expected to see some hardcore-type stuff. BUT, they are a band that is definitely hard to pin down. At times they sounded like REM in overdrive, and other times tried to "funk-out", and still other times, they hit real hard with a punk style. I kinda liked 'em. They were different, but they definitely played hard, and put on a decent show. Small pit up front that got going for a couple of their tunes.
People LOVE Primus! No doubt about it! The fans in the South bay pretty much filled this place (estimate ~1000). All ages, all sizes and colors! It was great! This was my second time seeing Primus, the first being an abbreviated set I caught when they opened for Jane's Addiction. When they came out, the place went nuts as they broke into "Too Many Puppies". I thought the floor was going to cave-in, as we were on the second story! Claypool and the rest of the band are really tight, good musicians. Claypool IMO is one of the best bassists I have seen, switching between 4-and 6-string basses and hammering out his unique style. They played pretty much everything, except "To Defy the Laws of Tradition", and "Toys Go Winding Down". They also played a couple of NEW ones, that I REALLY liked! This band is going to make it...catch 'em now!! I heard that a new album should be out this Spring sometime.
The pit action was pretty good, not the best I've been in, but definitely HOT! For a while, the moshers couldn't seem to get a circle formed, so it was more of just bodies flyin' every which way. Some of the more "experienced" moshers (ME included! ;-) ) were yellin' "FORM A CIRCLE...", I guess about halfway through, everyone got the idea. The security up front was a few hired college dudes, so the "floating" was intense! It seemed like everyone tried to get up to the stage, with only a couple suceeding, and then diving back into the crowd. DAD, ya should've been there, I've got a sore back from "vaulting" everyone over-the-top!!! You would've made it to the stage --guaranteed!!!
Anyway, I'm now a full-fledged Primus fan. This band is one of my favorites!!!