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Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
Former Primus frontman Les Claypool is also making an appearance at Artpark this summer. He’s playing a show June 2 at the park’s Mainstage Theater with the Avent Brothers opening.
The show isn’t one of Artpark’s free Coors Light Wednesdays at Artpark shows. Tickets go on sale Friday for $33.50 and $27.50.
He’s probably worth the price of admission, though, Claypool is the one of the most unlikely success stories in music history. His trademark voice, thumping bass lines and unique worldview have become the calling cards for a number of wildly successful and influential albums in the last two decades, including the seminal alt-rock band Primus.
But through his myriad of musical and creative projects, Claypool has also become a favorite of metalheads, jam banders, funk connoisseurs and pretty much everything in-between.
“Let’s put it this way. I think, with Primus and without, I’ve played every music festival in the last 10 years, except Lilith Fair,” he says, laughing. “You could say I'm the guy who doesn't fit in anywhere, but a little bit everywhere.”
“Of Whales and Woe” is the first album by the bassist that bears his name and his name alone. No Primus, Frog Brigade, Holy Mackerel, Oysterhead, Sausage, Bucket of Bernie Brains or any other of the man’s nom de plums. “It was mainly due to my agent,” he says, with a small chuckle. “I think he got tired of being offered shows and him having to call me and ask, ‘who's it going to be this time?’ So this collection of tunes is something I worked on over the past couple of years. I’d just assemble material in my studio and work on it when I wasn’t busy with other projects.”
For the Avett Brothers’ big-label debut, the album’s 13 songs are delivered in a style that defies pigeonholing but might be described as a rootsy amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop — even a jab of punk-style dynamics here and there.
Over the years, the Avett Brothers — consisting of siblings Scott and Seth, plus bassist Bob Crawford — built up a sizable following based on their rowdy, infectious stage shows. In concert, the high-flying ensemble tears through tunes with unbridled energy, popping banjo and guitar strings right and left while inciting stomping singalongs among audiences that appear to know every word.
