Ty Segall/Primus Show Review
Article written by Peter Eckhardt
July 8th saw Jackson, Wyoming, as the site of one of the most incongruous performances in music history. On top of the local ski area Snow King Mountain Resort, contemporary psych-rocker Ty Segall and weird rock legends Primus played the sunset over the Tetons.
Like any other venue, you have to wait for a Snow King concert. You’re not waiting to get in, though– you’re waiting to get on the gondola to the mountain top. After doing our time in the parking lot, we rode up with some local under-21s. As they passed a bottle of green apple Crown Royal, the one with a neck tattoo of scissors, regaled us with how he got paid for a haircut with ketamine. Out of the glass window, I saw a herd of antelope in the distance.
The scene set, we stepped off the gondola. Sponsored by local radio station K-HOL (said like you’d think), the show kicked off under golden light. Ty Segall and The Freedom Band opened, beginning with “Void” off 2024’s Three Bells. Segall followed this with highlights like Emotional Mugger’s “Candy Sam” and Melted’s “Finger,” his eerie, warped bass sounding down the slopes. Segall and associates played well, but the mountain bike dads and charcuterie moms didn’t quite seem to mess with Segall’s vibey garage rock. Segall wrapped with “Love Fuzz,” thanked the crowd, and stepped offstage.
Let’s back up a bit. If you’re at a Primus show, you’re expecting to see some weird dudes. If you’re at Snow King, you’re probably a local. The mix of dirtbags, denim cowboys, and dreadlocked jugglers did not disappoint, and by the time frontman/bassist Les Claypool took the stage (minding the artist-to-artist gap with Danny Elfman’s “Clown Dream”), the sun was low and the crowd was buzzed. Primus launched into “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers” for a frenzying crowd. Claypool’s bass, Larry LaLonde’s guitar, and new drummer John Hoffman’s percussion finally crescendoed, leaving Claypool to break the ice with the crowd. “Who’s got a birthday todayyyyyy?” he drawled to the microphone.
Introductions made, the trio got back into it. Bass steamed as Claypool hopped around the stage to the tour debuts of “Groundhog’s Day” and “Hamburger Train,” while Hoffman, new to the group, proved himself an able player. As families left, the sky darkened, and there was a serious mosh in front of the stage. The band wrapped with “My Name is Mud” (accompanied by a shouting crowd), and exited to “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dazed, I stood in line next to a guy body-painted blue and another body-painted green for a ride down.
The verdict? The music was in opposition to the scenery and the crowd was a little atonal (“I can’t believe they got booed off the stage,” one woman said to me, “People kept saying ‘Primus sucks!’”), but to expect otherwise is like trying to pet a bison at nearby Yellowstone National Park: it’s stupid. The show was exactly what it needed to be: strange and loud, as much county fair as rock concert.
Primus still has it and Ty Segall’s got a great new album. For fans of psych-rock, lovers of nu-metal, or people watchers, find Primus and Segall on Spotify and follow the two on the Onward and Upward Summer Tour.
