Primus stopped at GLC Live At 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, MI Tuesday for a two-set performance as part of the band’s A Tribute To Kings Rush tribute tour.

The band emerged to “Clown Dream” by Danny Elfman, setting a dark and strange tone fit for the eccentric trio. They proceeded to open a set of Primus originals with Frizzle Fry track “Harold of the Rocks” before launching into the Brown Album classic “Fisticuffs”. Next, the band began playing “The Pressman” but stopped before the end of the song as Les Claypool admitted he forgot some of the lyrics.

Primus then went way back to 1991’s Sailing the Seas of Cheese to retrieve “American Life”, after which they zoomed forward to the present with “Conspiranoia” off the band’s recent EP Conspiranoid. After playing “Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats” and “Del Davis Tree Farm”, the band offered the live debut of another song from Conspiranoid, “Erin on the Side of Caution”.

Primus wrapped up set one with a snippet of “Welcome to This World”, fan favorite “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”, and ode to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky “The Man With The Iron Balls”.

Following the same format as the rest of the A Tribute To Kings tour, set two featured a recreation of Rush’s A Farewell To Kings. Having recently received the stamp of approval from Rush themselves, Primus has established themselves as the world’s premier Rush cover band, at least for one set a night.

Primus – “Closer To The Heart” (Rush)

After completing their Rush tribute set with the celestial “Cygnus X-1”, named after the closest black hole to Earth, Primus returned to the stage for an encore that included “Too Many Puppies” into “Sgt. Baker” with a “Too Many Puppies” reprise, followed by “Follow the Fool” and “Southbound Pachyderm”. They then exited the stage once more to “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

View fan-shot videos and photos from Primus’s concert at GLC Live At 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, MI courtesy of photographer Steve Baran below.

Primus – “Xanadu” (Rush)

Primus – “American Life”

[Video: aaronkristofer18]

Primus – “Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats”

[Video: Metta McLeod]

Setlist: Primus | GLC Live At 20 Monroe | Grand Rapids, MI | 5/31/22

Intro (prerecorded): Clown Dream (Danny Elfman)

Set One: Harold of the Rocks, Fisticuffs, The Pressman [1], American Life, Conspiranoia, Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats, Del Davis Tree Farm, Erin on the Side of Caution [2], Welcome to This World [3], Jerry Was a Race Car Driver, The Man With The Iron Balls

Set Two (A Farewell to Kings): A Farewell to Kings (Rush), Xanadu (Rush), Closer to the Heart (Rush), Cinderella Man (Rush), Madrigal (Rush), Cygnus X-1 (Rush)

Encore: Too Many Puppies > Sgt. Baker > Too Many Puppies (reprise), Follow the Fool, Southbound Pachyderm

Outro (prerecorded): Pure Imagination (Gene Wilder)

[1] Partial; Les Claypool stated that he forgot the lyrics to the song.
[2] Live debut.
[3] Snippet.