Primus rang in the New Year in Oakland, CA, where the band dipped into one of bassist Les Claypool‘s myriad other projects with an Oysterhead debut. The show at the Fox Theater also featured a Black Sabbath cover as the calendar flipped to 2026, assisted by opening metal macabre clown Puddles Pity Party for the Send In The Clowns-themed run.
Ahead of Wednesday’s NYE extravaganza, Primus opened the two-night affair on Tuesday with a bust-out of Shreveport, LA, avant-garde collective The Residents‘ “Hello Skinny”. Primus hadn’t played the song since January 2016 in Nashville, per Setlist.fm, long before Les and Larry “Ler” LaLonde employed fellow Shreveporter, drummer John Hoffman, behind the kit in early 2025. Making up for all that time away, Primus performed “Hello Skinny” again on Wednesday for the New Year’s crowd.
Following heavy-hitters “Too Many Puppies” and “To Defy the Laws of Tradition”, balloons rained down from the rafters as Claypool wished everyone a Happy New Year before launching into Geezer Butler‘s bass intro to “N.I.B.” If a cascade of balloons wasn’t enough childlike pagentry, out came Puddles Pity Party to take lead vocals in tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne to close the main set.
Primus, Puddles Pity Party — “N.I.B.” (Black Sabbath) — 12/31/25
[Video: Fuzzy Dunlop]
After opening the encore with setlist staple “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread”, Claypool looked to his supergroup with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Police drumming legend Stewart Copeland, Oysterhead, for “Shadow of a Man”. This marked Primus’ first-ever performance of the song, which Claypool hadn’t played publicly since Oysterhead’s last concert to date at Atlanta’s SweetWater 420 Fest in 2022. Tuesday’s show saw Oysterhead’s “Polka Dot Rose” (a Primus setlist regular the past couple years) sandwiched amid “Groundhog’s Day”.
Related: Remembering Oysterhead’s Incredible Debut [Listen]
Rocketing through “Jilly’s on Smack” and “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver”, the band left the stage, but the show still wasn’t done. As applause continued raining down like the balloons did an hour earlier, Primus returned to the Fox Theater stage once more, Puddles again in tow, for Dio‘s “Holy Diver”, Puddles’ tenor a perfect fit for the other former Black Sabbath singer. Finally, Les, Ler, and Hoffer closed out the marathon evening with “Southbound Pachyderm”, walking off into 2026 to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory‘s “Pure Imagination” playing over the PA.
Check out some videos from Primus’ 2025–2026 New Year’s Eve show in Oakland, and revisit Oysterhead’s heyday with pro-shot footage of its full set from Bonnaroo 2006.
Primus — “Hello Skinny” (The Residents) — 12/31/25
[Video: Naems Polyci]
Primus — “To Defy The Laws Of Tradition” — 12/31/25 — Partial
[Video: Naems Polyci]
Setlist: Primus | Fox Theater | Oakland, CA | 12/31/25
Set One: The Antipop, Last Salmon Man, American Life, Little Lord Fentanyl, Restin’ Bones, Bob’s Party Time Lounge, Hamburger Train > Hello Skinny (The Residents) > Too Many Puppies, To Defy the Laws of Tradition, New Year’s Countdown, N.I.B. (Black Sabbath) [1]
Encore: Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread, Shadow of a Man (Oysterhead) [2], Jilly’s on Smack, Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver
Encore Two: Holy Diver (Dio) [1], Southbound Pachyderm
Exit Music: Pure Imagination (Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley) [3]
[1] w/ Puddles Pity Party
[2] Live debut by Primus
[3] Played from tape