Vacation Cont...

Les Claypool Live @ The House of Blues

June 16, 2007

In the middle of my already kick ass Disney vacation, I was informed of the upcoming Les Claypool concert to be held a mere furlong from our hotel room...seriously, with in walking distance. Tickets were going to be had at any cost! After procuring said tickets, the crew and I set off for a night of bass filled bliss. The show opened with The Two Galants, a decent band reminiscent of The White Stripes, then proceeded into an orgy of new and old Claypool goodness. Everything from tracks off of "Of Whales and Woe" to Primus classics, My Name is Mud and Tommy the Cat, was played for a solid two hours. Cameras were prohibited, hence the poor quality of this illegal photo from the show. We managed to get a few almost passable shots without a flash and this is the best one. It at least shows how close we were because the zoom was not used. This show rivals my 311-day 2000 in New Orleans or Ben Folds Five at the Ryman in Nashville only months before their break-up as my favorite concert experience of all time. I have wanted to see Les live ever since DJ, my big brother, first played "Suck on This" for me back in the early '90s. Now if I could only get to a Man...or Astroman, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Paul Simon (yeah right) concerts, I will have seen all of my adolescent dream concerts.

internet photo not from my concert

At the outset of our concert, Les donned a colonel sanders style suit, stripping off his coat and bowler hat after a few songs. As the show progressed, he wore all of the following: a pig mask, a monkey mask, and an Elvis wig/mutton chops w/glasses. He also played a standard bass, a banjo style bass (see picture), and a slim electric stand-up bass. This show was pure magic and was the epitome of Les Claypool's music. If you can't tell from my glowing review, this show was awesome and lived up to my overblown expectations of what his concert would be like. I suggest that anyone who is slightly interested in his music, check out his tour schedual and seek out your own concert by visiting his website or clicking any of the Claypool pictures on this post.

This concert, on top of Star Wars Weekends, meeting two Star Wars actors, and seeing my daughter make a lifetime of Disney memories makes this the best vacation I've ever been on. Yes, my two week trip to Ireland was a once in a lifetime opportunity and will remain my favorite solo trip, I will always remember the joy of taking my 6 year old to the the most magical place on earth.