Girl at the Rock Shows

Friday night brought the bombastic, the epic, and the quirky to the beautiful Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park, MN. It was one of those shows where, for me, the line-up was actually quite unbelievable. You had two major players headlining and then a band that I had only heard about opening. To say I was frustrated when traffic threw a wrench in my otherwise chill evening would be an understatement but, by the time my friend and I got to the beautiful amphitheater, I was ready for the music to take me away from everything and that’s exactly what it did.

First let’s talk about the bombastic- Too Many Zooz. I had only ever heard of this band but their legend precedes them so, as the trio too the stage, I couldn’t help but get ridiculously excited and for good reason. As soon as they started into their horn-based covers of pop songs with a slight jazz and funk influence behind them, I was in love and completely captivated. The three men of this group (Leo Pellegrino on baritone sax, Matt “Doe” Muirhead on trumpet and David “King of Sludge” Parks on drums) are so entertaining but also make sure that their music was in the forefront. Even when Leo was dancing around with the giant baritone sax swinging around him, he never missed a beat.

Leo and David played together in Drumadics which was a busking band in New York City and I feel like that added to the charm of this band. Sure, their music was amazing and I loved hearing their creative arrangements of standard pop songs but it was the delivery of these songs that made the set such a knock-out success. They were theatrical and fun to watch. They had this way of bringing you into their world and never letting you go. It was perfect and I was not the only one who felt that way. Bassist and legend of headlining act Primus mentioned that Too Many Zooz was probably the best opening act that Primus has ever had and, honestly, Too Many Zooz deserved that comment and more. What a way to kick off the night!

Now for the epic portion of the night. This is not the first time I have covered New York-born rock band Coheed and Cambria and it surely won’t be the last. When I say epic, I mean it. From their music to the stage presence, everything about this band just screams larger-than-life and power but, at the same time, they are accessible. I was instantly hooked into vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez’s world. Hiding behind his giant mane of hair and never really addressing the audience, Claudio seemed to be in his own world of pure bliss and I tried so hard to be there with him. Although I loved the music, I loved watching him get lost in the music more. I think it reminded me, in a way, of the magic of music and how there are people out there that live and breathe it just like I do and that’s what I was watching as he performed through the set.

Their ten-song set was perfectly curated. I feel like, for a band with ten full-length albums each consisting of banger after banger, Coheed and Cambria did a great job picking songs that the audience wanted to hear and songs that they felt fit the mood. Sure, it was fun to sing-along to their hits like set opening “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3” and their closing song of “Welcome Home” but I really loved the new song they slid into the set. “Blindsided Sunny” seems to show a slight turning point or at least a dabble into a more punk leaning sound for this group and it has me so stinking excited. Long story short, Coheed and Cambria killed it and definitely proved themselves to still be one of the most epic bands out there.

Now onto the quirky. Okay, maybe quirky isn’t the best word to describe Primus and maybe “legendary” would be a bit better suited but I’ve always found the sound of Primus to be a bit confusing, even challenging at times, and I love it. Primus has been doing their thing since 1984. Led by bassist/ vocalist Les Claypool Primus took the packed audience at The Ledge Amphitheater on a trip. With low lights and very little movement on stage other than guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde occasionally walking up and down stage and the seemingly random circle stomping of Les Claypool, Primus, like the previous two acts, was truly captivating. You can call them a prog-rock leaning metal band or even a funk metal band. Whatever you want to call them, their music, like their dark yet impactful performance, is something that catches you.

Their eleven song set and two-song encore was full of surprises and obvious track. From a cover of Rush’s “Cygnus X-1” to ending the encore with the tour debut of “Mr. Knowitall”, I feel like all of the Primus fans in the audience (which there were a lot of them) left the set completely satisfied and in an everlasting state of bliss. Sure, I may not be a huge Primus fan and there were moments throughout the set that frustrated because, musically, I just don’t always understand this band, but I will say that being lost in a sea of people who were holding their breath for every note added a special touch to a truly special night.

Everything about Friday night was perfect from the setting to the sounds to the people. It was one of those shows where I was truly just honored to be at and absolutely thrilled to be documenting. The audience was treated to the bombastic sounds of Too Many Zooz, the epicness of Coheed and Cambria, the legendary quirkiness of Primus and, most importantly, a presentation of passion and talent.

Line Up:

Too Many Zooz

Coheed and Cambria

Primus

Venue: The Ledge Amphitheater

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 35

Crowd Surfers- None Spotted

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing Spotted

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Too Many Zooz – 0

Coheed & Cambria – 6

Primus – 2

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Five For Fighting / Letters to Cleo

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