Watch Primus Perform Rush’s ‘A Farewell To Kings’ Album At Tour Opener In Idaho

Primus returned to the stage on Tuesday at Boise, Idaho’s Ford Idaho Center to kick off their A Tribute To Kings tour. The trio performed all of Rush‘s A Farewell To Kings album after focusing on original material at the start of the night.

Bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander opened their first concert in front of an audience since November 30, 2019 with “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” from 1991’s Sailing The Seas Of Cheese. Next up was “Mr. Knowitall” and “Groundhog’s Day” from their 1990 debut LP, Frizzle Fry. Then, “Fisticuffs” represented 1997’s Brown Album before the trio worked through title tracks “Seas Of Cheese” and “Frizzle Fry.”

Primus closed the pre-A Farewell To Kings portion of their show by pairing staples “My Name Is Mud” and “Over The Electric Grapevine.” The band then played all six tracks from Rush’s famed 1977 studio album as wild imagery was displayed behind them. Les Claypool recently revealed he was “learning from the master,” as he posted a photo in which he was joined by Rush bassist Geddy Lee.

Claypool’s lessons from Geddy paid dividends with Les powering through both the vocals and bass parts of A Farewell To Kings. The crowd seemed particularly jazzed when Primus lit into “Closer To The Heart,” the most well-known song from the Rush LP. Les, Larry and Tim stuck close to the original throughout A Farewell To Kings which ended with a 12-minute “Cygnus X-1,” the lone song from the album Primus had previously covered.

Primus left the stage following “Cygnus X-1.” The band then returned to conclude the evening with an encore featuring beloved classics “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” and “Southbound Pachyderm.” The tour continues through October 25. Next up is a concert at Kettlehouse Amphitheater in Bonner, Montana tonight.

Check out fan-shot video featuring Rush’s A Farewell To Kings performance captured by longhairgreg below:

Setlist