Trey Anastasio, Les Claypool & Stewart Copeland Debut Oysterhead On This Date In 2000

On May 4, 2000 the Saenger Theater in New Orleans hosted the debut of Oysterhead, a supergroup featuring Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland. The trio presented a mix of originals they had written along with a handful of choice covers. A soundboard surfaced in the years after the concert and can be streamed below.

The band and concert came together after New Orleans promotion company Superfly asked Claypool to form a band for a one-off gig to be held as part of their Superfly Presents series during the 2000 Jazz Fest season. Les called Trey and the pair recruited Stewart Copeland for the gig. The trio worked up original material including “Mr. Oysterhead,” “Rubberneck Lions” and “Pseudo Suicide” for their 10-song main set in New Orleans. Oysterhead encored with covers of “Immigrant Song,” “Israelites,” “All Day & All Of The Night” and “House Of The Rising Sun” for a capacity crowd that reportedly included Francis Ford Coppola and Matt Groening.

After the successful gig in New Orleans, the band went on to record an album entitled The Grand Pecking Order they released and toured behind in 2001. Oysterhead reunited for a set at Bonnaroo 2006 and then returned after a 14-year layoff for a pair of shows at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on February 14 and 15, 2000. The trio had more gigs planned this year but have postponed or canceled a number of them due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Stream audio of Oysterhead’s live debut shared by Whoaduderighteous:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

SET 1: I Am Oysterhead [1], Mr. Oysterhead[1], Jam > Rubberneck Lions[1], Owner of the World[1], Happiness in My Pants[1], Wildwood Weed [2] > Sinkin’ Down[1], Pseudo Suicide[1] ENCORE: Immigrant Song[2], The Israelites[2], All Day and All of the Night[2], House of the Rising Sun[2]

• [1] Debut.
• [2] Oysterhead debut.

This debut Oysterhead performance was part of the “Superfly Presents” annual series that runs concurrent the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Owner of the World was dedicated to Fish, who ran on stage and bowed. Pseudo Suicide included quotes of Jerry Was a Race Car Driver and Reba. All three musicians wore white jumpsuits for this performance. As this was the first public performance of Oysterhead, all songs were Oysterhead debuts.

[Originally Published: May 5, 2017]