Lake Trout, Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade and Galactic

February 2, 2001

The Riviera Theatre

Chicago, IL

I made the voyage down to Chicago for a Friday night show at the Riviera starring the diverse and fun billing of Lake Trout, Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade and Galactic.

The show was sold out and was already pretty crowded as we entered the theater. We found a decent spot on the first level of the floor and took in the Lake Trout set. Lake Trout is from the Baltimore area and has quite a buzz surrounding them right now. They played mostly instrumental ambient music during this short set with a few vocal tunes thrown in too. I like their overall feel, but the sound in the theater was a little too boomy at this point to make out the intricacies of their music. I think I would like to catch this band in a smaller setting where they can be appreciated more.

After a short break, Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade stormed the stage with a thundering version of the Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" into "With a Little Help From My Friends". This was a great opening combo mirroring the beginning of the "Sgt. Pepper" album. Les’ version of "Sgt. Pepper" was pretty close to the original with a few words changed here and there. Drummer Jay Lane took the "Ringo" vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends". Jay has a nice singing voice as it turns out and it would be nice to hear him sing more in his other band, Ratdog.

After this stirring opener the band played their way though a set of covers and Claypool originals that drew from Claypool’s Sausage and Holy Mackerel catalogs. The band was very tight and fun to watch interact. Dual guitarist Todd Huth and Eanor traded off on lead and rhythm to nice effect. Jeff Chimenti, also from Ratdog played solid keyboards all night long including some great solos. Also on board was Skerik on sax who is quickly rising to the top of my imaginary "musician I would most like to be stranded on a desert island with" list. Skerik also plays with Critters Buggin’, Ponga, Tuatara and many other cool configurations. Rounding out the lineup is leader, Les Claypool on bass. Claypool is of course best known for his work in Primus. I have never been a huge Primus fan, but I always respected Claypool’s bass playing. This outfit he has put together is to me, the perfect vehicle for Claypool’s talents. I had never really noticed the Paul McCartney influence on his bass playing before, but the more melodic tunes he plays in the Frog Brigade including the Beatles covers really showed this aspect of his influences.

Near the end of the set, which included a raucous version of Pink Floyd’s "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Les invited most of Galactic out on stage. The tag-team line-up launched in to a scorching version of another Beatles tune, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows". Jay Lane and Galactic drummer, Stanton Moore both beat out the distinctive Indian sounding raga that Ringo Starr played on the original version. The song and the set were over too soon, but I was left happy with the performance. I hope that Claypool keeps this band together, because they are really, really good right now and will only get better in time.

Galactic was up next and they did not disappoint. They tore through a tight set that touched on all aspects of their sound. Stanton Moore's drumming is the foundation of their music and he shined the whole night. Lead singer, the "Housman" joined the band several times for spirited versions of songs like "Century City" and a cover of Willie Dixon’s, "I Live the Life I Love, and I Love the Life I Live". It was sax/harmonica player Ben Ellman’s birthday and he seemed especially jovial. Skerik, who has subbed for Ellman on several Galactic tours, played with the band for most of the night also. Ellman and Skerik often traded off sax licks and seemed to be having a great time. Guitarist Jeff Raines was also on fire all night. He alternated between funky rhythm and dirty blues leads.

One great moment was a cover of Black Sabbath’s "Sweet Leaf" which was sung by "Houseman". A funk band playing a Black Sabbath song sung by a soul singer just cracked me up. I hope this song shows up on Galactic’s upcoming live album. Another cover of note was a very cool version of Jimi Hendrix’s "Third Stone from the Sun".

Throughout the night Galactic was joined by guests from both the Flying Frog Brigade and Lake Trout which added a lot to those songs. All of the bands seemed to be having a great time especially during this cross-pollination. This really was a great triple bill that was full of incredible talent all around. Catch Galactic while you can in nice small theaters because they are building up quite a following and deservedly so, they are one the tightest, funkiest, hardest working bands out there today.