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Oysterhead much more than leftover Phish
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 11/12/2001
LOWELL - The Phish tribes descended on Tsongas Arena Saturday, looking to catch Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio's latest project, Oysterhead. It's a grass-roots ''supergroup'' with bassist Les Claypool (of Primus fame), and drummer Stewart Copeland (formerly of the Police). The talent speaks for itself, and despite a few rough spots, the music did not disappoint. Fans had to wait up to 45 minutes outside while dealing with the rigorous security checks that are a sad fact of life since Sept. 11. But once inside, the sold-out, 7,000-plus crowd - the largest on Oysterhead's debut tour - heard a band that rocked harder than expected (definitely harder than its album, ''The Grand Pecking Order'') and suggested a bright future if they can keep it going. (Anastasio will release a solo album next year and tour next summer as a solo act, which would appear to put Oysterhead, and Phish, on hold.) Oysterhead has played some cover songs on tour (including The Who's ''My Generation'' and Led Zeppelin's ''Immigrant Song''), but stuck solely to Oysterhead tunes in Lowell. However, they extended some with new jams and twists that put more fire in them, thanks especially to Copeland, whose presence has grown since the songs were recorded rather spontaneously in Anastasio's barn in Burlington, Vt. Copeland still has the difficult task of merging the two distinct styles of Anastasio's hippie-psychedelia and Claypool's eccentric, funk-bottom grooves - but he is now doing it with more authority. Copeland basically took the band and drove it like an express train, unleashing a rhythmic torrent that dwarfed almost anything he did in the Police. After composing artsy film scores in recent years, Copeland seemed ecstatic to be rocking again. This felt more like a true ensemble show, rather than the bits-and-pieces feel of the CD. The show started aggressively with ''Pseudo Suicide'' (with Zeppelin-like soloing by Anastasio) and ''Owner of the World,'' which went from a John Lee Hooker boogie to a Dead-like jam. That was followed by the tongue-in-cheek ''Army's on Ecstasy'' (''It's hard to kill the enemy on 'ol MDMA,'' Anastasio sang wryly) and Claypool's satirical ''Grand Pecking Order.'' Some of the show got too cutesy (''Rubberneck Lions'') but it was a solid, thumbs-up performance overall. ''Oz is Ever Floating'' paid homage to psychedelic researcher Dr. John C. Lilly, and ''Wield the Spade'' had Anastasio playing his custom guitar with antlers on it (he calls it ''the Matterhorn'') to trippy effect. And opening act Lake Trout played a set with a musical scope that mirrored Oysterhead's own adventurousness.
This story ran on page B9 of the Boston Globe on 11/12/2001.

Oysterhead Takes Aw-Shucks
View of Rock Stardom
By ISAAC GUZMAN
Daily News Feature Writer

From Cream to Asia to Damn Yankees, the supergroup has had a sketchy history in the annals of rock. But the uber-jam band Oysterhead hopes to deflect any criticism by refusing to take itself too seriously. Comprised of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool and ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland, the group is something of a busman's holiday for its otherwise busy members. Copeland, who now has a career writing film scores, claims it has a "school's-out-for-summer" mentality. "It's a very exciting prospect to completely change everything about my life and become a rock star for a month," he says. "I'm very much enjoying being a semi-pro rocker." The band has released an album, "The Grand Pecking Order," and plays two soldout shows at the Roseland Ballroom tomorrow and Wednesday. While the Police were renowned for their tightly arranged compositions, Oysterhead's tendency to sprawl into improvisation took some getting used to for Copeland. "It's a balance between reaching for the stars and going way out there and getting there with real fuel, rather than vapor," says Copeland, who plays stern taskmaster to the others' inspired goofiness. "Trey's got his hand on the steering wheel, but I've got my foot on the throttle." Copeland also had to deal with a new era in star-fan relationships, especially with the many Phish devotees who flock to the shows. Jam-band enthusiasts expect their heroes to be down to earth, not preening snobs. "They treat their fans with a lot more respect than we used to in olden times," Copeland says. "In my day, part of your job as a rock star was to have a funny hairdo and wear clothes that nobody else would be caught dead in. Nowadays, you're supposed to walk onstage looking pretty much like the kids in the front row." As for the Police, Copeland had predicted there would be another mini-reunion at Sting's planned 50th birthday party last month, but the fete was canceled after the Sept. 11 attacks. At Sting's 1992 wedding, a few stiff drinks inspired the trio to blast through some classics. "The last time the three blond heads were in the same room and Champagne was flowing, we ended up playing 'Roxanne' and a couple other songs," he says. "It would have been very likely for such a thing to have happened at this party. We only play weddings and bar mitzvahs now."

Sucking Oysters
Watching Stewart Copeland, Les Claypool and Trey Anastasio take the stage in front of a sold-out Utica Memorial Auditorium on Nov. 9 proved an experience both surreal and infuriating. Comprising the first supergroup in years, Oysterhead is an unexpected mix of musicians from The Police, Primus and Phish.
        The recorded result of drawing from such disparate bands, Grand Pecking Order (Elektra), can't equal even the worst of their original bands' output, and Oysterhead's live show was only slightly more entertaining. The album's compositions mostly reflect the Primus sound, with Claypool handling the majority of vocals and slapping his way on bass around Anastasio's guitar noodling. On drums, Copeland managed to avoid playing the same beat two measures in a row. But the sound was spastic and grew quickly tiresome. While the songs carried a heavy Primus influence, the jams were clearly a product of Anastasio's frenetic brain: Each song featured a foray into the vast seas of improvisation.
        Sadly, the band could barely tread water. Perhaps bogged down by Copeland's love for structure, the band's collective improvisation was little more than rudimentary mimicking. Anastasio enjoyed his guitar-hero role, playing the kind of solos only an egomaniac could be comfortable with. (Before the tour kicked off, Copeland, the former Police man, reportedly voiced objections about the extension of the songs into the Phish realm, but he was outvoted by Anastasio and the increasingly jammy Claypool).
       Occasionally the band branched out, with Copeland manning a second percussion set, riddled with chimes and bells and nontraditional drums, while Anastasio played his new Matterhorn guitar, replete with a connection used to control feedback. Although interesting at first, this likewise became tiresome and almost painful to listen to. The one highlight was "Radon Balloon," which featured the band focused and in tune, playing a clearly rehearsed song flawlessly. Finishing the show with Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" only made matters worse; it was not bad enough that fans of Phish, Primus and the Police were let down, but also fans of the mighty Zep felt used. A great concept in theory but a train wreck in practice, Oysterhead offered further proof that supergroups aren't always so super.

--Brian Daignault

Sorry Brian, Maybe your dream supergroup of the 1/3 New Kids on The Block, 1/3 Banana Rama, and 1/3 Right Said Fred will be around soon. But until then suck it up and learn to notice real talent when it's biting you in the Daignaults.

Intense Performances at Oysterhead
By DOMINIC PERELLA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Trey Anastasio had just wrapped up yet another howling, finger-flying guitar solo and the audience at Washington's Constitution Hall was still clearing its ears when bassist Les Claypool turned toward him from across the stage. ``That was some fancy guitar playing, Trey,'' Claypool said as the audience roared. ``You are a fancy man.'' How true. Anastasio, the longtime Phish guitarist, can lose focus during his sometimes long, meandering solos. Not so at Friday night's Oysterhead concert, a ripping affair that showed Anastasio, Claypool of Primus notoriety and drummer Stewart Copeland of Police fame - technical wizards all - in top form. It was the third-to-last date in the debut tour for Oysterhead, a band born in May 2000 when Claypool, Anastasio and Copeland came together for a night of jamming in New Orleans. It was meant to be a one-time gig, but the three were so pleased with the result that they got back together this spring to cut a studio album, ``The Grand Pecking Order,'' released last month. For Police fans who showed up Friday hoping to hear melodic prog-rock or Phish enthusiasts seeking that band's airy jamming, the Oysterhead experience was no doubt a shock: The full-on rock show was complete with head-banging rhythms and ear-splitting decibels. Anastasio let fly with fast, complex riffs and heavy chords throughout and Copeland, who hadn't played drums in more than a decade, showed no rust, keeping things moving with powerhouse playing and lovely cymbal work.
Anastasio and Copeland's intensity, combined with Claypool's always funky, dark bass lines, transformed non-standout album tracks like ``Psuedo Suicide'' and ``Oz is Ever Floating'' into loud, dirty, impressive rock and roll.
The show's only slower points came when Anastasio and Claypool delved into the bizarre on-stage antics both so clearly enjoy. ``Shadow of a Man'' was perhaps the best example - woe to the concertgoer who arrived late to find Anastasio screeching on a guitar covered in enormous antlers and Claypool stalking slowly around the darkened stage, moaning about Vietnam and wearing bright lightbulbs on his face like 100-watt eyeballs. ``Wield the Spade'' also started oddly, with Copeland standing behind his drum kit, holding a mirror and screaming, ``There are many fools who dare propose imposing limits on my power!'' But even ``Spade'' picked up speed; turning into another arena-rock style tour de force, and the sold-out crowd was thrashing around like a Metallica (news - web sites) audience. A Claypool electric bass-banjo solo and a pretty Anastasio acoustic tune, ``Birthday Boys,'' also added variety to the nearly two-hour performance.
When the trio came out for their encore, Claypool drew laughs by pointing out several people sitting down in their seats up front and offering them packets of herbal tea as a pick-me-up. But it was a tribute to Oysterhead's intensity that they were just about the only ones sitting - and by the time the reverb came down to close a fast, tight version of ``Mr. Oysterhead,'' they were on their feet too.