Primus - Hallucino-Genetics - Live 2004

Rating:
Summary: like being hit over the head with a pile driver
Review: I've seen Primus live several times over the years going back to '94 and have never seen them perform at the level as in this DVD. It's absolutely mind bending the scope of the musicianship displayed here. His time working with other musicians has really elevated his game to the level of Tony Levin and Trey Gunn. Herb is a monster and wowwww Ler I have never seen so on fire and as one with the rhythym section as displayed here. Every song is given extended workout jams which has my mouth agape in amazement.

Absolutely incredible Primus release. No way I can give this less than five stars. Two and a half hours of primal perfection.

My only complaint is that the camera work is not perfect..it's a small complaint but I would have liked to see more steady closeups of the fretwork and there are very few clear shots of Herb. Not enough for me to lower my rating a star.

Rating:
Summary: primus's hallucino genetics tour
Review: I, being a bass player for two+ years, love Primus. So when I saw this DVD was coming out, featuring a set of overall great songs plus a whole set of arguably their best recording "Frizzy Fry", I simply jumped for joy. I bought it as soon as I could and popped it in.

After watching it, I now respect Primus as a band, and Les, Ler and Tim as individual musicians a hundred times more than I used to. It's undeniable Les is a bass god, but seeing his hand movements live is a whole `nother experience. And Ler...poor Ler. One of the most underrated guitarists EVER. Of course this is probably because he's overshadowed by Les, but don't think Ler is just there to back Les. He is one of the most innovative guitarists in the rock scene. He creates zany solos and crazy noises on this guitar, and every now and then just goes crazy. Watch his improvised solo on "Harold of the Rocks" and tell me he's not good. That's another thing about Primus live. Improvisation, improvisation! They stretch the standard length "American Life" into who knows how long, and they make it sound good! And now for Tim, who is an undeniably awesome drummer. I've always respected his work, but after seeing his long-ass live drum solo, I was dumbfounded. He's now one of my top 3 favorite drummers. Truly amazing stuff, which brings me to my next point...NOT ENOUGH CAMERA ANGLES! Especially on Tim. Just about the only camera angle on Tim is from behind, and even then it's hardly shown. Give us more Tim. But besides that, I can't really think of anything to gripe about.

The crowd is awesome in this DVD. Great response, everyone's getting into it, moshing here and there, etc. No complaints about that.

The first set list is pretty solid. But I really don't think "My Friend Fats" or "Rapscallion" belong on here, first of all because they're not exactly Primus favorites and second of all they don't even begin to compare to what could have been put on here. In their places anything from "Tommy the Cat" to "Shake Hands with Beef" to "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" would have been appropriate. Also, another complaint is the lack of anything from the Brain-years. I would have loved to see how Tim would improve upon Brain's drum lines, plus "The Brown Album" and "The Antipop" had some pretty darn good songs in my opinion. I mean, you can't deny the funkiness of "Shake Hands with Beef". And "Lacquer Head" is one of my favorite Primus tunes. But don't let this avert you-the other songs are choice. But the encore song, "The Pressman"...well that never really did anything for me. But I can't complain.

Primus live is truly an astounding experience. If you didn't like Primus before but you play an instrument, I highly recommend you pick this up. You still might not care for their music, but the quality of musicianship will be undeniably obvious.


Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: IM ONE OF THE BIGGEST PRIMUS FANS IN THE WORLD!

While some of these ppl brag they were at the show (whic I missed), they can't brag they SAW 5 OF THE SHOWS from the last 2 tours last year. and have severel other in lossless format.

That said, this is really the weakest of the shows i've seen. As a Live dvd, the 5.1 mix is uninspired. It's better than the stereo track but in no way recreates the power of being there. And it's not an impossible task, the Led Zepplin 2-dvd set proves that. It doesnt use the sound field at all, no reverb, little crowd reaction from the rear and bass response could be stronger. Basically you get no sense of the sound over powering you, flowing over you to the back, like the Zep discs do so amazingly. And just personally i wish Ler was turned down a little and les up a little, but that doesnt matter as much.

And Herb is not up to par. This bothers me more than the 5.1 mix. This is no doubt the weakest drum solo i've seen from him. PLus in many of the songs, the heavy drum parts... arent heavy. He plays them down to more simple versions. Like Pudding Time, the big double kick intro and outro, not there, just plays a more simple beat. It changes the song completely. And if you've listened to any recent renditions of Toys, he does this awesome triple kick beat matching the bass line and chokes the high hat with it (during the verses) and it sounds sooo bad ass, much heavier than the studio recording. Anyway, thats been the way he plays it for a while, and an improvement, AND ITS NOT HERE!

A minor complaint is that the photography is unattractive, but that what you get with those cameras and not a big production like Disaster Pieces, and the shots and moves are generally uninspired. Not a big deal, but you should know not to expect great visuals.

Again, I'm a HUGE fan, ONE OF THE BIGGEST! and hey I bought the dvd immideatly, but it's not that great. I've since listened to my live lossless recordings over my 5.1 system... and its WAAAAAAY better. If you can grab a couple of those instead, you will be way more satisfied.

But really, the price is right. If you want it, are a big fan, whatever, go ahead, just dont go freakout-fan boy like most of the other reviewers here and pretent its a 5 star DVD just because it's a 5 star Band.

Rating:
Summary: This is the Sh**
Review: OK, so i don't have the DVD yet (think X-mas); but I was at this show in June and it rocked all over. If I can imagine one of their shows going on DVD this is the one. Les and the guys where as tight yet as loose as they've been, and the Aragon has awesome accoustics.

Rating:
Summary: Primusrocks!
Review: Primus live is cool any day. If you have Netflix and want to try this out before you buy it, Netflix has it for rent.

Rating:
Summary: correction
Review: Primus. What an incredibly musically talented band. 40 year old jazz purists just scratch their head at this band, especially with Mr. Claypool's ridiculously talented bass playing. Let me just put it this way...this DVD will make you want to go see primus, buy all their records, and see the DVD again in an altered state of consciousness (which it practically puts you in one). Music fans everywhere rejoice and buy this DVD


Rating:
Summary: almost perfect
Review: The first set on this DVD is utterly mind blowing. Sgt. Baker gets the crowd going very nicely with Les yelling "Left! Right! Left!" and American Life gets a *beautiful* reworking for the breakdown in the middle of the song, you immediately realize that these guys are ridiculously talented to create such organic and smooth flowing atmospheres with just a bass, guitar, and drums. What put me over the top was the song My Friend Fats, I just kept on saying "omg omg OMG this is insanely awesome!" Those three songs alone are worth purchasing the DVD, I've never felt so blown away by a music DVD. So why 4 stars?

The video quality is very rich in some shots, and in other shots it looks a little grainy, the camera shots in some songs are great showing the band play from various angles around the concert hall, and the angle transitions are great with fade in and fade outs. The one thing I have beef with is the recording volume of Les' singing. He uses two mikes with one of the mikes having his voice a little scratchy and high pitched, and this mike sounds like it needs to be turned up a couple notches. The drums, bass, and guitar simply overpower his voice and it's difficult to hear his great lyrics on a few songs. Also, this dvd has no specail features at all, I would have liked to see some back stage outtakes of the guys preparing for a show or maybe an interview or anything really, but 2.5 hours of concert footage makes up for this.

There are a couple funny surprises during the show as well but I won't spoil them, Les is a pretty funny guy! I would definately recommend you pick this dvd up, with such a great price for 2.5 hours of excellent music you can't go wrong with live Primus.

Rating:
Summary: More Tim Herb shots
Review: The show is awesome, specially the second set, wich is full of energy and the good ol' Primus i missed for long time. watching this guys playing the whole Fryzle Fry album brings good memories. Tim didnt get enough camera time, a real shame, cause he's an excellent drummer. At first, set one could be a little dissapointing but when they star playing To Defy The Laws Of Tradition the show became magnificent.

If you are a true fan of Primus should own this, Also recomemnded: Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People.