House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
I try to catch at least one show per tour, Les Claypool that is. Been doing it for a while and after seeing his new incarnation of the Frog Brigade a road trip seemed logical for me. After the schedule was posted and Santa Cruz being a virtual lock based solely on the close proximity, something else jumped right off the screen, Las Vegas. After asking a couple friends if this is something that was interesting to them, and receiving wavering feedback, I decided to go solo. A while later it was booked, tickets were bought, a room was booked and some money was saved for a weekend of Les and some gambling. After arriving at Mandalay Bay, I ran to my room like a little kid, dropped off all my shit and headed downstairs to case out the joint. The House of Blues was easy to find located on the other side of the casino with a stones throw away from the Sports Book, I was in heaven. To set this up even more both shows were to start at midnight and just down the street at the Thomas & Mack Center. Trey Anastasio was in town playing "early" shows on both nights as well.
After breaking even for a couple hours and noticing the "night crowd" start to trickle in to the casino, it's time. A quick change in the room and back downstairs to get in line and soak in the show. Got there at about 11:30 or so and waited in line, finally opened the doors at about 12:30 and grabbed a beer and assumed my spot on the floor. I was really excited to say the least, this band had hit it's stride and was rolling out some great covers and the originals were seamless. The band was rolling with Eenor on guitar, Skerik on saxophone, Newly added Mike Dillon on all things percussion, and Dean Johnson on drums filling in for Jay Lane. The show started out with David Makalaster and things were off, always a catchy tune with the pirate influenced chanting and Skerik getting to do his thing. Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Ding Dang were next and them the switch to the upright Long in the Tooth and the always surf oriented Hendershot. For all intensive purposes it was a above average Les show with some great soloing between Les and the musician of his picking. Then things changed! Les threw on the helmet and went into Space Oddity by none other than David Bowie. I'm sitting there with a huge grin on my face and can't believe what I am hearing. It was incredible and the best version to date. Towards the end Dean Johnson took a small break and Skerik started something that sounded way too familiar to me, Here Come the Bastards, of days gone by. I figure it's just a tease and enjoy it for what it's worth, then Tim Alexander graced the stage and joined in on the drums that later went into Thela Hun Ginjeet where Peter Apfelbaum jumped on stage for som sax duties. In between a little tease the show truly hit it's high point when Stuart Copeland emerged and joined Mike Dillon and Tim Alexander for the end of Thela. Up next to help close the show Les did a couple of Oysterhead songs, Pseudo Suicide and Mr.Oysterhead. The show ended with Thela Hun Ginjeet and the night was over. WOW!
So it's now 3:30 in the morning, I just got out of the show and decided to plug 20 bucks into the slot machines order a beer and take mental notes as to what the hell I just saw. First thing was the band was amazing. Mike Dillon on vibes is really a whole new twist and gives Les more direction to go. Skerik and Eenor together is pure chaos and at times I wonder who has the guitar and who is playing sax? Dean Johnson on drums was very heavy and crisp. It was a great first night and a ton of fun. It all starts again tommorrow and topping it should be pretty tough.
