Article and photos by Melodie Yvonne Ramey
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Les Claypool said loudly and proudly he was about to play the best song ever made. He meant what he said. What came next was the bastards. “Here come the Bastards” to be precise. They came in the music. They came in the mind bending bass playing performed by Claypool. They came slithering out of his mouth and across his lips riding the sound waves out toward the crowd and hovering there like heat waves just above an inferno.
All concerts are heaven to me, and have been since I was very young. I will have to say that the Primus shows I have been blessed to see are on the very best of the best list. That smoldering inferno Les Claypool creates with his incendiary music is where I always want to be. It’s never really been a question to me of IF I would buy a ticket when they come to Indy. The question is always will I get paid before they go on sale. I jumped online immediately the morning of ticket sales, and feverishly refreshed the screen so as to not be a second late. My obsessive refreshing paid off. I ended up scoring 2nd row right lower level! This is the first time I have had the pleasure of seeing Les Claypool’s unique and masterful performance at such a spectacular vantage point, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. They did revisit some of their classic songs before and after the main event, but this time it was definitely the middle set, the theatrical portion, which had me shivering with anticipation.
The main event to be performed at The Murat that evening was to be Primus and the Chocolate Factory. Primus released a beautiful rendition of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack last October. They married it with a stage show of equal caliber, and this was the phenomenal spectacle I was about to witness that night. I believe that choosing to return to the original version of the movie was a gift to Wonka fans everywhere who had been sorely disappointed by Tim Burton’s massacre. Les Claypool brought justice to remakes, and gave me a little more hope in this dismal world of reality shows and new editions.
The entire concert was phenomenal. Being that close to the stage, and watching Les Claypool play instruments with the stealthiness of a ninja assassin was unlike anything I have ever seen, nor do I think I ever will again. These moments are when it really comes in handy to be a photographer. Inevitably we all have to leave the concert and go back to the real world, and acknowledge that Les Claypool isn’t coming with us. I’d like to think, though, as long I do my job right, a little piece of him stays behind here in Indy with us. When those post-concert blues start sneaking up just hop on over to my website, put on your favorite Primus album, and sit back and chill with Les one more time before he hits the road.
So from here on out my name is Mud. Not to be confused with Bill or Jack or Pete or Dennis. My name is mud and it’s always been.
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Photo and video footage shot for Photographic Melodie by Melodie Yvonne Ramey. Shot with Sony Nex7
All footage copyright Melodie Yvonne Ramey and/or the performing artists. No usage is permitted beyond non-profit online sharing without written permission from Melodie Yvonne Ramey and/or the performing artist. Photos are not for commercial sale. It is ILLEGAL to sell concert photographs without the permission of the artist. It is ILLEGAL to use these photos for anything at all without permission from the photographer. Please send any and all inquiries of usage requests to melodie@photographicmelodie.com. Non-profit online sharing of images is permitted only when following these specific guidelines… images are NOT to be altered in any way. This includes, but is not limited to cropping, adding filters, removing color from, any other changes, and/or removing the watermark. Also absolutely no making money off of, and/or taking credit for my images as it is illegal, and makes me long for death.
Categories: Concert & Events Reviews, Concert, Theatre, and Performance, Concerts & Events, Concerts & Events 2015, Melodie Yvonne, Photo Reviews, Reviews
