Les Claypool Was Eccentric as Ever at His Tuesday Show With Harrison and Belew

Music Hall at Fair Park hosted one of the most entertaining shows of the year Tuesday night when Colonel Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade and co-headliner Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew’s Remain in Light Tour joined forces on tour.

Harrison is an original member of Talking Heads and Adrian Belew, who played on the group’s classic  album Remain in Light, has been an in-demand guitarist for the who’s-who of rock: David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Nine Inch Nails, King Crimson and, of course, Talking Heads, among others. They were backed up by members of the band Cool Cool Cool.

Considering that Talking Heads will probably never reunite, it was a rare treat to hear original players performing the music of this beloved band.

Claypool joined the band late in the set donning a pig mask for a rendition of the song “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” a King Crimson song that Belew had a hand in writing.

The only complaint from this set was there wasn’t enough room to dance.

If the Island of Misfit Toys had a house band, it would be Colonel Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade.  It’s been 20 years since the Brigade hit the stage. The only other original member besides Claypool is Mike Dillon, best known in the Dallas scene for playing in Ten Hands and Punkadelic.

Joining this band of masterful misfits are a pair of famous sons: Sean Lennon, son of John, who absolutely shredded on guitar, and on keyboards was the son of Roger Waters, Harry Waters.

Paulo Baldi, a founding member of CAKE, finished off the bill on drums. Saxophonist Skerik was unable to make the tour.

After opening with some of the typically eccentric Claypool’s originals, the band got into the meat of their show, playing Pink Floyd’s Animals album in its entirety.

Pink Floyd is another beloved band that will not get back together, so hearing their songs live is always special. The Brigade played the album almost note-perfect with some Claypool bass embellishments. It was a real treat to hear this often-overlooked Floyd album. The sound got especially eerie and cool when Waters sang some of his father’s vocal parts. The band finished with more Claypool favorites and Les even played the song “Whamola” and dusted off the whamola, an electrified one-string bass derived from a washtub bass.

Hearing these classic albums live was a rare treat, a trend that seems to be picking up speed as other groups focus on specific albums over their whole bodies of work.

One could say this was one of the most epic tribute shows to take place in Dallas. For those that made it out on a Tuesday, it was a show they won’t forget.