For the first time in nearly two decades, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade reared its head for its first live performance since 2005. The oddball band took over the South Shore Room in Stateline, Nevada to kick off their extensive Summer Of Green tour. For this stint on the road, Claypool will be joined by Sean Lennon on guitar, Harry Waters on keys, Paolo Baldi on drums, and Mike Dillon on percussion. Saxophonist Skerik had to bow out cause of an injury, but will be replaced by special guests. Despite the 20-year gap in their touring history, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade is hitting the ground running with a setlist filled with classic covers and loved originals.
The most noticeable thing about last night’s setlist was that five of the fourteen songs performed were the eternity of Pink Floyd’s Animals. Not shocking to long-time fans of the Frog Brigade as this has become somewhat of a staple for the band but still impressive to see nonetheless. The band brought back another old favorite by kicking the show off with a cover of King Crimson’s “Thela Hun Ginjeet”. They reached into Claypool’s trusty songbook to cover songs from the his solo project/album Holy Mackerel by performing “Precipitation” and “Highball With The Devil”. The band also performed some originals from the sole studio album credited to the Frog Brigade, Purple Onion. They performed fan favorites from the LP like “Cosmic Highway”, “D’s Diner”, and “David Makalaster”. The band also brought out “Cricket and the Genie” (Movements 1 and 2) from The Claypool Lennon Delierium. You can check out the full setlist below.
Now that Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade got the ball rolling, they have no intentions of slowing down. This tour will have them jumping from state to state with some stops on the summer festival circuit like their gig at the Blue Note Summer Sessions in Napa, California on Friday (May 19). The band will then head to cities all over the country like Buffalo, Dallas, Phoenix, and Atlanta. Check out the full list of dates and check out some footage from last night’s show below;
Wednesday, May 17th – Stateline, NV – TBA venue ^
Friday, May 19th – Napa, CA – Blue Note Summer Sessions at TBA venue ^
Saturday, May, 20th – Santa Cruz, CA – Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium ^
Sunday, May 21st – San Diego, CA – Observatory North ^
Tuesday, May 23rd – Salt Lake City, UT – TBA venue ^
Wednesday, May 24th – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom ^
Friday, May 26th – Kansas City, MO – Grinders KC
Saturday, May 27th – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Music Festival
Sunday, May 28th – Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheater ~
Tuesday, May 30th – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom ~
Wednesday, May 31st – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! ~
Friday, June 2nd – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre ~
Saturday, June 3rd – Oak Hill, WV – Mountain Music Festival
Sunday, June 4th – Chattanooga, TN – TBA venue
Tuesday, June 6th – Richmond, VA – Brown’s Island *
Wednesday, June 7th – Raleigh, NC – Raleigh Memorial Auditorium *
Friday, June 9th – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit *
Saturday, June 10th – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern *
Sunday, June 11th – Columbia, SC – Township Auditorium *
Tuesday, June 13th – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park *
Wednesday, June 14th – Austin, TX – The Moody Amphitheater *
Friday, June 16th – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall Lawn *
Saturday, June 17th – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World *
Monday, June 19th – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre *
Tuesday, June 20th – Tampa, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino *
Thursday, June 22nd – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric %
Friday, June 23rd – Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre ~
Saturday, June 24th – Westbury, NY – NYCB Theatre [In The Round] ~
Monday, June 26th – Northampton, MA – The Pines Theater ~
Wednesday, June 28th – Portland, ME – State Theatre #
Thursday, June 29th – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway #
Saturday, July 1st – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival
Sunday, July 2nd – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed [Indoor] #
Monday, July 3rd – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre #
Friday, July 7th – Bonner, MT – Kettlehouse Amphitheater +
Saturday, July 8th – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park Live +
Sunday, July 9th – Forest Grove, OR – Grand Lodge +
Tuesday, July 11th – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live +
Thursday, July 13th – San Luis Obispo, CA – Madonna Inn +
Friday, July 14th – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern +
Saturday, July 15th – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren +
* Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew Remain In Light
^ Fishbone
~ Neal Francis
# Budos Band
+ Moon Duo
% W.I.T.C.H.
