When Les Claypool comes around, you need to head the call. The bassist extraordinaire is a must see show. I've experienced a few iterations of Claypool's bands throughout the years (with highlights going to Primus and The Claypool Lennon Delirium), so I was ecstatic when saw that he was coming to The Salt Shed, this time as the Colonel Claypool with his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Having not performed under this moniker in 20 years, this show had a lot to live up to and did so with ease.

Joining them as openers were The Budos Band, a band I'm very familiar with especially with their long list of backing band credits for Daptone artists like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. The band themselves though are as mighty as they come, mixing a myriad of genres into a beautiful instrumental set that had the crowd dancing their butts off. Psychedelic edges with jazzy sections leading into funky vibes all stretched across a strong Afro-Soul base made for an easily enjoyed set from the talented band that filled the wide Salt Shed stage.

Then it came time for the main event. The stage decorated in huge banners of striped military greens and army stars at the top fit the band theme to a tee. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" roared over the speakers as the ever rotating Fearless Flying Frog Brigade made their way tot heir stations. Everyone was dressed in some military outfits (including a few pith helmets here and there) with the exception of Colonel Les Claypool donning stripes and plaid, a more traditional Claypool garb. Joined by a whole new band including Sean Lennon on guitar, Harry Waters on keys, and Paolo Baldi on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion and Frank Catalano on the sax for a few tracks, The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade soared once again.

The band originally was meant to feature another original member of the band, saxophonist Skerik, but an injury prevented him from going on tour. Nonetheless the Brigade trudged on and put on exactly what you would expect from them: a weird and fantastic set of covers and originals that blended together into a wondrous cacophony.

After the King Crimson cover "Thela Hun Ginjeet", Claypool made it abundantly clear, this was gonna be a fun one. The set touched upon every little island in the Claypool world. They played the entirety of Frog Live Set 2 which in it of itself is a cover of Pink Floyd's album Animals. Solo Claypool songs like "Amanitas" and "Precipitation" from the Holy Mackeral Project got spotlight. It was all a great mishmash of songs that of course worked well together as Claypool's presence oozed across them all .

With Lennon in to we also got a performance of "Blood and Rockets: Movement I, Saga of Jack Parsons / Movement II, Too the Moon". Lennon of course has been Claypool's faithful collaborator since 2015 when the began recording The Claypool Lennon Deliruim album Monolith of Phobos. Maybe my memory is failing, but I distinctly remember the duo disappointingly being billed as a one off project. But their subsequent EP (Lime and Limpid Green), album (South of Reality), and now the addition of Lennon into the rotating cast of the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade has been a true pleasure. Lennon jammed out throughout the night hidden beneath his pilot's hat and flowing locks, never letting any of that intensity waver.

Claypool, as always, was a delight and marvel to watch. Of course his onstage antics or little twirling jigs and and steadfast poses are fun and genuinely energized the die hard crowd. But it's seeing him actually play his bass that is the true wonder Virtuoso barely seems to cut as his bass fill the body of the songs with heft that keep them stuck in your head.

Most of my previous experiences with Claypool have been at festivals, so to see a much more concentrated version of his sound was a treat. his fans too seemed more focus, something that Claypool certainly noticed as he pointed one of the few audience members donning a mini diorama on his head. The lack of full on crazy cosplays that would be the norm at an outdoor fest were absent, but the dedication was there all the same both on and off a stage. The show concluded with "Whamola" and "Cosmic Highway" for Purple Onion before ushering everyone out to a recording of Pure Imagination, letting everyone drift away from the Salt Shed a little bit higher thanks to the influence of The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade.