Customer Reviews

Primus - Hallucino-Genetics - Live 2004

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I finally got this DVD and watched it to bring in the New Year. I had read many of the Amazon reviews and was expecting it to be sub-par in quality. So I was surprised at how incredible this DVD was.

Most of the negative comments were based either on the setlist, the spacey jams, or the camera shots (ie: not enough Herb.)

Setlist- In my opinion, many of Primus' albums are kinda weak except for a handfull of songs (except Frizzle Fry whic is stellar from end-to-end), so this DVD was a near perfect song mix. Pachyderm, American Life, Rapskallion, Mud, Jerry...it was almost a compilation of all my favorites, followed by one of my all-time favorite albums.

Jams- The spacey jams are cool as hell. If I wanted 3-minute pop songs I would listen to NSYNC or some other horrific band. Primus lets these songs ebb and flow, build and break in a really tight fashion. The band imterplay is great. They are tight as hell, and yet there's still alot of improv going on. This is pretty rare in today's music as most bands are either tight and polished, or improv-jam oriented. Primus is probably the best combination of both. And then there's the boys incredible playing. Les is not only amazing as a bass player, but a totally compelling front man. Larry is a perfect compliment on guitar: shredding at times, and otherwise just losing himself in the groove. Herb is the solid and quirky base that holds them together. Anyone who says these guys are "mailing it in" is not watching the same band I just saw. These guys are passionate in every note.

What I REALLY don't understand is all the gripes about the camera-work. This video UNLIKE MOST, which are just a collage of closeups that jump perspective every 2 seconds, actually did a great job of capturing the live performance. The cameras stayed back and let us watch the projection screens, and the amazing lights, as well as letting us see the band as a whole. I think this is much nicer than endless closeups of peoples hands.

This is an absolute must-own for a Primus fan. Die-hard Primus snobs can complain about minutae ad nauseum, but for all the rest of us, this DVD is almost everything we could ask for.

I, being a bass player for two+ years, love Primus. So when I saw this DVD was coming out, featuring a set of overall great songs plus a whole set of arguably their best recording "Frizzy Fry", I simply jumped for joy. I bought it as soon as I could and popped it in.

After watching it, I now respect Primus as a band, and Les, Ler and Tim as individual musicians a hundred times more than I used to. It's undeniable Les is a bass god, but seeing his hand movements live is a whole `nother experience. And Ler...poor Ler. One of the most underrated guitarists EVER. Of course this is probably because he's overshadowed by Les, but don't think Ler is just there to back Les. He is one of the most innovative guitarists in the rock scene. He creates zany solos and crazy noises on this guitar, and every now and then just goes crazy. Watch his improvised solo on "Harold of the Rocks" and tell me he's not good. That's another thing about Primus live. Improvisation, improvisation! They stretch the standard length "American Life" into who knows how long, and they make it sound good! And now for Tim, who is an undeniably awesome drummer. I've always respected his work, but after seeing his long-ass live drum solo, I was dumbfounded. He's now one of my top 3 favorite drummers. Truly amazing stuff, which brings me to my next point...NOT ENOUGH CAMERA ANGLES! Especially on Tim. Just about the only camera angle on Tim is from behind, and even then it's hardly shown. Give us more Tim. But besides that, I can't really think of anything to gripe about.

The crowd is awesome in this DVD. Great response, everyone's getting into it, moshing here and there, etc. No complaints about that.

The first set list is pretty solid. But I really don't think "My Friend Fats" or "Rapscallion" belong on here, first of all because they're not exactly Primus favorites and second of all they don't even begin to compare to what could have been put on here. In their places anything from "Tommy the Cat" to "Shake Hands with Beef" to "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" would have been appropriate. Also, another complaint is the lack of anything from the Brain-years. I would have loved to see how Tim would improve upon Brain's drum lines, plus "The Brown Album" and "The Antipop" had some pretty darn good songs in my opinion. I mean, you can't deny the funkiness of "Shake Hands with Beef". And "Lacquer Head" is one of my favorite Primus tunes. But don't let this avert you-the other songs are choice. But the encore song, "The Pressman"...well that never really did anything for me. But I can't complain.

Primus live is truly an astounding experience. If you didn't like Primus before but you play an instrument, I highly recommend you pick this up. You still might not care for their music, but the quality of musicianship will be undeniably obvious.

I've seen Primus live several times over the years going back to '94 and have never seen them perform at the level as in this DVD. It's absolutely mind bending the scope of the musicianship displayed here. His time working with other musicians has really elevated his game to the level of Tony Levin and Trey Gunn. Herb is a monster and wowwww Ler I have never seen so on fire and as one with the rhythym section as displayed here. Every song is given extended workout jams which has my mouth agape in amazement.

Absolutely incredible Primus release. No way I can give this less than five stars. Two and a half hours of primal perfection.

My only complaint is that the camera work is not perfect..it's a small complaint but I would have liked to see more steady closeups of the fretwork and there are very few clear shots of Herb. Not enough for me to lower my rating a star.

Yes, it is true, this is one of the BEST concert DVD's I have ever seen! Great Quality compared to most music DVD's which are usually lacking... Just a great captured concert of one of the greatest bands ever playing all of their classics no less: PRIMUS SUCKS!

P.S. Get yerself an old 60's style television, tune it in so it's black and white, pop this sucker in... it'll blow your freekin' MIND holmes!

El dvd logra una puesta en escena impresionante... la musica envuelve hasta el mas insensible... en lo personal este no es el mejor momento de Primus musicalmente, (gusto totalmete personal) pero aun asi el estilo de ellos esta presentisimo y logran atmosferas unicas!!!
~Muy buena compra... Bunisima... leen español?? bueno, aprendan si no... yo leo perfecto el ingles!! y lo escribo..

I agree with the previous reviews in that there are limited camera angles but overall it was shot pretty well. Now I realize that the "Animals should not act like people" DVD was chock full of stuff and was a great example of what a DVD should be, but did that give them the excuse to give us nothing at all extra on this DVD? It's just the show and nothing more. In addition to that they decided to leave out the 15 minute or so comedy film about drug use that was shown during the break between set 1 & 2. The film was shot in the style of those old '50s & '60s anti-drug films like Reefer Madness but had more of a "Da smoke ain't so bad eh?" feel to it. Now granted there were clouds of "smoke" all over the venue I saw the show at (Seattle Seahawks Staduim Exhibition Center)so maybe it was made to appear funnier that it was but the crowd was laughing pretty hard during it. My point is with the total lack of any bonus material it would have been nice if they included this short film as well. So unless you caught the show live you will NEVER get to see it and it was pretty dang funny! Overall I give them an A for effort but in the end the lack of the short film and any extra material I give this one 3 stars. But I will say I loved the performance on this DVD and did not find the guys phoning it in at all.

Primus is one of my favorite bands and they are captured beautifully on this live concert dvd. Les Claypool is one of the greatest bassits ever. It is great to hear the original lineup. The songs sound as good as ever have and the performance is great. I wish the played a few more songs on the first set, but the Frizzle Fry Set is amazing too. John the Fisherman rules. Long Live Primus. MY NAME IS MUD!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

At this moment im in the middle of this Dvd and i must say, it is groundbreaking! Les, Larry and Tim are amazing live and they get through Frizzle Fry without any difficulty. I can safely say, this is a MUST have for any Primus fan, young or old. And with a price like this, its practicly a steal. Honestly get this DVD NOW!!!

I was much more impressed with this dvd than I ever expected to be. Well done, great mix of making you feel like you're part of the concert and still getting good shots of the band and being able to see whatever the hell it is les does to make his crazy/lovely sounds.

I am a huge Primus fan, I've been into them since Sailing the Seas of Cheese was released in 1991. I've seen many concerts of theirs, including their annual New Years Eve shows between 1995-1998. I even got to see one of their shows on the first leg of their tour where they played Sailing the Seas of Cheese in its entirety. The DVD catches the band playing Frizzle Fry, their other classic release, in its entirety during set 2.

OK, if you're a hardcore Primus fan like some of us are, you must have this DVD. They seem more interested in jamming than rocking out, but that's probably because Les Claypool's new group is more of a jam band than a hard rock act, and its inevitable that it would carry over onstage.

Frizzle Fry was great to witness in its entirety, but I wasn't into the new Primus songs on Set 1. The songs were good, but if Primus wants to play a concert reliving their greatest musical acheivements, what's the point in introducing the fans to new material? Primus fans would show up anywhere to see them play, with or without new material.

While the music is great, the DVD features itself are pretty basic. Fans looking for more DVD features should check out the "Animals Should Try Not To Act Like People" DVD/CD. Also, my best friend, a drummer, noticed there aren't alot of clips with Herb playing the drums.

I give this DVD 3 stars, mostly because of the Frizzle Fry set itself. More DVD features would give it a higher rating. I remember when the Primus tour was announced they had stopped performing for a few years, and the chance to see them one more time, let alone play one of their greatest albums in its entirety, was exciting and unbelievable. Halluino-genetics captures that moment. That alone bumps my review up from 3 stars to 4.

Diehard Primus fans will buy this, and if any of you out there in the mainstream are wondering about a cult band that has inspired numerous fans and future musicians, you might want to check this out too.