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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2006)
Clackamas Print Entertainment Wednesday, June 7, 2006 9 Highball with Les Claypool JHE D-Fñu fiyo Stalnaker By Jeff Sorensen I^E Editor IK On the evening of Friday, June I sat in the bar at the Roseland beater in downtown Portland with »partner in hedonism, E.E. West ejust finished a shot of Bushmills ¡th a Fat Tire chaser and were iSÄ 1 lllll IW 1 ‘ ‘/‘J g * SI i i 'fi • 1 ? - 1 1.1L. à B w ». w W WSI ir | ì '1 jting for the concert to begin. ie concert was none other than 5 Claypool (of Primus fame), e of the greatest bass players of time. While in the bar, West and I ;re surrounded by freaks, goons, [[oom-heads, tweekers, stoners (¡belligerent drunks. They too je waiting for Claypool’s pat ted bass grooves and narrative ii-talk lyrics. We fit right in, dally West. He was adorned a hat that looked like a cross ween something one might find a Dr. Suess book and a giant alius. Suddenly, after an attractive 39- ar-old married woman told me ® sexy but I needed to lose :ight, the concert began. West il quickly went upstairs to the ¡yhem. He was still laughing out my awkward flirtations with married woman and I was still ling from it. The concert floor was packed id filled with the scents of ichouli, sweat and pot smoke, ¡st and I maneuvered our way ough the crowd to get closer the stage and witness the Bass aster General firsthand. There Claypool was, slapping his il Thompson piccolo bass amidst Internet Graphic Les Claypool’s latest album is “Of Whales and Woe.” Claypool played at the Roseland Theater on June 2 as part of the album tour. More information can be found at www.lesclaypool.com. two percussionists, a saxophonist and a sitar player. They were play ing “Highball with the Devil” from Claypool’s first solo record of the same name. The music sent a wave of euphoria through me like inhal ing a cigarette for the first time ... ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FINISH YOUR DEGREE AT MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY •Exciting field studies •Innovative instructors and motivated students • Hands-on experience in small classes •One-on-one mentoring •Custom degree plan option • Practical and relevant coursework or it just could have been the booze I had earlier. Whatever it was, the music sounded brilliant and I knew the best was yet to come. Also, West and I needed another beer. While chugging down more Fat Tire, West and I watched and lis tened to Claypool on the projection screen conveniently placed in the bar. He was playing songs from his new album “Of Whales and Woe.” I must say I was impressed. While they weren’t as good as the songs on his “Live Frogs” albums, they were still a pleasure to listen to. These songs, and the rest of the set, sounded like a mixture of neo psychedelic prog-rock, jazz fusion and p-funk with a taste of India (courtesy of the sitar). What happened next was sim ply stunning. West and I sat in awe as the two percussionists went head to head in a battle for eternal glory. One of them had a full drum kit with a double-bass pedal and the other had a smaller drum kit with marimbas, congo drums and a xylophone. The sound they were creating was very tribal and per fectly timed. After a few minutes of watching this epic showdown, West and I decided to head back upstairs. We made it back just in time to see the percussion battle’s finale. Claypool came back on stage while the crowd roared. West and I were applauding as well and decided to join the mosh pit - which was later dubbed the “love pit” by a fan that we believe had too much hallucinogens for the evening... or not enough. •Scholarships for transfer students • Free parking and a convenient campus location Summer term starts June 26th To work with an advisor, e-mail studentinfo@marylhurst.edu or call 503.699.6268. *US News & World Report BEST COLLEGES 2006 "Number one in the Northwest for small classes" MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY NST 10 MINUTES SOUTH OF PORTLAND Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredited l7«00 PACIFIC HIGHWAY (HWY. 43) MARYLHURST, OREGON Irving students since 1893. www.marylhurst.edu 800.634.9982 After knocking each other senseless in the “love pit” for a few songs, West and I headed back downstairs to take some interviews ... and more booze. West and I sat down with our drinks and spoke to Lindsay, a concert-goer who was enjoying the show but was upset that the open ing act Rasputina, a “cello-rock” trio, didn’t show up. “There is something terribly wrong when an opening act doesn’t show up and nobody says any thing,” Lindsay said in-between drags of a cigarette she bummed from me. After speaking with the dejected Lindsay we spoke with the grinning Beth seated at the table behind us. Beth was sporting a Buckethead t-shirt and eyes more glazed then a box of Krispy Kremes. “I love it! It’s great!” she said smiling widely. “Primus was my first concert ever — Lollapalooza ’93 in Minneapolis!” Once the show was over, West and I-headed outside to meet up with our fellow Clackamas Print writer N.P. Delzell, who was pick ing us up. We almost walked over to a felony police stop that was in progress. Our journalistic instincts told us we should, but the alcohol in our heads said it was a bad idea. On the way home, when Delzell wasn’t holla’n at girls standing out side of The Voodoo Lounge and The Noche, I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing -the concert was or staring at West’s hat. It wasn’t the greatest concert experience I’ve ever had, but it comes damn close. Stereotypes come in all shapes and sizes. Men are arrogant and stupid, women are shallow and vain, African Americans are good at bas ketball and white people can’t dance unless they’re gay. The stereotype about video gamers is that we’re all great at math, socially clueless, vastly overweight and can’t attract a woman to save our lives. Well, as a video gamer myself that notion is very offensive. The stereotypes just aren’t true at all ... it so happens I hate math! I believe that many stereo types can be overcome if a person is willing to work to correct them. So with that in mind, I want to offer to my gaming friends a few good ways to get off their butts and come out of their dungeons during the summer months while thane’s plenty of free time and dry weather The arcade, for starters, seems like the perfect place for some social interaction without taking the gamer too for out of his comfortable environment (well'... minus the broadband and a headset). And the cost of most of the local arcades is pretty minimal, so a decent gamer would be able to kill a good few hours on only $5 or less. The “social interaction” part is important though, so make sure you bring a friend, cousin, little sibling—anybody, really, that counts as a warm, intelligent human being. The value of human interaction does not have to be lost on a person just because they play video games, and although I’m not offended by that ste reotype, it’s still, like, really dumb. The movies are another great way to get in some qual ity human-to-human time without having to stretch too far out of a gamer’s own com fort zone. Most movie theaters in the area have a student rate, so it doesn’t cost as much to see a flick if you have your student ID card bandy. Again, the “social” part is important, so be sure to IM some friends or leave a message on their MySpace inviting them to join in the adventures outside of the cave. Movie theaters mean dark rooms, large high-resolu tion screens and funny smells ... it’s just like home. My whole point here is that nobody has to conform to a stereotype if they don’t want to. Once a gamer realizes which stereotypes are true of them, it becomes a personal decision to remain a part of that stereotype or to step outside of what’s expected of them and do something they know is healthy. Something like going outside, talking to girls, getting a job (or showering) ... some thing that lets the world know “Yes, I play video games, but I’m a person too!” There are lots of new expe riences available to gamers this summer, and it’s important that we, as a people, do everything we can to make sure we don’t become just another stereo type. So - for God’s sake - get up, turn off the console every couple days and go outside. Nerd. thedpad@gmail.com CLAYPOOL
