Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade
with Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew
Hard Rock Event Center, Tampa, Florida • June 20, 2023
by Bob Pomeroy
It was a night for remaining in light and staying in the shadows, when Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade and Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew took over the Hard Rock Event Center on June 20. It was the final night of the band’s co-headlining gigs on the Summer of Green Tour. The enthusiastic crowd were delivered diverse sets that included Talking Heads classics from Harrison and company and a world of psychedelic mayhem from the Frog Brigade.
Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew, touring with their Remain in Light show, opened the evening’s festivities with a funky version of “Psycho Killer.” Mike Dillon and Sean Lennon from the Frog Brigade joined the band on the next song, “Crosseyed and Painless.” From there, the band plowed through a selection of the Talking Heads’ more up-tempo and rhythmically adventurous songs.
The Remain in Light tour focused on the time right after release of Remain in Light, when the Talking Heads expanded their lineup to include extra keyboards, extra bass, more percussion, and of course Adrian Belew on guitar. Harrison and Belew recreated the excitement of that expanded lineup without trying to sound like a carbon copy. The lead vocals got passed around enough that I lost track of who was singing at times. Highlights of the set included “I Zimbra,” “One in a Lifetime,” and, of course, “Take Me to the River.” Harrison played “Rev It Up” from his solo work, and Belew played “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” from his time with King Crimson.
After an intermission where the crowd was treated to Spike Jones on the sound system, it was time for the Frog Brigade.
From the moment Les Claypool and company took stage, you could see things were going to be different. While Sean “Shiner” Lennon sang “Up on the Roof,” it became obvious that this band wasn’t about hogging the spotlight. Their light show purposely kept the players in shadow above their instruments. After that first song, Claypool confronted Shiner about his desire to play a show without his hat on. The men exchanged some banter about hats, with Claypool telling the crowd that they might just talk about silly things all night. In the end, Les put the question to the audience: hat or no hat for Sean? The vote was for no hat.
The Frogs did not spend the night chatting on stage. This tour is the first time in 20 years that the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade has convened to dose the world with an eclectic serving of psychedelic fantasies. They treated the Hard Rock audience to a selection of tunes from across the Claypool canon. When Mike Dillon went to town on the vibes, it brought a Zappaesque feel to the proceedings, and Sean Lennon’s fine guitar ranged from intricate melodies to lush atmospherics. Of course, no one else sounds like Les Claypool.
The middle section of the show was devoted to Pink Floyd’s Animals album. The Frogs played the entire album, shifting the tone and texture of the show from Claypool funkiness to Floyd’s dreamy psychedelia.
The second half of the set returned to the funkier sounds. They came out of Animals with “Precipitation” and “Hendershot” originally done by Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel. After what felt like an impromptu piano solo of “Maple Leaf Rag,” the set came to a close with the Primus song “Southbound Pachyderm.” Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew joined the Frog Brigade for an extended jam on “Pachyderm,” and I heard Adrian Belew’s distinctive guitar but couldn’t see him because of the intentionally shadowy lighting design. It sounded great, though. After a brief break, the Frog Brigade came back to close a magical night of music with “Whamola.” ◼
