Les Claypool's Duo De Twang 10.11.13

Gothic Theater
Englewood, CO

Words & Photos By J-man

It was a chilly evening in Englewood, CO, a little ways down Broadway from Denver. The line out front of the Gothic Theater was sizable yet swift. We arrived just prior to Les Claypool and Brian Kehoe taking the stage as Duo De Twang. The shuffle onstage yielded a fake camp fire, a couple of chairs and a couple of drinks. It was a simple set up for what would feel like a very intimate experience. The crowded venue came alive as the duo took the stage. It was clear from the get go that the show would involve a lot of reciprocal banter between Les and his "adoring" fans. The show kicked off with Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver," to the delight of the room and continued on with Claypool's "Rumble of The Diesel." The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" followed in a stripped down fashion with Les thumping away on the dobro bass, while Brian dug into noodly guitar riffs. The music would start, stop, then get cast aside for hilarious banter that included Les talking shit to Brian about his playing, his love of Coors and his tight jeans. Frog Brigade's "D's Diner" came next with the crowd getting involved with the line "I do" to answer Les' "who wants to go to D's Diner?" A cover of Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses" followed in Duo De Twang style.

"Did you just call me a penis?" Les asked a fan riding the rail. "I can hear you yelling, and I am sure it's something very prolific and profound..." he went on to say.

The show unfolded with an array of additional Primus songs, as well as covers of some of Claypool's favorite obscurities. Towards the end it was communicated to Les that there was a young man in the crowd who's first concert was that evening's show. Claypool called out the kid directly, communicating to the young man that he was getting jipped, as Claypool's first show was Rush. He then asked the kid what song he'd like to hear, to which the kid replied "Robot Chicken." Les laughed and did his best to recall and mock the show's theme. The evening continued rolling towards a close with more songs and even more nonsensical banter. The Duo closed with special guests "The Reformed Whores" singing backup vocals with a young lady whom Les had called up from the crowd to join and guitarist Lucas, from one of the evening's openers. Ultimately Les Claypool's Duo De Twang had the feel of a private campfire set that at no point strayed from it's entertaining and ridiculous nature. The Twang follows suit with Les' quirky approach to his projects. With the live translation of the project being a huge success, we sit back and wait for the release of the Duo's upcoming album.

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