My calendar has conflicted with most concert opportunities this year but thankfully I was able to see Primus with Coheed and Cambria at Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin along with my sister Emma. Twenty years ago when I went to school here I remember this was a tiny dilapidated soccer field but they have done a great job refurbishing it. Beer selection was a bit lacking and hella expensive but it is what it is. One bonus is that they serve food but get ready to pay for that too – I had an $8 brat that was basically a Johnsonville mini brat in a squished hotdog bun; my sister had a fried chicken strip basket I think and it looked better but pretty sure it cost more too. Merch was the same stuff as before so I didn’t grab anything this time. Also it was my fault but we were late and missed the start of Coheed and Cambria’s set because either we were lolly-gagging or something happened with the opener. Sseriously though at a show that starts at 6 wouldn’t you expect the middle act to go on at like 6:45-7pm earliest? They started before 7 which seems odd to me. Oh well, still a good show. Selist.ft links for Primus set list, Coheed and Cambria set list; tour date poster and individual show poster artwork below.
We settled into an open space towards the back left. Photo below taken with my iPhone 13 Pro with the 3x camera which doesn’t show the big covered camera tent in the middle of the field blocking views (which is an incredibly stupid place to put that equipment). This is the only photo I grabbed of Coheed & Cambria as they played a pretty short set (and of course I caused us to miss the first song or two so that made it seem even shorter). Sound was good and they rocked as usual but I prefer when they are the closers.
Here’s a view from nearly the same spot at the start of Primus’ set but without the camera zoom. Not a perfect representation of the human eye but much closer to the truth. Still not as bad as the camera makes it look. We couldn’t get much closer because there is a railing blocking the area closest to the stage that I forgot was like the “premium” seating. No big deal.
Off to the sides of the stage they had two huge LCD screens on telehandler cranes which is a bit odd until you realize this is a multi-use field. Soccer, concerts, festivals, and more all use this same space.
Photos became incredibly difficult during Primus’ set due to the wild light show. I’m including the very bad photo below just to demonstrate results for most of the pictures that I discovered after getting home. That’s okay though, I wasn’t trying to be a photographer much, just snapping a couple here and there to see what I could get.
We did get to see a sideshow that was both a little funny but mostly sad or concerning: about 20 yards to our left, there was a guy in a pink/blue tie-dyed Primus shirt who was flopping on the ground and surrounded by security and cops. They were trying to get him to sit in a chair and drink some water, but it was clear this man wasn’t part of our same reality any more. Someone nearby joked (I hope) that they heard he took a hero dose of acid; another person rumored he ate 17 stamps. Either way homie was not having the best time which was a shame because the show was just kicking in.
This was unfortunately the clearest photo I got during Primus’ set. Just too many goddamn lights and laserbeams – awesome for in-person experience, terrible for phone cameras. Oh well, you can’t win them all. Don’t even care though, I had a good time sharing the experience with my sibling which is something I can’t say happens much any more as I get older and that is all that matters.
