the Chocolate Factory’ album. Mat Hayward/Getty
Primus will bring their psychedelic tribute to the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory back to North America for a spring run. The band will offer its own brand of chocolate bars and Oompa Loompas first in Minneapolis on April 8th then across the states before ending on May 7th at Morrison, Colorado’s Red Rocks.
The tour coincides with the release of a deluxe edition of Primus’ latest record (and first with their classic lineup in nearly 20 years), Primus and the Chocolate Factory With the Fungi Ensemble. The new edition has been remixed into 5.1 surround sound and comes with a bonus live CD. It is set to come out on April 28th.
“As we started putting [the original record] together, especially with the expanded soundscape of having string and vibraphone and marimba, it started sounding to me like one of the early Peter Gabriel records meets Dark Side of the Moon meets the Residents,” frontman Les Claypool told Rolling Stone last July. “That’s what I get out of it. Obviously that’s some big-ass horn-tooting to be doing.”
Last September, Primus played some gigs with Tool drummer Danny Carey filling in for Tim “Herb” Alexander, who was recovering from heart surgery at the time. The band welcomed its guest by playing a snippet of Tool’s “Ænima” between their own songs.
With Alexander back in their ranks, as of the first leg of the Chocolate Factory tour last year, the band has gotten back to its unusual ways. Last October, Primus announced that five copies of the vinyl edition of the record would each contain a “golden ticket” – à la Willy Wonka – granting the bearer free tickets to any of their shows for the rest of his or her life. Below are 20 opportunities for would-be Charlie Buckets and Veruca Salts to enter a world of Primus’ pure imagination.
Primus Tour Dates:
April 8 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
April 10 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
April 11 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Kalamazoo State Theatre
April 12 – Indianapolis, IN @ Old National Centre – Murat Theatre
April 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE – Indoor
April 15 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
April 17 – Louisville, KY @ Louisville Palace
April 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Sweetwater 420 Fest
April 20 – Concord, NH @ The Capitol Center For the Arts
April 21 – Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
April 24 – Hershey, PA @ Hershey Theatre
April 25 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
April 27 – Cleveland, OH @ Masonic Auditorium
April 28 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Theatre
April 30 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
May 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
May 3 – Shreveport, LA @ Strand Theater
May 5 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Events Center
May 6 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
May 7 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater