POP MUSIC REVIEW : Primus: Pale Imitation of Zappa Weirdness

It’s easy to act wacky, but only a few entities in rock ‘n’ roll history--most significantly Frank Zappa--have had the deep, inherent weirdness to turn that quality into effective artistry.

Bands have tried to emulate Zappa’s brand of freakiness for decades, but few have shown the smarts, subtlety or originality to get a real laugh. San Francisco’s Primus, which headlined the security-obsessed Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday, is no exception.

Fans had everything from gum to felt-tip pens confiscated at the door of the ballroom, which has been plagued by crowd disturbances in recent years, including an incident at a salsa concert last weekend.

The disarmed crowd chanted “Primus sucks” before the trio came on--a tradition among the group’s fans, but also an accurate prophecy. Frontman Les Claypool took goofy strides around the stage like a cut-rate Groucho Marx, bobbed his head, and in more passionate moments stood in place and lifted his knee.

The gawky singer rambled in wacky voices that Mel Blanc would have eaten for breakfast, then plucked out jerky bass solos. At one point, the band struck the same two dry notes for about a minute, which was an improvement over the disjointed “funk” noodling before and after.

Primus, which headlined last summer’s “Lollapalooza” tour, has built a substantial young following that doesn’t seem to mind that the band is not clever, funny or catchy. It’s mosh music for the masses, wit not included.