Billy Strings turned 34 on Saturday in Oakland, CA, and for a present, Les Claypool put the guitarist’s name in a classic Primus song. October 3rd was also late Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow‘s birthday, and Billy seemed to mark the occasion with a rare performance of the Dead’s “Cassidy.”
Late in the first set, Strings introduced Bay Area native Les Claypool as “one of the funkiest men ever”—to which the Primus bandleader retorted, “I thought you were talking about Bootsy Collins.” Strings and Claypool have shared the stage a handful of times over the years, most recently in May when Billy—then nursing a leg he broke while skateboarding—hobbled out on crutches to literally sit in with Primus in Michigan. Billy and Les have supposedly been working on a studio album together for several years but, according to Claypool in a recent interview with Live For Live Music, “It’s still sidetracked by fishing. That’ll be the title of the album.”
Acoustic resonator bass in hand, Claypool led Strings, Billy Failing, Jarrod Walker, Alex Hargreaves, and Royal Masat through “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,” changed to “Billy Was A Race Car Driver.” In addition to honoring the guitarist’s birthday, Les said, the amendment also references a thrilling ride he took in Strings’ 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle…