FANCY BAND

Overview

Beginning with summer 2005 shows, Gabby La La replaced the guitarist in what had been previously termed the Frog Brigade. Although the repertoire stayed largely similar (until Les' second solo studio album, Of Whales and Woe, was released in 2006), the band name became eponymous on the official Les web site tour page, as well as the summer 2005 performances released on 5 Gallons Of Diesel.  With the release of Les' second solo studio album, Of Whales and Woe in 2006, the band was officially referred to as the Fancy Band (with band members wearing T-shirts with the word "FANCY" live), and Paulo took over the drum throne.  Compared to the Frog Brigade, which always featured rather chops heavy guitarists, the Fancy Band does have a different sound. Gabby's sitar is a more delicate instrument and her solos tend to be slow or mid tempo, and less overtly flashy.  In addition, because there are some parts in classic Frog Brigade material that do not conform well to sitar, certain songs have been rearranged, with Mike Dillon carrying the melody on xylophones (key examples include the guitar parts to David Makalaster I, Shine On You Crazy Diamond or Thela Hun Ginjeet, or the keyboard lines of C2B3 material that would otherwise have been played on guitar). With Skerik playing more baritone (versus alto or tenor) sax, the composed and solo sounds of the Fancy Band are overall less metallic and punchy than its predecessor band, the Frog Brigade. 

Musicians

Same as Frog Brigade, with the exception of Gabby La La as above. The drummers to date have included Jay Lane and Paulo Baldi, both prior members of the Frog Brigade.

Instrumentation

Les Claypool - see Claypool's Unusual Instruments

Gabby La La - besides the sitar played on all songs, Gabby also uses the following:

Live Repertoire

Of Whales And Woe

Note: Nothin Ventured and Off White Guilt have never been played live. Robot Chicken has been teased by various bands, but not played in full.

Purple Onion

Unreleased Originals

Other Les Claypool Band Material

Covers Teases Vocal Teases/Lyrics

Official Video

Guest Performers

Tim Alexander (drums, percussion)

Trey Anastasio (guitar/vocals)

Buckethead (gtr)

Ralph Carney (sax)

Frank Catalano aka Ballpark Frank (baritone sax)

Karl Denson (sax)

Brian Haas (keyboards) - Plays in Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.

Mike "MIRV" Haggard (gtr)

 Zach Hill (drums) -Drummer in Hella and several other noise outfits; Hill recorded with Les and Skerik for the Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation CD.

Larry Lalonde (guitar)

Jessica Lurie (sax) - Member of band Living Daylights.

Eric McFadden (guitar) - Has played with Eenor in his side band.

Mark Southerland (sax) - Plays in Malachy Papers with Mike Dillon.

Bernie Worrell (keys)

NOTE: Only appearances by professional, 'name' musicians are noted (e.g. not included are appearances by Les' kids on several Drum/Whamola jams) or any appearances by audience members.

Tour By Tour Analysis

Summer 2005
This tour is most notable for the incorporation of Gabby La La as a full time band member (she had previously guessed several times with the Frog Brigade, and nightly with C2B3) and the subsequent changes in band sound and orchestration that resulted. Gabby's presence also led to several of her own compositions being premiered by the Fancy Band (presumably Les had played them earlier that year as a guest performer in Gabby's band), although both songs were quickly dropped from set lists. The second major change was the return of Jay Lane to the drum chair, and thus the return of Sausage material (and steady performances of the Awakening) to Claypool live shows for the first time since the winter 2001 Frog Brigade tour.  Not surprisingly, Purple Onion and Holy Mackerel material was also prominently featured (including the return of Cohibas Esplenditos after a lengthy absence). On the other hand, this tour was notable for several C2B3 songs being regularly played outside of their parent band.
This lineup/tour introduced the following complete songs (while technically as a distinct band all Claypool material from other projects ought to be considered 'new', as this is basically a face-lifted version of Frog Brigade, we will not reinvent the wheel here):

Total # Complete Songs Played On Tour: 28

Fall 2005 and New Year's Eve

This tour was essentially identical to its summer predecessor. The material was largely identical, with minor changes: Hendershot and Running the Gauntlet made rare returns to setlists, The Jam appeared in a single full length performance (a rare bust out, as it had last seen the light of days circa early 1990s Primus), and most excitingly, Delicate Tendrils made its live debut a decade after its studio recording. New Year's Eve performances brought the premieres of 2 tracks from Of Whales And Woe, and a rare new cover (White Rabbit).
This lineup/tour introduced the following complete songs:

Total # Complete Songs Played On Tour: 28

Summer 2006

This tour was notable for the introduction of 7 songs from Of Whales and Woe, a new cover (One Step Beyond), and the return of Paulo Baldi on drums. Without Lane, most of the Sausage material disappeared, although Riddles was still played (a first as Sausage material had previously only been performed when Lane and/or Huth were members in a Claypool band). The tour also introduced solo Les performances on bass banjo of Iowan Gal (plus assorted other songs from Claypool's repertoire), usually as the first song(s) of the encore.
This lineup/tour introduced the following complete songs:

Total # Complete Songs Played On Tour: 34 band, 5 bass banjo only

Summer 2007

This tour was in support of the Fancy Band DVD, which was released in 05/2007 and included both pro shot and audience video of Fancy Band footage from the 2006 summer tour. The material was largely unchanged from the prior summer's tour, with an overall shorter selection of songs (the first few shows were on the short side, as Les was recuperating from a broken finger). New full band material included Fancy Band renditions of Thela and A Shot In the Dark, the latter a surprise bust out, as Les had previously (and rarely at that) played it in a more skeletal form 15 years earlier in Primus. Prelude To Fear made a one time only appearance, thus becoming the 2nd Sausage song to be played in a Claypool band without either Huth or Lane. New solo bass banjo material included Zeppelin's Black Dog and several more Claypool originals. Claypool also began to frequently play teases/partial covers of Glide, a 70s instrumental he had on occasion teased before.
This lineup/tour introduced the following complete songs:

Total # Complete Songs Played On Tour: 29 band, 9 solo bass banjo only

Special Shows

Historically Important Shows

New Year's Eve Radio/TV Appearances Classic Shows