Oysterhead's Les Claypool
Photo: Josephine Close

TORONTO — Originally formed in May 2000 as part of a "superjam" at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the trio of Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, Primus singer and bassist Les Claypool and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland felt a group chemistry almost immediately. They've since put together an album, The Grand Pecking Order, and at their tour stop here Wednesday night in support of that record, proved to a sold-out crowd that the sum is greater than Oysterhead's parts.

A crowd of 3,000 — dominated by bead-wearing Phish fans who sported T-shirts from the jam band's tours — took their seats inside Massey Hall, and the group walked out to a standing ovation. Wearing green coveralls with NASA badges and stalking the stage in circles, Claypool broke the ice with the album's title track, a funk-rock jam. Anastasio and Claypool sang alternating verses then joined forces on the chorus. There was a lack of ego-stroking solos throughout this song and the whole of the two-hour set, with the threesome instead relying on each other to bring out the best in themselves. It didn't take fans long to get into the grooves, as most stood and danced right away while others flocked to the front of the stage.

With minimal lighting effects, no previously planned set list and non-existent between-song banter, Oysterhead hit their mark five songs in with "Army's on Ecstasy." As Copeland worked his rather large and intricate drum set, it was Anastasio's gritty guitar work and pedal finesse that set the stage for the song's deconstruction and ultimate reconstruction in the vein of Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away" (with a little "Dazed and Confused" mixed in). A Zeppelin-like homage could also be heard in "Radon Balloon," a song which features Anastasio strumming acoustic guitar. Clearly the '70s rock gods hold a place in Oysterhead's collective heart — fans who arrived at the show early heard most of Led Zeppelin's first album over the sound system during soundchecks.

The bizarre factor came to the fore on more than one occasion, particularly during "Shadow of a Man." Here, Anastasio opted for a guitar featuring antlers protruding from it, the antlers acting as a makeshift theremin that produced startling effects. At the same time, Claypool approached the stage's lip with illuminated goggles and a battle helmet. Copeland, looking as if he were still in his 20s, also got into the act. During "Wield the Spade," he stood over a large drum, raised his hands in the air and emoted as if running for elected office, and screamed, "Wield the spade!" repeatedly. The crowd relished this display, judging by the hoots, whistles and screams rising up from the seats.

As fans hollered for songs from the trio's more famous projects — signature Police tune "Roxanne" was demanded, as was Primus' "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" — Oysterhead refused to comply, instead forging ahead with material from The Grand Pecking Order. Songs such as "Oz Is Ever Floating" and "Rubberneck Lions" pushed each musician to teeter between scene-stealer and supporting cast member. Only at the beginning of "Birthday Boys" did the show seem to lose energy, with Anastasio seated alone and plucking an acoustic guitar. But this mood quickly dissipated into a hillbilly hootenanny once Claypool emerged from the shadows with a banjo-looking bass. Copeland, after changing from one sweat-soaked black T-shirt into a fresh replica, joined the fray quickly thereafter.

Nearing the homestretch, the group closed the evening with "Mr. Oysterhead," a rollicking quasi-funk jam. While the inscrutable line, "When all else has been done and said/ Along comes Mr. Oysterhead," was sung no less than 14 times, the group exited on a high note. A loud roar from the audience capped the two hours and fans gave a standing ovation, ending the night as it had begun.

Oysterhead set list:

• "The Grand Pecking Order"
• "Pseudo Suicide"
• "Owner of the World"
• "Radon Balloon"
• "Army's on Ecstasy"
• "Polka Dot Rose"
• "Shadow of a Man"
• "Oz Is Ever Floating"
• "Wield the Spade"
• "Birthday Boys"
• "Rubberneck Lions"
• "Mr. Oysterhead"
• "Changes"

• Oysterhead
• Phish
• Led Zeppelin

Photo: Universal

As Primus' frontman, Les Claypool spent more than a decade concocting contorted musical passages and bizarre imagery to please no one but himself. In 1999, however, as his band prepared to craft Antipop, its eighth album, the bassist/vocalist found himself catering to his eclectic audience by writing what he thought they wanted to hear.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot," he admitted over the phone from his San Francisco home. "That record was the least successful one we did. It was still a great record, but it wasn't something we made simply for ourselves."

Now separated, at least temporarily, from his Primus bandmates, Claypool is diving back into selfish, improvisational songcraft with Oysterhead, the old-fashioned supergroup he formed with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Police drummer Stewart Copeland. The band's debut, The Grand Pecking Order, is a remarkably fresh-sounding disc combining each member's talents without sounding like a mishmash of their former bands.

"Our prime focus was to not bring anything preconceived to the table," Anastasio recalled. "I was excited to go into the studio and see what our blend of personalities would result in. We kind of wrote the songs on the fly, but we consciously wanted a soup instead of three appetizers."

Surreal and groovin', though less willfully weird than Primus or as jammy as Phish, Oysterhead cultivate vibrant, uncommercial music that fuses aspects of rock, funk jazz and psychedelia. "Little Faces," Pecking Order's lead track, opens with sonar beeps over a staggered marching beat, then morphs into waves of tumescent bass, funky wah-wah guitar squiggles and arguably nonsensical lyrics. Then it gets really strange. "Army's on Ecstasy" is an upbeat ditty with cartoony vocals (concerning a dosed military) and wiggy blues guitar. And the first single, "Mr. Oysterhead," sprawls and undulates to a galactic rhythm, sturdy beat and alluring array of guitar lines.

Oysterhead formed in May, when Claypool was invited by Superfly Productions in New Orleans to assemble a band for the production company's annual Jazz and Heritage Festival Superjam. He asked Anastasio, whom he knew from the jam scene, if he was interested in joining forces. After brainstorming about who would be their ideal drummer, Anastasio suggested Copeland.

"I threw his name out there half-jokingly," the guitarist recalled. "I really think he's the most important drummer in rock after John Bonham. I was a huge Police fan in high school. It turned out he had produced a track for Primus, so Les called him and he wanted to do it."

The trio convened in New Orleans, wrote seven songs in three days, then played a 3,000-seat theater in front of an audience that included director Francis Ford Coppola and "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. The show was intended to be a once-in-a-lifetime convergence, but the vibe was so strong, Oysterhead decided to write a full album.

"We recorded the show," recalled Claypool, "and Stewart was all hot to release it. I thought it was good, but the performance was kind of rough. I knew it could be so much better because I knew we had this amazing chemistry."

Claypool's instincts didn't fail him. Although there were a few ego conflicts at first, since all three bandmembers were used to steering their own ships, the music soon fell together and the band started vibing magically off each other.

"I've never had a situation where I'm writing lyrics with somebody and we're completing each other's sentences," Claypool said. "It was amazing."

"It was all about throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what stuck. But it wasn't just a lot of jamming," Anastasio added. "It was team songwriting, very collaborative."

Oysterhead begin a national tour in support of The Grand Pecking Order on October 21 in Seattle. The trek ends in Gainesville, Florida, on November 18. After that, Claypool will return to the drawing room to work on new songs for another band, Les Claypool and the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Copeland will return to producing other bands and creating film soundtracks and Anastasio will work on a variety of different musical projects he's not yet willing to discuss.

"We may go out again as Oysterhead next spring or summer," Claypool said. "It depends on how much fun we have. One of the great things about this band is we all still have our day jobs, so we don't need to hammer it into the ground."

• Oysterhead
• Primus
• Phish
• The Police

Les Claypool
Photo: Josephine Close

Oysterhead, the supergroup consisting of Primus bassist Les Claypool, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio that have played only one full show together, are emerging from their collective shell to record their first album. The trio is entering Anastasio's Vermont studio, the Barn, on Sunday (April 1) to write and record an album of original material, a spokesperson for Claypool said. Oysterhead are scheduled to record through May and will release the album in the fall on Elektra Records. Copeland formed Oysterhead for last May's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. "The New Orleans show was an incredible experience," Claypool said in a statement. "We sold out 3,000 seats in 12 minutes. Tickets on eBay were going for $2,000 a piece. Francis Ford Coppola was sitting on the side of the stage. It was just an insane scene." Claypool's other side project, Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, will release Live Frogs — Set 1 on April 10 on the bassist's own Prawn Song label. Live Frogs — Set 2, which features the band's rendition of Pink Floyd's entire Animals, which they performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last year, will be released this summer. The Brigade includes guitarist Todd Huth (Primus/Sausage), drummer Jay Lane (Rat Dog/Sausage), saxophonist Skerik (Critters Buggin', Tuatara), keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (Rat Dog) and San Francisco guitarist Eenor.

• Oysterhead
• Primus
• The Police
• Phish