via Brandon Wenerd
Audio By Carbonatix
If you were scrolling through on Instagram late last night, you might have seen some unhinged clips on the BroBible account, thought, “Is that… uhh Bill Burr playing drums with Primus?”
Yes. Yes, it was. I took it upon myself to please the content gods and post a clip of it to our channels while I was enjoying the show. I kinda felt like a loser, but… whatever. I still enjoyed it like crazy.
Turns out, legendary comedian Bill Burr can seriously wail on the drums.
Last night, August 6th, at a packed Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, the comedian casually walked on stage in the third song of the evening, sat down at a second drum kit, and absolutely hammered out “Too Many Puppies” alongside Primus. Bill Burr was on drums, and Justin Chancellor from Tool joined him, on bass. \
Mind… blown.
See, this tracks as Primus being Primus. But it was also such a face-melting “Only In LA” moment. See for yourself.
And if a surprise set from Ol’ Billy Redface wasn’t enough, the entire show was a revolving door of legends. The third-to-last “Onward & Upward” tour stop was basically a supergroup jam session disguised as a Primus gig. I’m a lucky son-of-a-gun and get to see a lot of truly great live music, and this show was just top-notch. I’ve seen Primus four other times here in Los Angeles, and this was easily my favorite. The production is top tier, with all these great little moments where “Primus Sucks!” flash on the screen.
The list of sit-ins was just absurd:
- Justin Chancellor (Tool) on bass for “Too many Puppies”
- Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park) on drums for a King Crimson cover
- Danny Carey (Tool) on drums for “My Name Is Mud”
- Ty Segall on vocals for a killer Black Sabbath “N.I.B.” cover
- Absolute bass bomb funk-master MonoNeon joining Les Claypool for an explosive dueling-bass encore
I didn’t really get any video of Matt Stone on the drums, but I’m sure it’s out there. But back to Bill Burr. Where the hell did this come from? Is Burr just naturally a beast at everything he does?
If you haven’t been paying attention or simply forgot, Bill Burr has been putting in serious work on the kit for years. Let me try to jog your memory.
Back in January 2024, a video of Burr playing at a tribute show for AC/DC’s Bon Scott went viral. He was on a stage full of monsters: Scott Ian (Anthrax), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Josh Freese (Foo Fighters), and members of Alice In Chains, The Black Crowes, and Primus’s own Larry LaLonde. This wasn’t his first rodeo, either; he answered the call for a similar tribute also hosted by fellow L.A. comedian Dean Delray back in 2018.
He’s been studying with renowned drum educator Dave Elitch, who has played with The Mars Volta and Miley Cyrus. After the Bon Scott show, Elitch posted on Instagram, saying: “I have people ask me all the time ‘so how’s @wilfredburr at the drums?’ Well, check it out for yourself! Ol’ Billy Lay It Down last night…”
So, Burr has chops, and his obsession with the drums allegedly runs deep. According to Reddit lore from seven years ago, Burr even has a drum kit requirement written into his stand-up tour contracts. A Redditor claims, “The venue is required to provide a drum kit… He’ll go on stage several hours before the show and play the drums to an empty theater to get comfortable with the venue… and clear his mind.”
I can’t confirm if that’s true, but it feeds the legend. A legend, as evidenced by his classic podcast rant about playing drums at Guitar Center, where you see the “saddest people on earth,” and a random video of him playing Ambrosia at the Comedy Store.
So yeah, last night wasn’t a gimmick. While Burr is no stranger to commanding massive arenas for his comedy, this had to be the biggest crowd he’s ever played drums for—a whole different kind of trip.
And what makes it even cooler is that Burr got to throw down next to John Hoffman, Primus’s killer new drummer, who literally won the gig through the band’s public “Drum Derby” audition process on YouTube. Dude is already a drumming legend in the making. If you haven’t seen the videos of Hoffman battling his way into one of the weirdest, most iconic bands on the planet, you’re seriously missing out.
I’m posting a 20-minute interview with him on this website next week, so stay tuned for that. Or just follow me on Instagram and/or YouTube.
Anyway, that whole Primus setlist was a monster. Here’s what they played:
Primus – Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA – 8/6/25
- Restin’ Bones
- Bob’s Party Time Lounge
- Too Many Puppies (with Bill Burr and Justin Chancellor)
- Dirty Drowning Man
- Groundhog’s Day
- Polka Dot Rose (Oysterhead cover with a partial “Groundhog’s Day” tease)
- Thela Hun Ginjeet (King Crimson cover) (with Matt Stone)
- Over the Falls
- John the Fisherman
- N.I.B. (Black Sabbath cover) (with Ty Segall)
- The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman’s Chronicles, Part 3)
- Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
- Welcome to This World
- My Name Is Mud (with Danny Carey)
Encore:
- Southbound Pachyderm (with MonoNeon)
- Pure Imagination (Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley song)
Rock on, Bill.
And yes… Primus still sucks.