Primus Performs Clown-Themed New Year’s Eve Show With Ozzy Osbourne Tribute and Oysterhead Debut

Primus took the stage at Oakland's Fox Theatre on Dec. 30 and 31, 2025. The band paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and unveiled an Oysterhead track that had never been performed before a crowd. Bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer John Hoffman brought their Bay Area roots home to ring in 2026.

The Dec. 31 performance brought out singing clown Puddles Pity Party, who started with "Send In The Clowns" before joining the trio at midnight to tackle Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." An image of Osbourne flickered on the screen behind them. These musicians had already played the track together earlier in 2025, just after Osbourne's death.

"Shadow Of A Man" got its first-ever live airing that night. The track comes from Oysterhead's 2001 release, The Grand Pecking Order. Oysterhead brings together Claypool, Phish's Trey Anastasio, and Stewart Copeland from The Police. The song tells the tale of a Vietnam veteran who never got to share his story with an audience until now.

Fans showed up in clown costumes and competed for prizes. The band's announcement suggested that jesters now speak truth better than politicians or pundits.

"Those who were once just the mirth makers have become the effective philosophers of the day," the band wrote on Facebook. "As we ring in 2026, let's embrace empathy, optimism, and, for the sake of our sanity, 'Send in the Clowns.'"

The setlist pulled from decades of recordings. "The Antipop" appeared. So did "American Life," "Too Many Puppies," and their 2025 collaboration with Maynard James Keenan, "Little Lord Fentanyl." Old met new on a single stage.

The encore brought Puddles Pity Party back for Dio's "Holy Diver" before wrapping with "Southbound Pachyderm." That Dio cover hadn't been dusted off since August 2024.

The Dec. 30 show kicked off with Danny Elfman's "Clown Dream." There's no word yet on where Primus will play in 2026.