Primus, Coheed and Cambria provide eclectic musical evening at Stage AE

Thursday was a bit of a weird night at Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

For fans of modern progressive rock, the two bands — Coheed and Cambria, and Primus — were both very different and similar. Both played lengthy songs with plenty of great instrumental tricks. But their styles diverged wildly from one another.

To throw yet another wrench in, the show’s opener was Puddles Pity Party, a 30-minute set featuring Puddles, a not-very-talkative clown who can out-sing most professionals. A lot of his act was part comedy and part performance art, but Puddles, who sang exclusively cover songs, had some fun with his music — despite his morose demeanor.

For example, he performed a cover of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” set to the music of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” — but then did the reverse several songs later.

Coheed and Cambria came out next to make things a little heavier. The band, which has been around for almost three decades, mostly makes concept albums based on a story written by the lead singer, Claudio Sanchez. That’s why many of their songs were given titles like “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” (their opening song at Thursday night’s show). It may sound inaccessible, but outside of the storyline, their music is driving, powerful, and easy to sing along to.

During the quite-long opener, a spectator in the pit suffered a medical emergency and the band graciously stopped to make sure they got a thumbs-up before continuing to play.

In addition to complex storytelling, Coheed and Cambria can really pull out a killer guitar riff and a big arena-rock woah-ing chorus.

After several songs, Sanchez stopped to talk to the crowd, speaking highly of Pittsburgh. “We’ve had a hell of a day, we got to throw out the first pitch at the Pirates game,” he said to great applause. “Pittsburgh has treated us right as always, and you’re continuing to do it now.”

Then they played “Blindside Sunny,” a tune that he described as “a dance number” and certainly had the beat to get the crowd moving.

Coheed and Cambria also used the stage lights and video screens to great effect, offering strobing lights during particularly intense musical moments and glittery colors during their dancier songs. Overall, they performed a dynamic set and definitely pleased the packed house.

Primus is an off-kilter band in general, and seeing them live does nothing to change that impression. While they’re a platinum-selling act with several hit singles during the 1990s, the band is perhaps best known for creating the theme song to long-running comedy TV series “South Park.” That theme is emblematic of their unique, precise, bass-heavy musical style.

But the first song heard with the band onstage wasn’t by Primus. It was a circus-y Danny Elfman tune called “Clown Dream” that played as shimmery blue-and-green lights danced over the stage and crowd. After taking their places, Primus began with “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers,” a well-known song to fans.

This was an apt way to set the tone for the rest of the night. That song is long, allows for showcasing their well-honed and complex musicality while allowing for some noodling, and gave singer-bassist Les Claypool the opportunity to use his talent for in-character talk-singing.

Claypool is considered to be among the best rock bassists ever, and he proved it over and over again in every song Thursday night. From scratchy solos to almost delicate riffs, Claypool manages to make the bass the star of the show in songs like “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver” and “Over The Falls.”

“I could be wrong, but I think this is the Iron City,” Claypool said. “I think there’s a little clue staring us in the face.” He was referencing the large Iron City beer sign that was visible from the stage.

“I bet there’s no wrinkles in anyone’s clothing around here,” he added.

The visuals were also a lot of fun with Primus. During the jaunty “The Last Salmon Man,” giant fish were projected on the video screens, complemented by blue and green lights. Their cover of Rush’s spacey “Cygnus X-1,” featured several movements, each with visuals of black holes and planets, in keeping with the song’s themes. During the surprisingly peppy “The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon,” the stage lit up with an array of rainbow lights.

After playing a few of of their biggest songs — “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver,” “Tommy the Cat” and “My Name Is Mud” — they went offstage to wait for the chants of “Primus sucks!” to usher them back for the encore, starting with surprisingly heavy “Too Many Puppies.” In the middle of that song, they began to play the darker “Sgt. Baker” with a crowd sing-along of “right, left” in the chorus before returning to finish up “Too Many Puppies.”

After taking their final leave from the stage, the venue ushered fans out to “Pure Imagination” from the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” This is likely a reference to the 2014 album that Primus made as a reimagining of that film’s soundtrack, but it’s also a fitting summation of the evening. A slate of imaginative, strange, cool and talented musicians brought their music to a grateful crowd.