They say music is a vehicle that can metaphorically transport you to anywhere in the
\nworld. Seeing Buckethead live will take you to an entirely different universe.
\nTo a common person, if you ask about Buckethead you most likely get an answer like
\n“I’ve never heard of them”. You might hear “He played with Guns N Roses right?”. But
\nfrom the devoted Buckethead fan you will hear a laundry list of compliments and
\nadmiration. To date he has put out 31 studio albums and an astonishing 669 “pikes”, he
\nhas collaborated with artists like Bootsy Collins, Les Claypool and Viggo Mortensen
\n(Yes, Aragorn)<\/p>\n\n
\nThe packed crowd Wednesday night at Empire Live was a perfect representation of
\nBuckethead fans. There were Metal heads, EDM kids, Stoners and Nerds alike.
\nBuckethead rifled through his set at a break neck pace. Most of the show is instrumental, as his<\/p>\n\n
albums and pikes are usually filled with songs as long as a half hour. His guitar playing style varies, relying on<\/p>\n\n
effects to accompany his technical skills. It is not uncommon to hear thunderous, crushing riffs one minute,
\nsoft tranquil lullabies, and then the next minute some bluegrass “Chicken Picken” from
\nBuckethead.<\/p>\n\n
\nStarting with a well known favorite “Big Sur Moon” and laying heavily into songs from
\none of his more popular full length albums 1999’s “Monsters and Robots”. The show
\nincluded staples from any Buckethead show – Playing a solo one handed while holding
\na severed gory head stump, continuing the solo while using nunchaku.
\nBuckethead was accompanied on stage for most of the show with a live drummer.
\nTogether they jammed a cover of “War Pigs”. At one point Buckethead picked up a Bass
\nand another guitarist came out and they had an amazing 20 minute jam.
\nThere was another medley of songs that they jammed on where Buckethead again
\nbroke into Black Sabbath riffs and played “Children of the Grave”, he also played “Pure
\nImagination” (Yes from Willy Wonka), and did a surprisingly warm cover of Tonic’s “If
\nYou Could Only See”. I also was delightfully surprised to hear “The Brady Bunch
\nTheme”<\/p>\n\n
\nThe night ended with Buckethead handing out toys to his fans in the front row.
\nIn the end, I paid 40 dollars to go see a grown man play guitar and wear a KFC bucket
\non his head for 2 hours and I will do it EVERY chance I get. While I do love Empire Live
\nas my favorite venue in the area, I seriously hope that Buckethead can pick up a night
\nat the Egg in the future.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/186\/680aa680e4e94.jpeg","author":{"name":"Joey Boots"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.939waby.com\/_app_pages\/stations\/5262\/blogs\/posts\/80294"}]}