They say music is a vehicle that can metaphorically transport you to anywhere in the
world. Seeing Buckethead live will take you to an entirely different universe.
To a common person, if you ask about Buckethead you most likely get an answer like
“I’ve never heard of them”. You might hear “He played with Guns N Roses right?”. But
from the devoted Buckethead fan you will hear a laundry list of compliments and
admiration. To date he has put out 31 studio albums and an astonishing 669 “pikes”, he
has collaborated with artists like Bootsy Collins, Les Claypool and Viggo Mortensen
(Yes, Aragorn)
The packed crowd Wednesday night at Empire Live was a perfect representation of
Buckethead fans. There were Metal heads, EDM kids, Stoners and Nerds alike.
Buckethead rifled through his set at a break neck pace. Most of the show is instrumental, as his
albums and pikes are usually filled with songs as long as a half hour. His guitar playing style varies, relying on
effects to accompany his technical skills. It is not uncommon to hear thunderous, crushing riffs one minute,
soft tranquil lullabies, and then the next minute some bluegrass “Chicken Picken” from
Buckethead.
Starting with a well known favorite “Big Sur Moon” and laying heavily into songs from
one of his more popular full length albums 1999’s “Monsters and Robots”. The show
included staples from any Buckethead show – Playing a solo one handed while holding
a severed gory head stump, continuing the solo while using nunchaku.
Buckethead was accompanied on stage for most of the show with a live drummer.
Together they jammed a cover of “War Pigs”. At one point Buckethead picked up a Bass
and another guitarist came out and they had an amazing 20 minute jam.
There was another medley of songs that they jammed on where Buckethead again
broke into Black Sabbath riffs and played “Children of the Grave”, he also played “Pure
Imagination” (Yes from Willy Wonka), and did a surprisingly warm cover of Tonic’s “If
You Could Only See”. I also was delightfully surprised to hear “The Brady Bunch
Theme”
The night ended with Buckethead handing out toys to his fans in the front row.
In the end, I paid 40 dollars to go see a grown man play guitar and wear a KFC bucket
on his head for 2 hours and I will do it EVERY chance I get. While I do love Empire Live
as my favorite venue in the area, I seriously hope that Buckethead can pick up a night
at the Egg in the future.
