Buckethead
Hometown: Claremont, Ca.
http://www.bucketheadland.com/
buckethead Concert Photos
Saturday, October 14, 2006
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
also: That 1 Guy

I must admit that throughout this show I kept humming "I feel like chicken tonight" quietly to myself.

According to Bucketheads own biography he was raised in a coop and thus would explain the heavily chicken influenced music and stage show. Although I had never heard any of Bucketheads solo discs I had heard him play before with the likes of Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins and a huge and esoteric variety of other artists. In fact it might be easire to list all the artists he hasn't played with or for. Of all the musicians I have seen the only one I can find to compare him to is Les Claypool, both for the wall presentation of his persona, his use of masks and costumes, and his amazing ability to do virtually anything with his instrument. He even sounds like Les when he plays the bass! It's no surprise Guitar One placed him on the list of the "Top 10 Guitar Shredders of All Time"

Wearing his traditional mask and of course, trademark bucket, Buckethead only required the assitance of That 1 Guys and his drummer Pinch Face to fill La Zona Rosa with an ambient, funky, atmospheric, raw thrashing guitar. To see Buckethead rip through so many musical genres in the same set and sometimes the same song is an amazing thing to watch and hear. And it went on, and on, and on. Song after song, metal one minute, country the next, then funk. Incredibly, Bucketheads set started at 10:30 and didn't finish until 1:30, with only a 15 minute set break.

The audience consisted mainly of Buckethead diehards, many wearing the trademark buckets themselves, and a few wearing the mask as well, although you could tell there were also a number of people experiencing Buckethead for the first time. The traditional mosh space was taken over by the "jam band camp follower" dancers in the audience, lolling and swaying back and forth. This show had the same jam band vibe that many artists enjoy and seemed to be propelled along its route by small enclaves of fans following the tour on it's journey.

Opening for Buckethead was solo artist That 1 Guy who also played as part of Buckethead's ensemble.

Playing a variety of sounds on his "Magic Pipe" as well as a saw and other devices, That 1 Guy filled the room with his funky aromatic songs about the moon being made of cheese and weasel pot pies. Truely amazing are the sounds that eminate forth from this strange and insanely designed musical instrument. Part guitar, part synthesizer, part standup bass and drum kit, this is the 21st century technological equivalent of the cumbersome cymbals-on-the-knees one man band.

This show had an open camera policy (thanks to Direct Events for the heads up on that one) so I took advantage and invited my 14 year old nephew Blake along to act as my camera assistant. It was his first concert, and he was suitably impressed, describing That 1 Guy as "Different - not what I expected" and Buckethead's performance as "Awesome." Thanks also to the two guys from Houston who drove up for the show and gave Blake their extra ticket gratis. It was really a great way for him to experience his first show. I let him go play with my D70 to see if he could get any shots and didn't see him again til the set breaks, as he squeezed his way to the front. He needs to grow another foot or so to be able to take pictures from the crowd, but he did well enough that I used a couple of his pictures in this review (the top two). Of course, Blake was sent home with a Buckethead T-shirt. I hope he keeps his ticket stub too.

Chicken anyone?...