By Lisa Burke
June 22nd 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: As the story goes, Brian Patrick Carroll sat in a room one day watching Halloween IV while eating KFC chicken, and at some point after putting on a white mask such as that of Michael Myers, he then put the empty bucket of chicken on his head like a hat, looked in the mirror and that’s how Buckethead was born. Buckethead is not just the only guy who plays guitar on stage with a bucket on his head and a mask, but he’s also one of a kind in overall style as well. He definitely has moments that are clearly influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen, Jennifer Batten, Angus Young and Jimi Hendrix, yet he is all over the map with these influences and carries his own brand of crazy talent and skill well. On Wednesday June 22nd 2016 at the Novo Microsoft Theater downtown which was formerly known as Club Nokia, I saw Buckethead perform a solo show with no openers and just a little over an hour-and-a-half set.
The last time I saw Buckethead was somewhere around 1997 or ’98 when he opened for Primus, and quite simply put, was that weird guy who rocks at guitar while playing with a KFC bucket on his head. Today he is still that guy, but he now has 264 studio albums released under his belt, majority of which have been released in recent years when he started speedily throwing out almost an album a day like a space alien on a super speedy mission. In modern days he has many more tricks up his sleeve and more prominently uses backing tracks and props, including but not limited to an animatronic talking severed head, nunchucks, and big white gloves that he can perform robotic dance motions with until finally shooting them like pistols straight off his hands. He also has a taller more fitted plain white bucket on his head that is kept on like a clown hat with the clear elastic strap under his chin and the white mask remains. So while he does not perform any vocals at all, there are plenty of pre-recorded dialogue during some moments and the backing tracks range from metal to dubstep. I can’t think of any other experimental rock band that I would actually be OK with hearing an entire song in all dubstep backing tracks. In the case of Buckethead, during such backing tracks, he is bearing a blue knapsack and handing out various toys to the front row audience members like Santa Claus while fans wear KFC buckets on their heads. It’s not boring to say the least, and it’s just one of the many quirks you are far from surprised by because you know you are watching a man who calls himself Buckethead and plays amazing guitar with a bucket on his head.
Thirty-plus minutes of rap music was played over the PA system before the set, and then came cartoony and space-themed backing tracks, after which Buckethead dominated the stage. There was a similar trance like jam he kept riffing on and off of throughout the evening but always layered it with wild solos and progressions into magic tricks, robotic dance moves, and weird experimental noise styled backing tracks. He also worked in the theme from Star Wars and a song from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, as well as jumped into a Buckethead rendition of Jimi Hendrix’ ‘Purple Haze’. What’s really great about him is he can jump from one style to the next abruptly but effortlessly, and he is just as good of a knuckle tapper as he is at reverb effects on his custom signature white Les Paul with red knobs. Towards the end, he played some exciting jams on an actual bass, even though he was already playing Les Claypool style bass on the guitar earlier. Basically, while the insanity on stage was at times tough to stomach, I made it through the entire hour-and-a-half with ease, as his clean and vigorous guitar playing is really out of this world, and when interspersed with random experimental backing tracks and wacky guitar tricks, props and alien robot mime moves, all while playing intricate guitar masterpieces, it’s quite the unusual experience and hardly makes for a dull night. Buckethead remains one of the more outstanding and eclectic solo artists of his time, and no matter what genre of music you are into these days, you can take away something valuable from watching his performance.
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