Attention all aliens; Buckethead is opening for Primus at the Riviera Theater this evening. If you've never heard or seen Buckethead then you don't know what you're missing. The guy must be at least six feet tall and he always wears a white kabuki mask and a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket upside down on his head like a hat. It looks kind of cool actually but also kind of crazy. Buckethead doesn't speak, not when he's Buckethead anyway. He does have an alter ego when he takes off his bucket and mask but that person is kept separate from the person/android/mutant/whatever that is Buckethead. Did I neglect to mention that Buckethead plays guitar like Eddie Van Halen on speed and acid (or speedy acid)? He's that good, and he's that demented. On his latest album (of which there are several), "Monsters And Robots," Buckethead shreds things up with unbridled power and reveals an awesome, if irregular vision. Accompanied by Les Claypool and drummer Brain (both of Primus fame) as well as future-shock producer Bill Laswell and Funkadelic veteran Bootsy Collins, Buckethead kicks out the jams with video-game speed. He places his aggro-adrenaline guitar style in a variety of rock contexts and showcases both virtuoso control and uninhibited instrumental enthusiasm. With guitarist Buckethead using DJs as well as the occasional rapper or guest vocalist to supplement his power-trio-from-outer-space motif, this recording is occasionally macabre, often over the top and always entertaining. Besides the electro-grind and atomic buzz-saw effects on the opening tune "Jump Man," our hero lets the world peak into his sci-fi psyche on the hilarious-yet-churning epic, "The Ballad of Buckethead." With plenty of cosmic discourse supplied by Bootsy Collins, Buckethead feels free enough to show off more guitar pyrotechnics on "Sow Thistle." In any event, Buckethead will be onstage tonight doing his best to communicate with us regular folks. The only thing to add is some very old and very good advice from Pink Floyd. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene."
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.