When you quit spamming up the rest of them.Quit spamming up the Buckethead thread, LC.
Buckethead
- Thread starter CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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Never! Long live Wrathchild!
My phone camera wasn't having it for some reason, but here's what I got.
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CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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Buckethead sounded pretty rusty on the YouTube clips I've heard so far; first couple of dates of a tour he always sounds/looks unrehearsed. And grumps about the setlist are abound from older fans. That said, it's nice to seem him back on stage live with Brain. As I've probably said previously, I think Buckethead really struggles live with how to present some of his music; with him choosing to play with only one type of guitar, not detuning, having no second guitarist, etc. So, some stuff works & some stuff kinda doesn't I've always felt. Curious as to how you found the whole experience? I'm prepared, possibly, for a disappointing review here...
Those photos are awful btw!
EDIT (1): your audio is actually pretty decent sounding btw!
EDIT (2); seriously, how can you take such shit photos but record to this quality on your phone?!
Those photos are awful btw!
EDIT (1): your audio is actually pretty decent sounding btw!
EDIT (2); seriously, how can you take such shit photos but record to this quality on your phone?!
Last edited:
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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This is a fucking great bootleg, Mosh. Seriously, better than half the bootlegs I currently have. They seemed pretty tight last night. Sound quality is sweet & I haven't heard that many slips at all. I'm just trying to adapt one of your crappy photos to make an album cover in WMP for this...
It wasn't disappointing at all. It was actually a similar experience to listening to one of his recent Pikes. It could be really fantastic when he was on, other moments seemed less inspired/noodle-y. Playing was definitely sloppy at times, but Buckethead's slop can still be pretty impressive.
Saw a lot of negativity at proboards, especially around the setlist as you mentioned. Since it was my first Buckethead concert, I didn't really mind the setlist. I can see how people who have seen him multiple times would be annoyed though. It was fun hearing some of that pre-Pike stuff again since I hadn't revisited any of it yet. I didn't put Want Some Slaw in my favorites playlist, but I really dug it last night. Might have to change that. I don't really understand the Soothsayer craze, honestly. Some people on proboards were treating it as one of the show's saving graces, but there were other highlights. I really enjoyed the Giant Robot stuff.
First set as a whole was better. Second set kinda lost me after Welcome To Buckethead Land until the last couple tunes. First set (as you can hear in the bootleg) was pretty great from start to finish. Animal Behavior was mesmerizing. Big Sur Moon was a great touch and perfectly placed. It also felt like the audience was more engaged during the first set. Dunno if you can hear on the recording, but there were a lot of people talking toward the end.
The band was tight, although I wish there was more musical interaction. The few jams that occurred were shortlived and never quite took off. Scraps honestly bored me. I would've liked more spontaneity and jams that were more than the trio trading isolated solo spots. There were brief moments where it seemed to be going in that direction but they were always cut short. It felt like both musicians were very underused.
Overall, it was a pretty good show. I got my money's worth although I'm not sure it's the sort of thing I'd see more than once. Kinda glad I didn't attempt to see multiples (especially considering the distances). I haven't really looked at Bucket's older live performances but I always imagined his shows being a little more unpredictable. Between the relatively safe performances and the recent Pikes, you have to wonder how dedicated he is these days. A change in direction might be good. I'd actually like to see him work with vocalists again, Brewer did a bit of singing last night which was pretty cool.
Of course there's Bucketheadland 3 coming which I'm now cautiously optimistic about. I'm hoping for something adventurous, but if last night was an indication it will be more like a Pike with a live band.
It's also worth mentioning that this was the first time I've even listened to Buckethead since my last review. The break was much needed and the music felt exciting again. I spent this morning listening to my Buckethead playlist and I think I'm ready to get back into it. I know there have been some new Pikes but I've held out on them. I'm also still planning on doing a favorites countdown. So stay tuned.
Dunno what the problem was with my phone. It's an iPhone 7 and is supposed to have a high quality camera. It usually does but last night it was struggling to focus and everything was dark and blurry.
Glad the sound was good though. I was pretty impressed myself, makes me wish I recorded some other gigs I've been to. The live sound was great which helped a lot. It wasn't too loud and there was plenty of clarity.
Saw a lot of negativity at proboards, especially around the setlist as you mentioned. Since it was my first Buckethead concert, I didn't really mind the setlist. I can see how people who have seen him multiple times would be annoyed though. It was fun hearing some of that pre-Pike stuff again since I hadn't revisited any of it yet. I didn't put Want Some Slaw in my favorites playlist, but I really dug it last night. Might have to change that. I don't really understand the Soothsayer craze, honestly. Some people on proboards were treating it as one of the show's saving graces, but there were other highlights. I really enjoyed the Giant Robot stuff.
First set as a whole was better. Second set kinda lost me after Welcome To Buckethead Land until the last couple tunes. First set (as you can hear in the bootleg) was pretty great from start to finish. Animal Behavior was mesmerizing. Big Sur Moon was a great touch and perfectly placed. It also felt like the audience was more engaged during the first set. Dunno if you can hear on the recording, but there were a lot of people talking toward the end.
The band was tight, although I wish there was more musical interaction. The few jams that occurred were shortlived and never quite took off. Scraps honestly bored me. I would've liked more spontaneity and jams that were more than the trio trading isolated solo spots. There were brief moments where it seemed to be going in that direction but they were always cut short. It felt like both musicians were very underused.
Overall, it was a pretty good show. I got my money's worth although I'm not sure it's the sort of thing I'd see more than once. Kinda glad I didn't attempt to see multiples (especially considering the distances). I haven't really looked at Bucket's older live performances but I always imagined his shows being a little more unpredictable. Between the relatively safe performances and the recent Pikes, you have to wonder how dedicated he is these days. A change in direction might be good. I'd actually like to see him work with vocalists again, Brewer did a bit of singing last night which was pretty cool.
Of course there's Bucketheadland 3 coming which I'm now cautiously optimistic about. I'm hoping for something adventurous, but if last night was an indication it will be more like a Pike with a live band.
It's also worth mentioning that this was the first time I've even listened to Buckethead since my last review. The break was much needed and the music felt exciting again. I spent this morning listening to my Buckethead playlist and I think I'm ready to get back into it. I know there have been some new Pikes but I've held out on them. I'm also still planning on doing a favorites countdown. So stay tuned.
Dunno what the problem was with my phone. It's an iPhone 7 and is supposed to have a high quality camera. It usually does but last night it was struggling to focus and everything was dark and blurry.
Glad the sound was good though. I was pretty impressed myself, makes me wish I recorded some other gigs I've been to. The live sound was great which helped a lot. It wasn't too loud and there was plenty of clarity.
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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^ I share quite a lot of those thoughts.
First half was an enjoyable listen (your bootleg), but the second half just kind of meandered; not untypically. That was only the fourth gig in & last year Buckethead was unforgivably (if you'd been there) sloppy early on in the tour; but late bootlegs are awesome in terms of his playing last year. This year/tour is likely to be the same. On that, pretty curious to what the plan is here. Tour is still only a handful of dates then a big gap, then the Halloween date (album preview?), then the new year dates (the live album recording perhaps?) Doesn't make much sense. Primus are touring mid-October into November with no support announced (bar one date with Clutch, who they just toured with) which nicely coincides with the gap in Buckethead's schedule. I wonder...
People keep talking about jamming but it didn't really hit off, did it? Honestly, they don't sound that rehearsed; and Buckethead & Brain haven't been on stage together for easy a decade. So it's not surprising it's this rough sounding. Oddly enough, Buckethead actually "jammed" to his own backing tracks last year better than this. And, like you say, on some tracks Monti & Brain are just totally under-utilised. They're just plodding along playing backing for Buckethead e.g. Soothsayer. Which, as you say, is hardly the current set highlight. I think I'd probably have loved the show, but I can see why people who have seen him before would be disappointed. It's hard to think why a guy who seems so carefree & who-gives-a-fuck in terms of releasing music is so conservative in terms of setlist choices. There needed to be more effort & more rehearsal(s). This honestly feels like a warm-up tour. Really hoping they step up a bit.
Btw, your audio genuinely is pretty damn good. Good to hear you thought the sound quality at the gig was good too; always hard to tell from YouTube & bootlegs. And in respect to BHL3; I honestly can't imagine what would make me that excited to be truthful. A really well produced, cohesive album is... well, just going to be another album. He's done so many different styles of albums (not all particularly good) already so it's hard to see where he can go here. Altho' an album with Travis again would be fucking awesome. He's basically going to have to do all these things to keep people happy. Expectations are unrealistically high when you compared him to other artists.
First half was an enjoyable listen (your bootleg), but the second half just kind of meandered; not untypically. That was only the fourth gig in & last year Buckethead was unforgivably (if you'd been there) sloppy early on in the tour; but late bootlegs are awesome in terms of his playing last year. This year/tour is likely to be the same. On that, pretty curious to what the plan is here. Tour is still only a handful of dates then a big gap, then the Halloween date (album preview?), then the new year dates (the live album recording perhaps?) Doesn't make much sense. Primus are touring mid-October into November with no support announced (bar one date with Clutch, who they just toured with) which nicely coincides with the gap in Buckethead's schedule. I wonder...
People keep talking about jamming but it didn't really hit off, did it? Honestly, they don't sound that rehearsed; and Buckethead & Brain haven't been on stage together for easy a decade. So it's not surprising it's this rough sounding. Oddly enough, Buckethead actually "jammed" to his own backing tracks last year better than this. And, like you say, on some tracks Monti & Brain are just totally under-utilised. They're just plodding along playing backing for Buckethead e.g. Soothsayer. Which, as you say, is hardly the current set highlight. I think I'd probably have loved the show, but I can see why people who have seen him before would be disappointed. It's hard to think why a guy who seems so carefree & who-gives-a-fuck in terms of releasing music is so conservative in terms of setlist choices. There needed to be more effort & more rehearsal(s). This honestly feels like a warm-up tour. Really hoping they step up a bit.
Btw, your audio genuinely is pretty damn good. Good to hear you thought the sound quality at the gig was good too; always hard to tell from YouTube & bootlegs. And in respect to BHL3; I honestly can't imagine what would make me that excited to be truthful. A really well produced, cohesive album is... well, just going to be another album. He's done so many different styles of albums (not all particularly good) already so it's hard to see where he can go here. Altho' an album with Travis again would be fucking awesome. He's basically going to have to do all these things to keep people happy. Expectations are unrealistically high when you compared him to other artists.
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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Yeh, read that. Lots of complaining about that too. Honestly, none of that stuff matters to me. I just want him to be showcasing his vast catalogue of music & doing it justice. Anything else is a side-show...
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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In what respect? You want to see a full Pikes live show, or it would be odd to expect just that?
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
I just want BH3 to take advantage of some real musicians in the room. Population Override is one of the best albums because there is so much interaction between Bucket and Travis. Is this live band supposed to be the lineup on BH3? If that's the case, I assume the album is done now and some of that musical chemistry should come across in the live shows. So that's not a great sign. I'm looking forward to the album, but I'm not going to expect anything that much more special than the average Pike.
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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Indeed, but album-after-album like PO would also be stale. I think the problem (of the last five years of Pikes) more than anything else is uniformity of production & (to a lesser extent) playing style. A live drummer probably comes a close second.
You'd assume so.
I'd assume it's done too, since it's meant to be out at the end of October. But maybe not. I'll reserve judgement on their on-stage chemistry after a few more shows.
I'm keeping my expectations reasonably low too. As I said, it's hard to think of what kind of album would blow me away right now (in respect to Buckethead, or anyone else frankly). I kind of like Buckethead's more mature, laid-back, thoughtful Pikes; and anything in that vein/direction is never going to "blow me away". I suppose something totally brutal & off-the-wall with huge production would impress me. But in the long-term I'm not sure if that's really what I want to hear any more. It's a hard one.
I'd actually like something with a wide variety of styles. Some of the Pikes were starting to do that which was cool, having a full album with a mixture of Colma styled mellow stuff and heavier Crime Slunk Scene stuff would be perfect. Throw in a few Disney covers and it'd be perfect really.
@CriedWhenBrucieLeft
What's the story on this video? This is actually the video that got me into Buckethead back in 2008-2009ish. It's such an awesome slab of guitar that I never get tired of.
What's the story on this video? This is actually the video that got me into Buckethead back in 2008-2009ish. It's such an awesome slab of guitar that I never get tired of.
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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No idea what the story is behind any of the Secret Recipe footage. They just filmed a lot of stuff with him dressed up as Buckethead I guess. I think this is just in his back garden. That might be his Dad at the beginning.
But the playing? Jesus, that sweeping is fucking ridiculous. Doesn't even seem like he's looking at his fingering or positioning or anything. In some ways his playing is essentially exactly the same now; he just doesn't do all this showy stuff that often. The only thing that I miss sometimes is that old tone; his lead tone on old clips always sounded awesome.
But the playing? Jesus, that sweeping is fucking ridiculous. Doesn't even seem like he's looking at his fingering or positioning or anything. In some ways his playing is essentially exactly the same now; he just doesn't do all this showy stuff that often. The only thing that I miss sometimes is that old tone; his lead tone on old clips always sounded awesome.
Yea the clip is insane. Love the variety and technique in his playing. Was unaware of the Secret Recipe dvd, but if it has more footage like this I’ll have to seek it out ASAP.
In other news, I preordered Bucketheadland 3 yesterday. Ended up going with the standard edition vinyl since we still don’t know what’s on the DVD and I doubt there’s anything that would justify an additional $45. I might spend that money on some of those other vinyl reissues instead. Shadows Between the Sky and Diamond in the Rough seem particularly appealing.
In other news, I preordered Bucketheadland 3 yesterday. Ended up going with the standard edition vinyl since we still don’t know what’s on the DVD and I doubt there’s anything that would justify an additional $45. I might spend that money on some of those other vinyl reissues instead. Shadows Between the Sky and Diamond in the Rough seem particularly appealing.
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
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Secret Recipe is fantastic. Get the Young Buckethead DVD set too. Both are awesome.
The feedback so far on the quality of the vinyl releases has been really good. I've not really seen anyone complaining; everything seems to have been done to a decent standard & despite the delays in shipping they sound totally worth having. I'll probably get a pile of them shipped together once we're deeper into the release schedule.
The feedback so far on the quality of the vinyl releases has been really good. I've not really seen anyone complaining; everything seems to have been done to a decent standard & despite the delays in shipping they sound totally worth having. I'll probably get a pile of them shipped together once we're deeper into the release schedule.