The image to the left is a piece of art created by a New York artist by the name of Steve DeFrank.  It’s an older work of his, but I only just discovered it through the official website for the Smithsonian Institute‘s National Portrait Gallery.  This piece was a finalist in the 2006 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and was part of the subsequent, related exhibit held at the gallery.  DeFrank‘s work did not “win” the competition, it is only one piece in a group with the work of other finalists’.  It is, however, a piece that stands out amongst all of the various life-like and detailed works, for both it’s medium and it’s subject matter.  The 5 foot tall portrait is titled, “Mom and Dad” and is a pointillism piece constructed entirely out of Hasbro Lite-Brite pegs.

The following is DeFrank‘s artist statement that went along with the piece:

“Parents can be the most embarrassing people on the planet when you’re ten. Just imagine how mortifying it would be if they were naked for the whole world to see? I did just that. It was sweet revenge for all the uncomfortable moments I had endured. Something happened while making the piece. I realized that I was the same age as my parents were in the picture. How would I do as a parent with nine children? I can barely take care of myself. I thought, hey, my parents are real people with flaws just like me. So they’re not superhuman after all. They’re real people with tan lines and bad hair. What started out as a smart-alecky work ended with a greater understanding of my parents. For all their flaws and imperfections I love them even more today.”

Here are the official specs of the piece via his finalist page:

Mom and Dad
Steve DeFrank
New York City, New York
Hand-dyed Lite-Brite pegs in light box, 2005
60 in. (152.4 cm) height
Collection of the artist, courtesy Clementine Gallery

That’s right, he hand died all of the pegs himself to create the detail.  The Lite-Brite medium was DeFrank‘s trademark for many years and, although he has chosen to move on and venture into new directions, his new work is as equally jarring as it is worth checking out.

Whenever I come across the work of an artist and decide to post something about it, I have a primary objective to help promote them by providing links to their portfolio’s and, if nothing else, a starting point for readers to continue with their exploration.  Unfortunately, DeFrank doesn’t seem to have the greatest internet presence.  I did, however, locate an interview that was conducted last year by Art Cat.

To read the interview, please CLICK HERE
To view the complete list of finalists in the portrait exhibition CLICK HERE

UPDATE (documentary):

I continued to search and actually tracked down a short documentary on Youtube with Steve DeFrank as the subject.  It’s cut into 2 parts and follows DeFrank through his step-by-step process during his Lite-Brite period.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To link to the original source account for the documentary CLICK HERE
The following is the information included with the Youtube videos:

“Documentary on the artist Steve Defrank. This was my first attempt at making a documentary. At the time Steve was using Lite Brites as his artistic medium and that intrigued me. He had received a commission to do a portrait of Mr. Potatohead from Hasbro and I was able to tape him as he worked on this particular project. Aside from this piece being in the Hasbro Corporate Collection he also has had work shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC and at The New Museum in New York City. If you would like to find out more about Steve he is currently represented by Clementine Gallery in New York City. To learn about Jonathan Dobin go to http://www.measureformeasure.org.“

The image above, featuring child star tragedy Dana Plato (R.I.P.) giving herself a “different stroke” in her Playboy spread, was created by Netherland.  It is an acrylic, collage, and resin work on wood called “Proud Brother“.  Due to being one of the less elaborate pieces construction-wise, the piece was modestly priced at $250 and has already sold.  According to Netherland‘s website, the buyers of the piece were Chelsea Handler and her boyfriend, Ted Harbert (CEO of E!).

Here are a handful of the other current pieces being featured in the exhibit in a variety of mediums:

Trisha Gum
“Hello, WJM Newsroom”
cut paper, mixed media
21 x 21 inches, an extra 16 inches with antenna
$450.00
(Mary Tyler Moore)

Augie Pagan
“Five Across the Lips”
acrylic on canvas
24.5 x 18 inches
$2,000.00
(Sanford and Son)

Scott Campbell
“Sushi Off A Friend”
watercolor on paper
8 x 10 inches
$400.00 – SOLD
(The A-Team and The Greatest American Hero)

**print currently available for Scott Campbell’s “Sushi Off A Friend”
giclee print on archival paper
limited edition of 30 prints, signed and numbered by artist
14 x 11 inches
$65.00 each

Adam Rex
“Season Five”
oil on tabletop
24 inches diameter
$2,000.00
(Small Wonder)

Jude Buffum
“Saved By The Bell”
giclee print on canvas, edition of 13 (12 available)
MP3 exclusive download of 8-bit Saved By The Bell” theme with every print purchase
19 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches
$200.00 unframed
(Saved By The Bell)

Charlie Immer
“Rainbow Drops”
oil on panel
12 x 12 inches
$1,660.00 – SOLD
(Gumby)

Marcus Schaefer
“TV Eyes On You”
acrylic on canvas
11.5 x 19.5 inches
$1,500.00
(Ren & Stimpy)

Wade Schin
“MacGyver”
acrylic plastic, spraypaint, acrylic paint
ONE OF A KIND
4 1/2 inches tall
$700.00 – SOLD
(MacGyver)

Ken Garduno
“Another Dimension”
acrylic ink and wash
17 x 12.5 inches
$525.00 – SOLD
(The Twilight Zone)

Kiersten Essenpreis
“Seinfeldology (AKA 99 Seinfeld references)”
flashpaint and resin on wood
11.5 x 14.5 inches
$1,500.00 – SOLD
(Seinfeld)
Prints to be released SOON on g1988.blogspot.com

Kii Arens
“Charles Nelson Lightbox”
customized lightbox
14 x 18 inches
$500.00 – SOLD
(Charles Nelson Reilly)

There is even a reference, in one show painting, to the time that Cherie locked herself in a refrigerator while playing hide and seek on Punky Brewster.  I’m a little surprised that there was no work featuring Jessie Spano looped out on caffeine pills, however.

To see the rest of the artwork featured please click here.

To purchase any available piece, either listed above or featured through the link, please call: Gallery 1988 @ (323) 937-7088

When I found out that kidrobot was slated to release a vinyl Quasimoto figure later this month, I had 2 thoughts run through my head.  The first was that it was a great idea and the second was, “Wait!  Why didn’t this exist already?“  A collaboration involving “planet Earth’s premier creator & retailer of limited edition toys” manufacturing a vinyl collectors figurine of DJ/Producer Madlib‘s nasally, rapping alter-ego seemed inevitable.

Much of the success of kidrobot came with their creation of the blank, fully-poseable Munny dolls, which have provided a whole new customizable medium for artists of every level.  Beyond the clothing line, books, and art that they sell, the company also specializes in taking 2-dimensional characters, from low-brow artwork to Adult Swim programs, and transforming them into 3-dimensional vinyl collectibles.  In the huge industry that toy collecting has become, kidrobot’s name is as big as they come and they are a consistent innovator in the genre.  They’ve actually ventured into molding figures from music before.  The animated figure heads from the band Gorillaz and even Daniel Johnston‘s iconic drawing of his frog “Jeremiah the Innocent” have been casted into vinyl by the company in the past.

The reason that the release of the Quasimoto figure seems so perfect stems from more than the connection between the toy company and the music industry.  kidrobot has worked with the Stones Throw record label to produce a figure before and, even more specifically, with Madlib himself.  In early 2007 a toy was released based on Madvillain, Madlib‘s collaborative work with rapper MF Doom.  The collectible resembled the gumshoe-esque version of MF Doom featured in the comicbook-style “All Caps” video from the enhanced Madvillainy CD (2004).  It only makes sense that Stones Throw‘s number one illustrated character would be next to be immortalized in vinyl.  kidrobot‘s Quasimoto is 8 inches tall and will sell for $49.95.  Like the Madvillain figure, the doll should sell out quickly and comes with 2 color options.  An equal number of versions in BLUE and Yellow were produced for the run and the pre-order on the Stones Throw site (posted on Jan. 26th) has already sold out.

The unorthodox connections between counter-culture, animation, and toys with sub-mainstream music has been surprising, yet oddly fitting.  I first started noticing electronic music from Amon Tobin and, later, Squarepusher playing over short Adult Swim segments.  Madvillain was featured on the first of 2 “Chrome Children” albums, which were compilations of Stones Throw artists and co-produced by Adult Swim.  Before that, characters from the Cartoon Network‘s late night block were also heavily featured on Doom and Danger Mouse‘s “DANGERDOOM” album (Epitaph 2005).  Seeing as how kidrobot has already produced figures for both MF Doom and Adult Swim, my theory is that a Danger Doom toy will be coming eventually, as well.  Although kidrobot and Adult Swim deal with more mature subject matter than the majority in the cartoon and toy industries, there are still very mild attempts to tone down some of the content for a more massive audience.  The original “Chrome Children” album is available for free download on the Adult Swim website but it is only the censored version.  The box for the Quasimoto figurine states that the high-pitched chronic fiend comes with a removable brick and “cigarette” (with quotations), while the StonesThrow.com labels it as follows: spliff “cigarette.” When I see slight edits like these, it is the only time that I remember that the collaborations may be unconventional.  Somehow they all naturally seem like really logical moves.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBTcTzl1jz8

MORE ON LORD QUAS

Many of you may have heard about how Stones Throw label head, Peanut Butter Wolf, was the one that actually convinced Mad Lib to release the Quasimoto (aka: Lord Quas) material after discovering his recordings.  More information shows that the aardvark like image we all associate with the Madlib‘s excellerated vocal tracks was never intended to represent him at all.  Anyone that’s seen the cover to the first Quasimoto full length, The Unseen (2000), knows that the cover features a pseudo-transparent humanoid figure holding a boombox in the back of a Caddy that’s being tailed by the police.  Apparently, Lord Quas was supposed to be exactly that: “unseen“.  The formula was set up to be more like his “Yesterday’s New Quintet” work that is comprised of only Madlib, under his own name (Otis Jackson Jr.) and 4 other aliases.  The large snouted Lord Quas image first appeared on the “Microphone Mathematics” single and was drawn by DJ Design.  The cover actually featured 3 of the Q-Bert-like creatures (red, green, and blue) sitting behind desks in a classroom.  The artist best known for drawing Quas, Jeff Jank, claims that he simply “adapted this character for the artwork inside The Unseen CD and subsequent singles“.  He also states that “This little character was just meant to represent the lyrics for the song “Bad Character” This explanation is understandable considering the lyrics, “I smack a nigga with a brick talking outta place…“.  I had wondered myself about when the logo came to be.  Last year I noticed that 1999′s “Whenimondamic” video from Madlib‘s first group, Lootpack, was available on-demand.  The video, which consisted of the group in hazmat suits in a desert trading an alien for a kidnapped DJ Romes, featured a Quasimoto verse.  The vocals were at the beginning of the track and were lip-synched by the rapper Wildchild in blue face-paint.  Apparently, he was intented to mirror the image of a Draag from the film “La Planète Sauvage” (aka: The Fantastic Plantet).  Madlib‘s facsination with the 1973 animated French/Czech classic is further evidenced by the inclusion of a Draag holding the current Quas image on the cover for the “Basic Instinct” single.  However it came about, Jeff Jank, Design, and Madlib stumbled across one of the most iconic images underground hip-hop may ever see.  As Jank puts it, when the public began referring to the image, after Quas was placed on a T-Shirt and the album took off, the artists behind it “just went along with it“.

-Dead C

To read Jeff Janks full testimonial about the images origin CLICK HERE

To view “Fantastic Planet” in full on Youtube CLICK HERE

Here are the locations where you can pick up a Lord Quas figure of your own

US Online:
Turntablelab.com
Fatbeats.com
Undergroundhiphop.com
Giantpeach.com
Revolveclothing.com
Digitalgravel.com

Europe Online:
Novoidplus.com (France)
HHV.de (Germany)
Kingunderground.com (UK)
Warpmart.com (UK)

US/Canada:
Kicks (Hawaii)
Amoeba (SF)
Turntable Lab (NYC/LA)
Fat Beats (NYC/LA)
360 (Portland)
Ear X Tacy (Louisville)
5th Element (Minneapolis)
Waterloo (Austin)
Proper (Long Beach)
Beat Street (Vancouver)
Norml Clothing (Ottawa)
Play De Record (Toronto)

International:
Lazy Dog (Paris)
All City (Dublin)
Wax Museum (Melbourne)
Highs & Lows (Beaufort)
Hum (Zurich)
Vinylz Store (Bern)
DMR (Osaka/Tokyo)
Jazzy Sport (Tokyo)
Novoid Plus (Paris)
Fat City (Manchester)
Streetkit Gallery (Moscow)

Of course I am referring to when, underwear designer, Shawn from Tool Academy was caught point blank and confronted in a room by his other “real” girlfriend Aida right in the middle of apologizing and pledging his loyalty to Jaimee.  OMG! WTF! FTW! PWND! ROTFLMAO!  What are the rest of those acronyms the kids are using, these days?

Oh yeah, in less prominent news, Barack Obama was also innaurgurated as the first African-American president of the United States ever.  Some of you might have missed that but, apparently it went down yesterday.  I think that it may have gained coverage on some of the other stations that aren’t VH1.

Other nations around the world seem very supportive and enthusiastic about the new presidency, except, of course, for the Iranians’ burning of Obama’s image in effigy.  I sent an email out to our writer DW. Patton in Japan to see how the country is responding to the news, if at all.  However, based on a recent discovery posted today, I think we may already have our answer sooner than expected.  Gamu Toys, a provider of anime and robot action figures, just released their version of a fully-poseable Barack Obama action figure today.  They seem to clearly view the role of his presidency and as a public figure more in the light of a John Woo film.

Below is a copy of the product page for the doll.  It is a choppy read due to the fact that I used an automatic translator for the original text, which I’m assuming was written in Japanese.

Enjoy,

-Dead C

■ DiD US Presidential Election 2008 Barack Obama ■

- - The 44th president of the United States Barack Obama’s –
President of the first African-American, Barack Obama 44 President of the USA’s stunning overhead in INCHIAKUSHONFIGYUA 12.
I was surprised itself out of these products in the overseas珍SHIKU無I I also figure that these politicians.

2008 specification and the U.S. presidential election, comes with the image of that time and costumes and accessories.
The costume is a private suit, in part does not match the size of some elementary and Howdy, “and BISHIッrock” is not.
The highlight (?) Is so great that the quality of the head and, to some extent will be the first瞑RE.
OBAMAHEDDO Obama is a notch or even look at it from anywhere.
The high quality of the coating is firm to reproduce the details and texture of the skin.
All clothing is removable. Fixed to the inside and uses a button or belt.

Parts & Accessories gimmick.

List of accessories.
Hand option × 3 species (moving hands, handle,指SHI手finger), Mike, tie × 2 seed, watch Flags),旗立台, a chair, head options (picture below)

OBAMAHEDDO is included.
Normal type (upper) and speech type (bottom)

The options are moving one hand, holding hands, pointing out three of the species included.
Moving hands (soft material) is a single wire to a finger (?) Are schooled, you can move the fingers freely.

Flags in the chair and the staff of the timber, and竿頭旗立台uses the metal parts.
The firm also makes the American flag, even texture and massive punch combination is a good thing.

Toward the end of the game.

And organizations and is not related to any real person.

President, enjoy the winter in Japan.

遊BEMASU longer true.
Figures and絡MASE or scale, or just like posture, and decorate it
The other figure is not something that is unique taste of the fun.
Such as action figures is a major low-priced items
Including optional items, included the entire building was stunned by the firm.

If things like other political figures at this scale, they are likely to make the world a more arrays.
Including former Prime Minister of Japan, the figures in a row on the shelves of the world leaders … to ensure customer’s招KEMASEN.
(Russia around it is no discomfort, even if mixed with other shelves.)

To View Original Product Page CLICK HERE

The first time that I had an opportunity to see Buckethead live was on June 11, 2004 during the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.  While many chose to attend a lackluster performance by Paige Mcconnell’s (Phish) band Vida Blue, I strolled over to a small tent on the other side of the field instead.  Buckethead rounded up the lineup for Praxis, a “super-group” that included Brain (Primus, El Stew) on drums, Bernie Worrell (Talking Heads, Parliament Funkadelic, Woo Warriors) on keys, and the prolific producer/bassist Bill Laswell.  I was completely sober but, that Praxis performance was still one of the most psychedelic and visually disorienting shows that I have ever seen and my mind was swiftly blown like a tenth of molly.  Bill Laswell kicked into the bass-line of “Salt Shaker” by the Ying Yang Twins as Buckethead pop-locked holding an animatronic decapitated head that scanned the audience with its eyes and rapped the lyrics.  Anyone who can’t find entertainment in a spectacle such as that, I don’t think I would want to be friends with.  I witnessed Buckethead perform again at the festival with Material, another Laswell project, and later that year in Seattle with Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, which mirrors the Praxis lineup, with the exception of Les Claypool on bass.  In 2006, I went to another show in Seattle where Buckethead fronted a trio which featured his old Deli Creeps drummer Pinchface, and had a much heavier and more straight-up rock sound.  He’s released a dark dub album called “Devil Dub” with his group Ben Wa, gone in more electronic directions with DJ Extrakd on albums like “Bermuda Triangle“, and even appeared on albums with actor Viggo Mortenson and recorded under the acronym Death Cube “K“.  His eclectic musical resume is beyond impressive but, it still forced me to worry that I may be rolling the dice by attending Buckethead’s 2009 New Years performance.  A few advertisements aired for the show on local television which featured a track with vocals by Serj Tankian (System of a Down), who’s label he is currently signed to.  It made me fear that I would be spending my night with what I feel to be some of his less appealing work.  Unlike many of his fans, I don’t attend G3 Tour performances and have dreams of “surfing with an alien” so, I was actually a bit skeptical about if a mute guitarist with a cardboard chicken bucket on his head could maintain the audience’s interest all by himself.  One thing that I knew I could be sure about is that, at some point in the show, I would witness something so incredible and awe-inspiring that it would make up for any cliched hair metal antics that I may have to endure.

Buckethead

Moore Theatre

Seattle, Wa

12/31/08

We got downtown and hopped off of the metro at around 9pm.   The bus, which reeked of 151 and weed, was packed full of paper-horn blowing assholes with plans to start their new years off “drunconscious” in tacky bile-stained Ed Hardy dress shirts that have embroidered eagles and shit sewn onto the backs.  I hadn’t expected the show to actually start at 8 sharp but, when we arrived at The Moore Theatre, there wasn’t anyone else in line.  I had expressed concern to the promoter that I may have trouble bringing a Digital SLR into the venue however, after 2 checkpoints without issue, I was escorted to my seats 4 rows back from center stage.  We had already clearly missed the opening act, PCP (The Portland Cello Project), and Buckethead was already on stage when we walked in.  He stood alone in front of a Marshall stack and a plethora of pedals and effects racks that provided his rythm section.  His set started off that evening with “Night of the Slunk” (Monsters and Robots 1999) which is very heavy on the kill-switch usage.  What I mean is that Buckethead’s Gibson is equipped with buttons that he presses rapidly to cut out the sound in choppy intervals, like a DJ with a fader.  Halfway through he went into some one-handed guitar work, as he moved around robotically like an anthropomorphic character from Chuck-E-Cheese or Showbiz Pizza.  By his second track, “Crash Test Dummy” (aka: “Crash Victim” from Praxis’ Transmutation),  he was already making use of his trademark elastic guitar strap to stretch his instrument out towards the audience and fuck with everyone’s perception.  His blank mask gives him such a stoic quality that every movement looks even more exaggerated and, combined with his gestures and rapid fire solos, it increases his appearance as being something more than human.  Switching it up, Buckethead pulls the pseudo-ballad “Ghost Host” (“Decoding the tomb of Bansheebot” 2007), out of his repertoire before shifting to the raunchy guitar chops of the “Gory Head Stump” intro, where he momentarily wore a rubber head on his hand.  Mid-way through, he thumps his guitar like a slap bass and takes it into an all out funk jam, before returning back to it’s much grimier start.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8AiJD19KOY

I was already up front and snapping photos by the time he went into “King James” (Crime Slunk Scene 2006), an ode to basketball star Lebron James.  While he was playing, the wireless device that he had been using up until that point, began to fizzle out and his dreadlocked music tech P-Sticks came out mid-song.  His huge goatee stuck out through the bottom of a surgical mask as he connected the guitar through a direct line and promptly exited back behind the equipment.  In continuance of his rock-ballad/Lebron James/basketball theme, Carroll casually jammed that song into “Redeem Team” from his recent release Albino Slug.  I think that was about the time that I was yanked the fuck out by security and taken into the lobby to explain myself.

I dropped some names and got sifted through a hierarchy of security.  There were about 3 different men and each one was less receptive and more condescending than the last.  The first two guys were actually pretty cool about everything, but the last one made me call the promoter from a noisy lobby.  This was even after I stated that I wanted to step outside where it was quieter.  “Can’t you call him from right here?” he asked.  “Sure, I’ll call him from here“.  I had already sent him a text and I didn’t want to interrupt whatever New Years festivities he may be engaging in himself.  When he answered the phone, neither of us could hardly hear anything on each others end.  He was extremely helpful and I heard him say, “Someone’s on their way“.  I thanked him and, right as I hung up my phone, someone was already approaching and asking if I was the “photographer“.  He walked me back in and down to the front where he informed another security guard of my authorization and instructed him not to harass me further.  I started shooting again and, when the original guard re-approached me, he was waved off instantly.  I’m used to this treatment and it wouldn’t be me or Monster Fresh, if I didn’t encounter some sort of issue.  I actually prefer things this way for two reasons: 1) I still feel a connection to the makeshift ghetto roots roots of sneaking into shows that birthed this site and 2) I had only been shooting from obstructed angles off to the side before this all went down.  Once you go through all of the drama of being scanned through upper management and they do eventually approve what you’re there to do officially, nobody below them fucks with you at all.  You’re usually able to get away with a lot more than you might have, if that never happened.  The risk of being removed has decreased so much; the staff has orders to leave you alone.

The crowd, more or less, remained seated as Buckethead went through tracks like the funk-metal “Fountains of the Forgotten” (Cuckoo Clocks of Hell 2004) and the highly popular “Soothsayer” (Crime Slunk Scene). Then it was time for the patented nunchaku and robot routine.  As usual, the guitarist put on a recording of the space-funk “Minute to Forever” by the artist Freekbass and grabbed his nunchucks.  He skillfully wielded them around before tossing them aside for a pair of giant blue foam fingers.  The foam couldn’t quite cover the palms of his giant hands, while he did the robot and glided across the stage.  He was really pulling out his bag of tricks at that point and now it was time for him to grab his bag of toys.  When he walked over to a giant plastic shopping bag, the audience rushed to the front of the stage and I instantly found myself surrounded by a crowd.  Buckethead reached into the bag and handed out random toys to his fans.  Many were prepared with out-stretched buckets of their own to collect the free prizes and others even brought gifts for the performer himself.  Among the gifts that Brian Carroll received were a “Star Wars” vinyl LP and a handmade replica of the Buckethead doll featured on his “Secret Recipe” DVD, complete with the detailed packaging.  I personally was handed a Playmobil Dragon Kinights playset with projectile balliste.  Some of the crowd walked away with Disney related toys representing Carroll’s fascination with the theme park that he grew up close too.  One kid left the Moore Theatre that night with a large box containing an Disney acoustic Hannah Montana guitar.  The interaction between Bucket Clause and the crowd was reminiscent of the classic Frankenstein scene between the monster and the little girl.  He appeared like a kind hearted monster as he curiously, gently, and appreciatively inspected toys and gifts given to him by the crowd.  Someone offered him a plastic hand with a plaid blood-stained sleeve.  Carroll pulled it over his own arm and then did a short routine with it, which involved some more posing, slow-motion, and charging across the stage.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeFLN3y2KLM

After the martial-arts/hip-hop/toy intermission, the audience was treated to a rendition of “Jordan“, a song which was named after Michael and has gained popularity with the kids as an unlockable bonus track from Guitar Hero II.  By the time the toys had been passed out, I had feared that Carroll had exhausted every trick that he had up his extra-long sleeves but, the rest of the show worked as evidence to the contrary.  There was a moment when the lanky musician froze in his typical mannequin-like fashion.  A man dressed like a mad scientist came out to simulate electrical maintenance on Carroll’s back, while mechanical computer sounds pumped through the speakers.  Once when  Brian left to take a brief break, a stocky character entered the other side of the empty stage.  He was wearing an old man mask like one my sister had when we were children.  He picked up an electric mandolin and did a jig while plucking the strings off key.  Eventually, the guitar shredder returned and they performed a little circus tune together.  Later, during another break, the same man came out and placed two singing and dancing robotic chicken toys on a stool with a mic in front of them.  Buckethead had various samples and audio clips that were featured throughout the show.  At one point he mimicked vocals with his hand-puppet “Herbie” and, when he played “The Battery Cage Brawls“, (Bucketheadland 2) P-Sticks re-entered the stage in a mask and top hat to lip-sync the “ghost of Abraham Lincoln’s” dialog, “I didnt understand ya there young fella, would you repeat that again?“  The man in the mask and P-Sticks subsequently came out to perform with  Buckethead together.  The man played the mandolin again but P-Sticks was holding a contraption that looked like a hybrid flashlight/theramin.  Back in 2000 a man approached me in a Phish lot at Mountainview, Ca when heard us listening to Monsters and Robots.  “Oh,  are you guys listening to Brian?” he asked, and then proceeded to tell us how he was friends with him.  Apparently, another of their friends invents crazy electronic instruments which he brings to Carroll, who plays them effortlessly.  I’m unsure if P-Sticks was the inventor that he was referring to but, I’m assuming that he was performing with one of the instruments.  At the end of the show, another character, resembling a space-age version of Devo’s Boojie Boy, rocked out on stage in a silver costume and a purple boombox.

Among originals like “The Revenge of Double-man” (Monsters and Robots) and “Botnus” (Enter the Chicken 2005), the bucket-clad rockstar weaved a few cover songs into the second half of his New Years Eve show.  He incorporated the Hendrix classic “Foxy Lady” and even “Pure Imagination” from the original Willy Wonka soundtrack.  Futuristic robotic sounds were manipulated from his white Gibson guitar and eventually melded into songs from John Williams’ monumental “Star Wars” work.  Buckethead managed to reproduce blaster and R2d2 sounds with his guitar and jammed the medley into a phased-out version of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider“.  Before the show was over, a professionally dressed woman entered the stage with a clipboard.  She referenced the fictional “abusement park” that the Bucketheadland.com website is titled and modeled after.  She thanked us for coming to the park and claimed that teh dead bodies had been cleared from specific rides.  Buckethead finished the night off with “Welcome to Bucketheadland” (Giant Robot 1994) and ended the show abruptly before 11pm.

I was surprised that the show ended so early because I’m used to New Years shows that run through midnight with balloons dropping and the whole shabang.  This was the last show of his tour and, based on what I have read, the show didn’t differ much from the previous set-lists on this run.  I walked out of the Moore and a man was out front trying to hustle blank white buckets to people on the street.  The crowd was very young and the energy was extremely positive, unlike what one may expect from a performer that often draws fans of metal and heavy guitar rock.  I enjoyed the early dismissal, which allowed me the opportunity to get back to my area of town and have a quiet drink before the ball dropped.  I have no regrets in my decision to spend my New Years at the Moore Theatre and wonder why I ever questioned it in the first place.  Buckethead is a multi faceted artist and, although the show contained lots of heavy guitar noodling and sentimental ballads like those found on Colma, the tribute album for his sick mom, the guitarist made sure to incorporate enough elements from his eclectic career to please his fans of any level or genre.  I encourage everyone who has ever had any interest in checking out one of his performances to do so.  I’ve seen him 5 times now and, at every single one of those shows, I found something new and enthralling to come away with.  There is a story about Buckethead unsuccessfully trying out for “The Red Hot Chili Peppers“, much like Les Claypool had for “Metallica“.  Today, both of the men continue to be innovative in their crafts and consistently get better over time, while the groups that rejected them plateaued ages ago.  Brian Carroll’s career and the versatility that he has shown as a performer should be more than just inspiration for aspiring guitarist.  His shows aren’t just concerts; they are elaborate productions, utilized to display a genuine appreciation for those who have come out to support him.

-Dead C

We’d like to thank Swolfy & Kerry, the 2 friends who flew out from the East Coast just for the show.  Swolfy provided us with a quick photo of the set list that she was able to snap while at the show (featured in Gallery below) and Kerry helped us out with the first video featured.  Please take a look at Swolfy’s deviant art page to view her photographs from the show.  We also reccommend checking out the rest of Kerry’s videos from her youtube page.  They are really good quality and she was able to catch tons of footage.

(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE & VIEW)