Buckethead put on a guitar shredding master class at The Music Box
On Tuesday December 10th, the masked virtuosic guitarist known as Buckethead, performed a phenomenal guitar shred fest at The Music Box in San Diego, California. Known for a prolific solo catalog of over 600 albums, along with extensive collaborations with bands like The Deli Creeps, Primus, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, and Praxis, the list of his many projects goes on and on. His recordings are an impressive musical output to say the least, in addition to a much discussed and publicized stint with early 2000s Guns and Roses, and his genre defining addition to the video game Guitar Hero 2 soundtrack “Jordan”. Buckethead is clearly a very diverse artist that absolutely loves making music. This show at The Music Box was no exception with Buckethead performing a variety of musical genres and a diverse set of original tracks and covers from throughout his career.
The show at The Music Box in Little Italy was packed to say the least, with the tight club floor littered with tons of folks wearing KFC buckets and carrying gifts, eagerly anticipating receiving a possible toy from Buckethead during a famous sequence in his live show. The backing band for Buckethead on this evening featured a brilliant young guitarist know as Cob, as well as fantastic drummer Dan Monti. Also known by “Brewer,” Monti is a famous record producer and longtime Buckethead collaborator who got to show off not only his drumming skills but also his singing chops on several excellent covers, like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Buckethead did not talk or address the crowd directly, preferring to let his music and performance do the talking for him. Some highlights of this performance included songs like “Night of The Slunk,” “The Interworld and The New Innocence,” “Lobotomy Salon,” and the gorgeously beautiful “Soothsayer.”
Unfortunately for the many Instagram photographers and YouTube videographers in attendance, Buckethead, who has a devoted online following, kept his stage lighting painfully low for this set. It’s a wonder he can even see what he’s doing in such low lighting while wearing a mask and playing such incredibly intricate music. A few dim blue and red lights beamed down, with the guitarist’s stark white mask, KFC bucket, and guitar remaining the only brightly visible items on stage. More light would be very much welcomed to be able to study some of Buckethead’s fantastic guitar technique and learn some of the master’s secrets, perhaps this is why he prefers keeping his stage lighting dimmed down. Luckily for his many San Diego fans the artist had some epic merchandise on display, with both apparel and a poster for sale, a rarity for Buckethead live shows.
The sound at The Music Box was absolutely spot on at this concert with the GA floor sounding especially bass heavy and powerful, with Buckethead’s wailing guitar cutting and slicing through the thick air. Watching much of the show from the upper balcony was also enjoyable, and gave a fantastic bird’s eye view of the stage and audience enjoying the show below. Buckethead is an absolute musical enigma, a multifaceted artist that can’t be pinned down, and getting to see him perform this incredible music in an intimate live setting is always a treat. Here’s hoping to many continued San Diego shows from this prolific and inspiring artist, and for just a bit more light so we can try to figure out how he’s playing so fast!
This article and the image gallery below feature photos from Buckethead’s performance at the Music Box San Diego on December 10th 2024, as well as his performance at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on June 24th, 2024.
