Wow. Just wow.

If I had to sum up a Buckethead concert in one word it would be this: overwhelming. Last night's concert in San Francisco was my first concert, so I can't base my opinion of concerts on a first impression. I do, however, think that, in general, I am not going to really be a concert person. Oh, sure, the music was "SHREDTASTICALLY AWESOMERIFFIC," but I didn't find the marijuana fumes, ear-bleeding music, and need to stand for four hours quite as awesome.
The first act was Kid Beyond, beat-boxer extraordinaire. He could make some noises with his mouth I had no idea even existed. One of the cool things he would do was make one noise, press a button to somehow record that noise and play it over and over again, then add on a different noise that fit in with the beat. He kept laying on new and interesting sounds, and it actually sounded pretty cool. It was great for an opening act, but after about ten minutes, I stopped being amazed. One can only take so much beat-boxing in one night. He amused the audience later on by having them invent some sort of viking-pirate cry of "fnyaarg," then later a more emphatic version of "hoom'fnyaarg," but when he left the stage, I was thoroughly ready for Buckethead.
Which brings me, of course, to the man himself. He wears red bowling shoes, a black trench coat, pants several sizes too small, fake dreads(I think), a white mannequin mask, and a KFC bucket on his head. Oh yeah, and whenever he talks, he uses a severed head. It was bizarre to see first-hand. Unfortunately, never in the performance did he whip out his nun-chucks and do some killer moves. He did, however, shred like the history of shreddage has never seen shredded before. He played on into the night, until, at 1:00, he hung up his guitar and walked offstage, leaving a thoroughly satisfied audience. It was really a sight to see.