We went to see the Butthole Surfers last night at Webster Hall and wow, they did not disappoint! I was a huge fan in the 80s and the nostalgia for the old days was as thick as the smell of weed wafting through the crowd. Along with the strobe lights, the smoke machine and the twisted voicebox and megaphone, the multilayered film projections of 60s car crash victims, surgical procedure films, rodeo accidents added just the right cocktail of psychotic chaos. With the help of a group of teenagers from the original “School of Rock” the surfers busted out all the hits with the ferocity of an insane asylum stuffed in a bottle. The only real problem with the show was that it wasn’t loud enough and throughout the set I could see Gibby motioning to the sound guy to turn up the monitors. After several trips over to the side of the stage, Gibby finally just walked around the soundboard and punched the soundguy in the face! He went back the the mic but in a minute 2 bouncers came and escorted him off the stage. The Band finished with a bitchin badass version of “The Shah sleeps in Lee Harvey’s grave” and the raucous and very drunk crowd practically rioted for an encore. It was fucking awesome!
Here is a video I made with the Buttholes in Austin Tx in 1990.