BBQ Pope Through the Centuries

I like to see how little they've changed since 1982

Here is Gibby naked in 1982 playing BBQ Pope


Here they are playing BBQ Pope in 1983 (followed by Dum Dum)


And here they are last week

Letterman 1996

Butthole Surfers on David Letterman, playing Pepper (of course) with a mysterious 2nd guitar player that is someone named Kyle Ellison who I have never heard of. And Gibby kisses Paul and then lights his hand on fire at the end, which is a nice touch.

Dec 31, 2010 Music Hall of Williamsburg

Photos of Gibby didn't come out too well, I was on Paul's side and Gibby was blocked by his tronix. Same for Pinkus, too far away for clear photos. And King, well, he is back there drumming the shit out of it. I'm thunderstruck by how consistently amazing these guys can play.










Below are videos from New Years Eve. Looks like so far more people posted videos from 12/30, which I'll link in the post below for that date.

SWEATLOAF


COWBOY BOB


BBQ POPE





Rocky


Dust Devil/New Years Eve countdown


CHERUB


EDGAR & GOOFY'S CONCERN

Dec 30, 2010 Music Hall of Williamsburg

A great show. A great weekend. Music Hall of Williamsburg is an excellent venue to see a band like this, big enough for good sound, small enough to feel intimate.


Songlist as posted on the BHS forum - but it's missing Rocky

SweatLoaf
Cowboy Bob
100 Million
Suicide
Rocky
Negro Observer
BBQ Pope
Hey
x-Ray
2 Parter/Tornado
Dust Devil
Goofy's Concern
O-Men
USSA
Webber
Lady Sniff/Pepper
Graveyard
22 Going On 23
Some Dispute
Edgar
Fast
Gary Floyd
----------
Bong Song
Blindman
No Rule
Shah Sleeps


Sweat Loaf


Another version of Sweat Loaf


BBQ Pope


X-Ray


Another X-Ray


Goofy's Concern


O-Men


Weber


Graveyard


Another Graveyard


Rocky


Another Rocky


Fake New Years Countdown

Graveyard at Lollapalooza 1991

Paul looks quite Madonna-esque in his off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. Not to mention the one shoe off one shoe on phenomenon, and a gun.

The Videos are In

From Scoot Inn, Oct 29, 2010 videos.

SWEATLOAF


HUMAN CANNONBALL (only the first minute)


USSA


THE O-MEN


AND ANOTHER RECORDING OF THE O-MEN


JOHN-E SMOKE


LADY SNIFF/PEPPER MASHUP


CHERUB


THE SHAH SLEEPS IN LEE HARVEY'S GRAVE

Scoot Inn, Austin, Oct 29, 2010

The idea of Butthole Surfers performing Locust Abortion Technician in its entirety was a curious one, I thought, when I first saw the announcement. I listened to the album carefully and wondered how they were going to pull it off with all that electronica and distortion and sampling and mixing, without it seeming like they were just playing a recording. Few of the songs are melodic tunes that are probably easier to recreate in a live show. It's a great album, but I just had trouble picturing it. It could have been a disaster if they hadn't prepared so well. And prepare they did. It was clear how hard they were working up there to pull off the performance, professionally and technically, and I for one truly appreciated the effort they made.

Turns out that playing this album was a genius idea, executed perfectly. It was clear that not only had they been rehearsing, but they orchestrated the songs with a fresh spin. They played the entire album in one long, continuous exhale that gave a shape to the over-arching themes of the music in a way that isn't immediately apparent when you listen to the album.

To be honest, I had never listened to LAT as a holistic work. I always thought it one of the more esoteric compilations, a little hard to latch onto, requiring very close listening to make something of it. And while it opens with the incomparable Sweat Loaf and the chanting of Satan Satan Satan, it closes with what is their most disturbing song, 22 going on 23. That song never made much sense to me and always left me feeling uncomfortable. It's one part misery and one part exploitation. After hearing that song last night, it all made sense, and the entire album was tied together as a piece of storytelling, a psychedelic opera, that was extremely satisfying.

Paul Leary said he was nervous about doing this, which is understandable. It just can't be easy to transpose something that was very much made in a studio, into a live show. It worked brilliantly and I am so glad that I was able to be there to experience it. Bravo.

Sweat Loaf Live

In my own tribute to Locust Abortion Technician, I will choose a video a day (well probably not, but I intend to try) from the album.

Here is the last time I saw Butthole Surfers play Sweat Loaf, at Webster Hall, which ended with Gibby getting thrown off the stage by the security jerk.

Psychic Ills Tribute

A Psychic Ills tribute album (no comment), the fourth in a series called FRKWYS, will be released Sept 21 and will include the song "I Take You As My Wife Again" sung Gibby Haynes, with other songs done by other Brooklyn hipsters. Note the photo of Gibby with what must be his baby. The album will be released on vinyl, only 550 copies. So break out that turntable if you ever want to hear it.

Gibby as Comedian

From the Upright Citizens Brigade website. I think this is from a TV series.

Butthole Surfers at the Granada Theater Review 10/23/08

Sounds like it was a great show in Dallas, and unlike in New York, they played to the end and beyond. Lucky Texans... But weird that they didn't play Sweat Loaf because Gibby's family was in the audience? Have they been sheltered from his music all this time? Really?

Someone posted video from the show, thanks, but really the clips might have been labeled somewhat better. This one has "I saw an XRay of a Girl Passing Gas," my personal favorite, at 2:21. Lyrics be damned.

1983? 1985? BBQ Pope

This is the oldest live recording I can find of the Buttholes, purportedly from 1985 but one of the commenters says 1983. (you have to click the link, the embedding is turned off)

This one says 1984. Also BBQ Pope, from the clothespin era.

Austin, this past weekend

Some very kind soul posted a few minutes of the Butthole Surfers show this past weekend in Austin. Next best thing...

Joe Wenderoth and Gibby Haynes

An interesting performance with poet Joe Wenderoth from 2007 in Brooklyn at Issue Project. Wish I had been there.

http://actionyes.org/issue8/wenderoth/wenderoth-videopage.html