The Residents Box It Up

Simply put, The Residents are the world’s most unusual band, bar none. Hiding their identities behind costumes and masks, the “so-called artists, performers and musicians” behind the name have been playing music and confounding outsiders since Richard Nixon was in the White House.

As The Residents get ready to celebrate four decades of cryptic art, music and identity, the band says it has a box set for you. Of course, like the group itself, the set comes with a few tall tales, innuendos and balderdash.

To promote The Residents Ultimate Box Set (UBS), the singer who has taken to calling himself Randy Rose cut a video declaring that the band has packaged everything it has ever done, including items such as its first single “Santa Dog,” albums such as Meet The Residents and The Third Reich’n Roll, and one of the group’s famous eyeball masks.

The bottom line is you get everything Residents, including 40 vinyl albums, 50 CDs, dozens of singles, EPs, DVDs and CD-ROMS. All packaged for your convenience in a 28 cubic-foot refrigerator and available for the low, low price of $100,000.

But you’ll have to move quickly when these sets go on sale Christmas Day. The band has only ten to sell for a hundred grand. Although we suspect they’ll be offering a non-refrigerator version of the UBS for a somewhat lower price tag. Perhaps something in a mini-fridge, maybe?

But if the UBS doesn’t break your budget, The Residents are also offering a mystery box for only $5 million. Such a deal!

(Warning!  Soundtrack might be NSFW)

Moving on to the tour, The Residents “Wonder Of Weird” 40th anniversary outing begins in Phoenix. With two nights in Dallas and Chicago, destinations also include Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

Jan. 29 – Phoenix, Ariz., The Crescent Ballroom
Jan. 31 – Austin, Texas, Scottish Rite Auditorium
Feb. 1 – Dallas, Texas, The Kessler Theater
Feb. 2 – Dallas, Texas, The Kessler Theater
Feb. 3 – Houston, Texas, Fitzgerald’s
Feb. 5 – Atlanta, Ga., Variety Playhouse
Feb. 6 – Carrboro, N.C., The ArtsCenter
Feb. 8 – Northampton, Mass., Iron Horse Music Hall
Feb. 9 – New York, N.Y., Stage 48
Feb. 10 – Washington, D.C., Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Feb. 11 – Philadelphia, Pa., World Cafe Live
Feb. 12 – Boston, Mass., Institute Of Contemporary Art
Feb. 15 – Chicago, Ill., Schubas Tavern
Feb. 16 – Chicago, Ill., Lincoln Hall
Feb. 17 – Milwaukee, Wis., Turner Hall Ballroom
Feb. 18 – Minneapolis, Minn., Cedar Cultural Center
Feb. 21 – Seattle, Wash., The Neptune
Feb. 22 – Portland, Ore., Hawthorne Theatre
Feb. 24 – San Francisco, Calif., Bimbo’s 365 Club
Feb. 25 – Los Angeles, Calif., El Rey Theatre
Feb. 26 – Solana Beach, Calif., Belly Up Tavern
Feb. 28 – Santa Cruz, Calif., Rio Theatre