Steve-O’s Bucket List Tour made its stop at the Taft Theater this week, hopefully cleaning the mess on the way out.

Written by Steven Paugh

Audiences Friday night were treated, or in this case more appropriately, pleasured, to a XXX rated multimedia comedy show performed at The Taft Theater by the illustrious Jackass star Steve-O. With the theme of this show being his bucket list, Steve-O talks about the stunts he’s wanted to perform before he gets too old to perform them, along with the added notion that many of these stunts had been dismissed by MTV for being too much to broadcast. During each segment he’d explain the idea of the stunt, it’s risks, and the reward of which being the tale of going through with it all before showing the stunt in question on the screen behind him. Making audiences laugh, cringe, and in some cases vomit and or faint. Unconfirmed reports even say there was an incident of an audience member fainting in the bathroom at this very show.

The vibe of the show was very reminiscent of Jackass, in this case just uncensored and in some cases turned to eleven. Five minutes into the pre show alone the audience was shown Steve-O’s bare genitalia on a prerecorded video and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time that night. In fact it would show up throughout a majority of the stunts including the grand finale which I will not ruin. Needless to say the show definitely earns its rating and should be carefully considered if people plan to see him. However, given the performers past I doubt it’d be a shock to anyone at the level of humorous depravity shown.

The stage wasn’t purely for Steve-O though as the show was opened by fellow Jackass star Ehren “Danger” McGhehey. He had brought with him relics of past Jackass stunts and gave anecdotes pertaining to each one, along with some original standup material. Also joining Steve-O on stage at one point was his rescue dog Wendy, who had gained internet fame a few years ago when Steve-O uploaded a video telling the story of how he found her. He even went on to say that the video got more views than any of the stunts he has gotten footage of. “Which you could guess how that made me feel”, he noted.

Viewing this type of show in a building as grand and beautiful as The Taft Theater in itself felt like an obvious but well timed joke. To have videos of vomit inducing material played with the gorgeous Art Deco designs of the theater surrounding it felt like the epitome of the attitude held in the hay day of the Jackass movies. Steve-O is very aware of what he’s showing and talking about, and if he had any say as to the venues he’s performing in, I’m sure he’s dying to leave as many stains in grand halls such as the Taft that he can.

In short, the show is definitely what it’s advertised as which, unless you’re a fan of Jackass or extremely crude humor, doesn’t leave much room for you. Taste in humor aside, the acts and material was fairly reliant on the fact that you’ve watched Jackass as a show or had seen the movies. Many segments show the other members in passing or references without context being made about fairly deep cuts to the series. But was all of it just toilet humor and nostalgia? I wouldn’t say so.

Steve-O is aware of him aging obviously with the theme of the tour being his Bucket List. Throughout the night he would find times like bringing Wendy out to say hi to acknowledge that his life has grown and gotten better since his days of being on Jackass. He would also talk about his fiancé Lux and just how happy of a life they’re leading, and how much she supports him even with the career that he’s built, making sure to be honest that there are times where she’s not fully on board but is still in his corner. Even subjects like his sobriety came up with him making sure that certain stunts and risks wouldn’t throw him off the progress he’s made with his health. With all that in the mix it didn’t feel like a mindless way to shock an audience, but a way to celebrate a prominently insane life that has acknowledged a need to find its points of slowing down to appreciate what it’s found.

https://www.steveo.com/