In October, 1998, Wormwood became the subject of The Residents' second series of Halloween concerts at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Most of the album was performed (the songs Spilling the Seed and The Seven Ugly Cows were left out) in a highly successful live production. This live show was expanded with extra songs and new arrangements into a successful tour in 1999.

The Cryptic Corp. issued the following press release on Tuesday, 20 April 1999:

The Residents' Wormwood: Curious Stories From The Bible CENSORED!
More To It Than Meets The Eye

Promoter Cancels Berkeley and Sacramento Shows
But Fans Can Still Enjoy Live Cybercast at WWW.HOB.COM or WWW.LIVEMUSIC.COM On April 24th at 10:00 PM PST

"We must have stepped on someone's stigmata so they pulled the plug," says Hardy Fox, official spokesman for the Residents, about the recent and sudden cancellation of two highly anticipated performances of Wormwood: Curious Stories From The Bible in Berkeley, CA on April 20th and in Sacramento, CA on the 21st.

Though the official reason given by the promoter of both shows is slow ticket sales, this would not be the first time the Residents have met with anti-Wormwood resistance. During their three-day Boston run, protesters leafleted the Copley Theater with flyers that criticized their unorthodox look at the Bible.

The Residents' album, Wormwood: Curious Stories From The Bible was released last fall. It took more than a year to research, write and record the disc, which deals with darker, lesser known aspects of the Bible. "The Bible is a more complex work than what people imagine. The Bible is one of the darkest books ever written." says Fox. He adds "When you're examining the traditional Christian value system you have to expect something like censorship to happen."

The Residents launched this LIVE Wormwood production on April 1st in Boston, MA. Eighteen dates were originally scheduled across the US including three nights in New York, three in Boston, two in Chicago and two in Los Angeles, but the show's popularity required a booking to be added at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, CA and an additional performance was added in Los Angeles to make a total of four Los Angeles area appearances and twenty USA performances all together. The unusual musical event has been met with overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim as it makes it's way across the country. The group will be taking the show to Europe this Summer and dates in Japan are currently being considered.

Hardy Fox adds "How does a show that is selling out across the country not sell out in our own backyard? The Residents are extremely disappointed in not being able to play these dates, but they open at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on Thursday for anyone who wants to see what the fuss is about."

Alternative Bay Area venues and dates are currently being considered for the fall. For those who will miss the performances in Berkeley and Sacramento there still is a chance to get an anonymous dose by visiting the live audio and video cybercast on www.hob.com or www.livemusic.com on Saturday, April 24th at 10:00 PM PST from the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

On July 7th, 1999, The Residents entered the SFB Sendessal studio in Berlin with the idea of documenting arrangements the band have been playing on their Wormwood tour. The ambitious tour had started the previous April and was headed into its final two weeks. Though the shows had been recorded, the group felt that removing the demands of performance and the associated masks and costumes would allow for a better musical focus.

The songs were played in real time by the ensemble. Most were captured in one take to digital 24 track tape. In February and March of 2000, the tape was mixed, edited, and overdubbed by The Residents.

Un-American Band
How To Get A Head.Road
Hanging By His Hair.Road
God's Magic Finger.Road
Tent Peg In The Temple.Road
Fire Fall.Road
Cain And Abel.Road
Dinah And The Unclean Skin.Road
Abraham.Road
Burn Baby Burn.Road
Judas Saves.Road