Grande Mothers Re-Invented Rock Canada Day

The Grande Mothers Re-Invented performed to an appreciative audience of about 300 at Festival Place in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on Canada Day, July 1st at 7:30 pm. They performed flawlessly for over two and a half hours with one fifteen minute intermission. For the most part, the material performed came from the period between 1965 and 1975. Highlights, at least for me, included exceptional performances of Pound For A Brown, Eat That Question, Chunga’s Revenge, Invocation And Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin, Holiday In Berlin, Abye Sea, Dupree’s Paradise, Little House I Used To Live In, Enchinda’s Arf (Of You), Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? and, of course, Sofa. There were enough songs performed from the catalogue of Mothers of Invention albums to satisfy any level of fan, newbie or hardcore, as the following setlist suggests:

1. Pound For A Brown
2. Call Any Vegetable
3. Eat That Question
4. Lonely Little Girl
5. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
6. Harry, You’re a Beast
7. What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
8. Chunga’s Revenge
9. Holiday In Berlin
10. Abye Sea
11. Invocation And Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin
12. Idiot Bastard Son
13. Florentine Pogen
14. Evelyn, A Modified Dog
15. Enchinda’s Arf (Of You)
16. Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?
17. The Air
18. Debra Kadabra (sung by Chris Garcia/amazing Beefheart-esque voice)
19. Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy
20. Sofa #1
21. Orange County Lumber Truck Medley
22. Trouble Every Day (sung by Don Preston)
23. Dupree’s Paradise
24. Little House I Used To Live In
25. Pygmy Twylyte

Encore 1: Peaches En Regalia
Encore 2: Montana

The Grande Mothers Re-Invented are:

Don Preston — keyboards, vocals
Roy Estrada — bass, vocals (pachuco falsetto)
Napoleon Murphy Brock — tenor sax, flute, lead vocals
Miroslav Tadic — guitarist (lead, stunt & otherwise/awesome)
Chris Garcia — drums

Author: urbangraffito

I am a writer, editor, publisher, philosopher, and foole (not necessarily in that order). Cultural activist and self-described anarchist.

11 thoughts on “Grande Mothers Re-Invented Rock Canada Day”

  2. [quote comment=”1524″]Feeling very envious here![/quote]

    I noticed last night during the show there were a lot of flashbulbs going off. Is there a DVD or CD in the works? I certainly hope so. The enthusiasm and energy of these performers was really quite obvious. A real treat. These musicians know the material, intimately. And given the $38 CND ticket price, a real deal, too.

  3. I was there, at one of the front tables, and had an absolute BLAST!!! Napoleon blew me away, seeing Roy was surreal, Don ROCKED the keys, and the two non-Mothers were absolutely stunning! Such a shame that Dweezil would never go on the “Dweez and the Grande Mothers” tour, there’s alot of untapped Mothers talent he won’t give a chance.
    SO worth the 40 bucks, I would’ve paid 100.

  4. I saw them in Cardiff, and the most impressive part was Chris Garcia’s drumming and singing “Debra Kadabra” at one and the same time, boys and girls.

  5. [quote comment=”1549″]I saw them in Cardiff, and the most impressive part was Chris Garcia’s drumming and singing “Debra Kadabra” at one and the same time, boys and girls.[/quote]

    Indeed, very impressive. And quite Beefheart-esque in his delivery, too. The entire show was impressive. I went there with high expectations, and DID they deliver! If you’ve heard Napoleon Murphy Brock’s saxophone version of “Chunga’s Revenge” on FZ/OZ you know what I mean. What a saxman, what a showman! They were all obviously playing off one another and having a BLAST doing so. They are all still at the top of their game. Frank may be gone, yet the gestalt is very much there.

  6. Is it allowed to make one remark?
    About people with a lot of imagination, initiating steps forward, i e progress, thus combining things, in an innovative way, just as the Grandmothers did with FaZa & CapBea?

    There’s for instance the great Gordon Mumma.
    Just have a look. A hidden treasure. Very much the Conlon Nancarrow way. He was almost hiding behind his little finger.

    Just google around. What did he, GM, do? All things, ranginf from the weirdest initiatives to great piano scores.
    Very FZ like. With the exception that he never endeavored to play for big audiences. No commercial potential, just longeant les murs/ sluipend langs de muren. Comme un curé de campagne qui visite les bordels.

    Just great music. Mumma. http://brainwashed.com/mumma/

  7. [quote comment=”1551″]Is it allowed to make one remark?[/quote]
    Yes.

    Is it allowed to hijack a thread for one’s warped personal agenda?
    No. This is why people start their own weblog.

    [quote comment=”1551″]just longeant les murs/ sluipend langs de muren.[/quote]
    I could not have described your commenting behaviour any better.

  8. Ok, KUR.

    I’m not a blogger. I’ll never be a blogger.

    I’ll be just one of those guys who will write another book. The ” old fashioned way”. Thus : the way the previous generations did. With +/-similar effect.

    -Does anybody read a book?
    -Does anybody visit truly good blogs?

    I don’t know. They’re not that plentiful.
    It’s still ’bout those being truly interested per square centimeter.
    Working methods differ slightly.

    Good luck.

  11. Barry, who let the pest back into the room? RAID anybody? A fly-swatter? Really, enough IS enough.

    Abracadabra…bernard be gone!

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