Another View At ZPZ Brussels Edition

Last post about ZPZ in Brussels, promise! Here’s what they’re thinking about the show over at zappa.com’s tourlog:

Tonight’s show in Belgium was totally amazing. Over 4000 screaming fans packed into the Forest National and the show was spectacular. The band played one of their best shows of the tour thus far. Dweezil was in top form despite finger injury; Steve laid waste with some incredible solos, and Terry, fresh for a few days away from the ZPZ tour, was exceptional.

Les goûts et les couleurs

Wherein Barry Goes To Vorst

For those interested, you can find my review of yesterday’s ZPZ in Brussels right over here. Apart from the music, a couple of notes:

  • For anyone outside of Brussels, Vorst Nationaal is insanely hard to find. I mean, we’d gone to mappy.com, printed out the itinerary, followed all the directions, and still managed to get lost somewhere between Etterbeek and the Montgomery Tunnel. In the center of Brussels: not a single sign saying “this way to Vorst”. Argh.
  • Getting out of Vorst at 1:30am: ditto. Times two.
  • It was cool to meet a couple of KUR-readers. Hi Vrnzr, hi Bert, hi Matias!
  • You there who made me drop my freshly purchased beer on the floor during intermission: you owe me 3 euro.
  • Dr Sharl is convinced that Napoleon M Brock blew her a kiss at the end of the concert. If anyone present at the show can corroborate this, I would like to hear from you!

Here’s a couple of pictures we took (click to enlarge). Pardon The Crappinessâ„¢ but our camera was running out of gasoline.

From The Bitter End

YouTube really is a godsend for digging up rare video. Here‘s some sort of compilation which includes (at around 1:30) The Mothers Of Invention miming to Suzy Creamcheese on a TV show called “From The Bitter End”, back in 1967 — except FZ doesn’t mime the lyrics, he mimes “motherfucker” all the way through. Have a look (and be patient because it takes a while before the relevant footage comes on):

Thanks Fawlky!

Edit: some pretty graphic NSFW material in the above clip — you have been warned…

Won’t Get Fooled Again?

An anatomy of conservative rock songs.

The number one omission, according to the criteria for this list, would have to be “Who Needs the Peace Corps?,” by Frank Zappa. Released in 1967, at the height of the flower-power summer of love nonsense, this song is a scathing indictment of all things hippy, making “Won’t Get Fooled Again” look tepid in comparison.

Weirdo Swag!

In the “Blatant Self Promotion” Department, have we got news for you! If you liked the weirdo ecards Dr Sharl and I provide over at weirdocards.com, you’ll be glad to know that some of those designs are now available on T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, thongs, mugs, mousepads, posters and other what-have-you’s. Just head on over to the online store and have a look around. Unfortunately, anything to do with Zappa got refused by CafePress — however! There is Cheese! Cows! Hairdo’s! Punks! Sumo Wrestlers! Exclamation marks!

FZ & Ponty, Valbonne ’70

Rhymin’ Title Man’s what I am. Via The Idiot, here’s a full download “in glorious mono” of Zappa and J.-L. Ponty live at the Festival de Valbonne, France, July 25th 1970.

The pair were supposed to play together at the festival with a new line-up of the Mothers. However, for some reason, Frank turned up on his own and a pick-up band was hastily assembled. The other two guys were noted French jazz players, drummer Aldo Romano and bassist Alby Cullaz.