Now that ZPZ is finally on the road, I figured it would be interesting to open a thread where those of you who have attended any of the concerts could give your opinion, review, setlist, etc. This evening’s Copenhagen, next is Oslo, then Stockholm, Düsseldorf, Berlin, etc. I’m sure there’s KUR readers in each of those cities — so tell us how “your” gig turned out in the comments… Don’t forget to mention date and venue!
May 17th, 2006 at 4:43 pm »
Yes, please comment! I’ll be attending the Stockholm show and I can barely stand the wait. Ohh, I’m looking forward to this soo much. I will post my impressions come saturday.
May 17th, 2006 at 9:19 pm »
In one word GREAT!!
Dweezle is not so funny as his dad, he gives it a try but I’ts not dad. The music was very good.
The concert startet of with a peace of rare footage of a 1973 concert from dad, playing Montana. The last minutes the 2006 band listened and watcht the tape. At the end they joint the video and started the concert. The music is most Roxy & Elswhere and the Sjeik albums. With Terry B. on the drums singing I’m so cute and more…..
Steve Vai was joining and was ausome as ever with great solos on the Sjeik numbers.
On sofa Dweezel even had to cry because the emotions where to much for him.
If you closed your eyes it was almost as Frank ws stil around.
May 18th, 2006 at 4:03 am »
I have almost decided to see Zappa Plays Zappa in Philly. It’s an 8 hour train ride.
I am pretty good a figuring out shit in
strange cities, but it can be a big pain in the ass. If it was FRANK I would not think twice.
I tried to talk a good friend into joining me,
but he’s a puss.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:34 pm »
Yes it was realley awesome. I’ll take back my words, it wasn’t over-prized at all, especially if you compare it to so many other concerts.
I’ll actually go as far as to say it has been among the best concerts I’ve ever seen.
The band was great, Bozzio was great, Napoleon was great and Dweezil was great. And not to mention Steve Vai, gee, I didn’t know he could play like taht, yes I knew he was good, but yesterday at the concert was just fantastic!
OK, here’s the Set list for those who want to read it:
Falconer Salen, Copenhagen, Denmark 17th may 2006
It’s pretty much the same as in Amsterdam, but here goes:
Help, I’m a Rock
Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Florentine Pogen
Pygmy Twylyte
Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
King Kong with Filthy Habits
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
St-Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
Inca Roads
-This first half was all with Napoleon.
I’m so Cute (TB)
Trying to grow a Chin (TB)
City of Tiny Lights (TB+NMB)
Punky’s Whips (TB)
The Black Page pt. 1 (TB)
The Black Page pt. 2 (TB+ SV)
Peaches en Regalia (SV+NMB)
Montana (SV+NMB)
Village of the Sun (SV+NMB)
Echidna’s Arf (of you) (SV+NMB)
Zomby Woof (SV+NMB)
Sofa (SV+NMB)
Encore, which really wasn’t an encore because Dweezil said they’d be back…
Camarillo Brillo (NMB)
The Orange Couty Lumber Truck (NMB)
Trouble Every Day (TB+SV+NMB)
A Token of his Extreme (TB+SV+NMB)
May 18th, 2006 at 6:19 pm »
Can’t wait for the Philadelphia show now. I’m pleased that the reviews are good!
May 18th, 2006 at 9:07 pm »
We (my brother, a friend and I) were in Amsterdam and we enjoid every second of it! These young bandmembers were amazing. I’m a musician myself so i quite understand how complex Frank’s music is so it must have been very hard for them to do this in 3 months. Chapeau!! I bow for them!!
Greetings en for the people who can look forward to a coming concert of them: have fun, it’s been worth the waiting!
Bert
May 19th, 2006 at 10:56 am »
I’ve been to the Amsterdam Concert. And as said before, it was fuckin great.
Most astonishing was Napoleon Murphy Brock, singing, funny walking, dancing like in 1973. He must be 33 years older, but i didn´t notice.
Bozzio is still a beast and Vai with short hair is astonishing.
All the other young members were great musicians too. Surprise to me was Joe Travers, The Vaultmeister, on drums.
Dweezil himself talked a lot and played less.
In the announcements it was Dweezil and Ahmet, but where was Ahmet?
May 19th, 2006 at 4:10 pm »
Hi!
Finally Zappa plays Zappa came to Norway,
and it was awesome!
Fucking unbelivable….
I was flabbergasted….
Napoleon Murphy Brock was worth the ticketprice alone….
And my hero Terry Bozzio was there too!!!!????
AND Steve Vai!!!!
Holy smuck,this was really worth the wait!
Please God put this out on DVD!!
May 20th, 2006 at 7:11 pm »
I’m taking my wife to Las Vegas for her Birthday on June 20th, which she knows about. What she doesn’t know is we have tickets to Zappa plays Zappa that night at
the House of Blues. Already in the Gold section and can’t wait.
DT-
Oregon
May 21st, 2006 at 4:42 am »
I am glad ZPZ is living up to their own billing. Have seen Bogus Pomp, Ed Palermo, Project Object, Zappanale 16, and there is fierce competition out there. Napoleon - time musta stood still - brings so much joy to the music - as does Ike Willis - and lifts every act he performs with. Don’t fret that “youngsters” are playing - the Paul Green School of Rock has proven that teens can play it and will enjoy playing it. There is hope for the future… BT, have a ticket to spare in Philadelphia, hint, hint.
I hear Olso was awesome - how was Stockholm?
May 21st, 2006 at 6:38 pm »
As the 19th was my birthday, I couldn’t imagine a better gift then going to the ZPZ-show… which is just what i did. Since i was 9 years old in 1988, this was my first chance to experience the music of FZ live in concert. And what a concert. Sitting there on the fourth row from the stage, I found myself with BIG smile on my face, laughing out loud at times… it was truly a surreal/great experience watching bozzio, vai and napoleon perform these songs that i’ve only heard on CDs and bootlegs before. If you have the chance to see any of these shows, you should. The only “bad” things would be that it might be considered sort of “Un-Zappa” to perform the very same set night after night. But, as my girlfriend said, it’s not the real thing, it’s a tribute to the real thing. Also, weren’t a few of the songs a bit slow (regarding the tempo)? Might just have been the way Travers was playing certain beats. When you’re used to the frenzy of Bozzio or Colaiuta, his more “laid-back” style seemed a bit strange (although by no means bad). All in all, a great birthday and a great concert. Let’s just hope it doesen’t take another 18 years for the music of FZ to be performed in Stockholm and Hovet. Also, i took quite a few pics that i’ve posted on flickr. You can find them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anderslarsson/tags/zappaplayszappastockholm/
Hope you like them!
Greetings from Uppsala, Sweden
/Anders.
May 21st, 2006 at 10:08 pm »
BEEN READING ABOUT ZPZ GOING TO THE MANCHESTER SHOW TOO EXCITED SEEN AND MET NAPOLEON AT ZAPPANALE NEVER MET ANYONE WHO GETS MORE EXCITED ABOUT ZAPPA AND ABOUT KIDS PLAYIN IT PAUL GREEN SCHOOL OF ROCK,HE ONCE SAID AT A GRANDMOTHERS GIG WERE NOT HERE TO PLAY FRANKS MUSIC WERE HERE TO MAKE LOVE TO IT WHAT MORE CAN BE SAID!
May 22nd, 2006 at 1:48 pm »
I´ve seen the Düsseldorf Concert, Sunday 21th and it was great. The audience was very pleased with what was presented. The concert started at 8 pm with a 30 minute video an ended at midnight. Dweezel found him self very pleased and promised to come back to Dweezeldorf, soon. I did not expect that well played music, what a great surprise, Frank must have been in the the concert hall, he never left the building…
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:32 am »
I have tickets to see ZPZ at the Philly show and I am really looking forward to it. My 15 year-old-nephew is going and it will be his first concert. The set list I saw looked great. I’ll defintiely post a review though I am sure it will be a good one. It will also give me chance to wear my FZ t-shirt from The Ensemble Modern tour!!!
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:55 am »
I was at the show in Oslo, and it was the best you could imagine, without the man himself present! (allthough he was allmost present, tuning his guitar on film … from Roxy 74). Dweezil was moved by the audience, and we got an extra encore: “Eat that question” with long solos from many of the musicians. 3,5 hours the show lasted! Very good indeed!
A lot of songs from the aera I love. Mid 70.
May 23rd, 2006 at 3:08 pm »
I attended the Düsseldorf concert: A very fiiine performance by some very fiiiine musicians and a very fiiine band leader…
It was a great show, lasted almost four hours, perfect sound and perfect performances. Napoleon is really incredible. Everybody who says you can’t dance to Zappa’s music has never seen him… And it was a great experience to hear Terry play the music Zappa wrote for him. I listened to the life albums so many times before and it sounded very original the night before yesterday.
Steve and Dweezil also did some exceptionally good solos together.
May 23rd, 2006 at 5:18 pm »
looks like two GREAT sets in Copenhagen! Is it true that the setlists aren’t changing much from night to night? If so, that;s too bad.
Like many of you, this will be my first opportunity to see the music of Frank performed live (…well…, second, really… I saw Project/Object a few years ago with Don Preston and they BLEW ME AWAY! It was in a small room in Seattle with maybe 25 people in the audience - and Andre ROCKED!) So… I bought all my concert tickets and plane tickets for my west coast Zappa adventure: Vegas, Phoenix, Anaheim, L.A., San Francisco! As I said earlier, a little disappointing that the setlists aren’t changing much, but maybe they’ll vary more by the time they get to my shows. Either way, I’m super-excited to hear these guys play everything they played in Copenhagen… Black Page! Inca Roads! Florentine Pogen! Pygmy Twylyte! Punky’s Whips (you’re so DIRTY Terry B!) and all the others. Please continue to post setlists whether they vary much or not - I’ll be lurking here with great interest! Thank you!
-Zappa fan in Seattle
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:34 pm »
Man i cant wait to see ZPZ its going to rock seeing it at the Royal Albert Hall. Im only 16 but for some reason Zappa is the only music that really gets me going, y’know? Fuck all this new indie/emo/shit, the youth of today have no musical taste. Hope to see some more KUR readers at RAH.
May 24th, 2006 at 9:39 am »
ZPZ Hovet, Stockholm, 5/19 2006
Figured I ought to write something about my biggest zappaistic experience since 1983. Attended the Hovet arena together with my old time pal Mike Friday night to see what ZPZ might deliver. We tried to go there as open minded as we could in a “let’s-see-what’s-gonna-happen-kind-of-attitude”.
And we were surprised. Overwhelmed. Happy. Laughing. Impressed.
Let me try to give you an overview.
First thing that struck me, was that none of the players seemed to consider themselves as being the main attraction. Clearly the music was that, and what the band delivered was a a result of their collective contributions. (Made me glad!). There was also a mixture of joy to play, respect and (what I consider sometimes not discussed amongst zappa fans) the blues feel (beneath all those tricky melodic parts) was constantly there!!!
First set started of a little uncertain, but after a short while they really showed us all what they could do. The second set was great. The encores as well.
Joe Travers played the drums. Correctly, distinctively, persuasive and with humor. And the biggest portion of timing and feel I’ve heard - ever! Much impressive.
Pete Griffin played his bass in a way that was most impressive. He played so great that sometimes you didn’t notice he was there (which I know is a crazy way to describe it, but most musicians’ll get it). A great job and a guy who clearly knew what roll he played in the event.
Aaron Arntz on keys & trumpet. Well, most of the above about Pete G also goes for Aaron. What I remember most about him was that he seemed to have suck great fun during the entire show. He also played one great solo - effortlessly it seemed.
Scheila Gonzales on horns, keys & vocals. As Frank once said: Tasteful, very tasteful.
Billy Hulting on Melodic Percussion. Thought it was Underwood. In fact I’d preferred a solo from her rather than that delivered by mr Bozzio. (I guess I get my ass kicked for that, I’ll try to explain later, though.)
Jamie Kime on Rhythm Guitar. Played vell. Doubled guitar solos very tastefully. Got the chops right, also very tastefully. Really knew what to do and when to do it.
Napoleon Murphy Brock: vcl & woodvinds. Did good. Seemed genuinely happy that he got the opportunity to do this. Sang very well. Played gracefully when needed.
Steve Vai. It was clear he didn’t rehearse with the band. Not that he fluked. Not in the least. He just didn’t really know what to do. So he invented that up as he went along. And he invented really smart. If there was a two-tone guitarpart played by Dweezil & Jamie, he thought about an 1/8, then played the third. If chops were to be played, he invented chords that went like a Japanese blade through the rest of the harmonics. Very nice. Solos were tasteful, smart, witty without being long boring walls of overtones. He didn’t steal the show away from the band, though he surely had the chance to, instead he played together with’em. He sure went up the ladder in appreciation by that.
Dweezil. Well. It seemed like this being on tour playing his fathers tunes is a really emotional for him. That showed. Some reviewers have written that he isn’t that much of a center figure, and no he isn’t, but it seems like he’s very human, modest, and both sad (for the loss of his father) and happy (about playing his music and meeting the audience). I wouldn’t dream about writing sticky comments about what he said when he introduced the material. That’s not important. He seems like a good guy. And he puts the music in the center. And he plays really good. (Much better at this than some of his own stuff).
Mr Bozzio. Well that was fun. He did some of the Sheik Yerbouti stuff and sang as well. Fun. Black page was great. But then… I don’t really know how to say this, but I’ll try. I admire his technical skills. Noone beats him at that. But when it comes to feeling his capability goes out the window. When Joe took over the drumsolo he really whipped Bozzio hard. The feeling (!) the timing (!)!!! OK, so know you know. I consider Travers to be a better drummer. At least in the collective band-format. Mr Bozzio had the bad luck to not have been soundchecked also, that made things for him even worse. We got the snaredrum in the FOH mix about five minutes after he started playing. And that wasn’t fair to him.
Overall: great fun, many happy moments, a great band that worked together, a focus on the music rather that extreme solos, a lot of passion, humanity, respect and a slice of “what the fuck” on top.
For all of your that have the chance to see the show. Do that. Don’t criticize the band for the obvious reasons that Frank might or might not have done things this way. That’s unfair. He isn’t a member of this band. He’s dead, remember. Give these guys the break they deserve.
May 24th, 2006 at 10:47 pm »
One of the best live shows i’ve ever seen!!!!
SOOOOOO f’ckin GREAT!!
(this was Budapest , May24 th)
May 25th, 2006 at 1:32 am »
My first Zappa show was at the Capital Theater NJ halloween 1972. I went with Don Daily and boobs banesta…Have seen about 30 shows thru the years. My last show was at the Tower in Philadelphia on Franks last tour. Thats where I’m going to see ZPZ. My seat is nearly identical. I will take my daughter and my grandson……Arf Arf
May 25th, 2006 at 9:18 am »
The way I see it, Barry… this REALLY was a dynamite show!
(Zappa Played Zappa in Hungary)
Yes, the rumors proved to be true: this was an amazing night, a night of MUSIC.
Unfortunately the circumstances were not very good: it was raining all day, and since the show was to be held at an open venue… well, there were some questionmarks above our heads in those imaginary bubbles. But finally the gig was moved to the indoor part of the same place, so we did not have to stand out there in the rain.
Another thing: the promotion of this show was also not the best: I only saw 4 or 5 posters in town, there was not too much advertisments in papers or radios, so I was afraid whether there will be enough people coming to see the concert. Frank Zappa himself had never toured here with his own band (not counting his short visit in ’91), so I think much bigger promotion would have been necessary.
But the peolpe atteding the show might have been pleased, indeed. The start was a bit cold with Help I’m a Rock and Hungry Freaks Daddy (after the 25 minute of the Roxy DVD, of course), and the first real energy-bomb was Florentine Pogen. I have to repeat what others said million times: Napoleon is really great, funny – really good! Dweezil did a real heavy solo in there. And yes: the band was tight!
One thing that still vibrates in me, is the heavy sound of the band. Really well-rehearsed, really together, very tasty. There were some really deep drum- and bass-sounds here and there, Joe Travers and that metalist bass-player guy was really good!
Another highlight: The Black Page #1. Started by 3 drummers (!!!), doing really great job. Might be the best Black Page I’ve ever heard.
Steve Vai was great – this was the first time I saw him live. Some great solos, and some impossible guitar parts, sometimes together with Dweezil.
*
One more questionmark: I mentioned that the hall was not full, there were some crowd but not that much as the show would deserve. Because of this or because of other reasons? I can’t tell. But here in Hungary the setlist was shorter for some reason: after Inca Roads (nice solo!) there came the break (no Imaginary Diseases), and as an encore they only played a really short Cosmik Debris. The audience just went crazy, we were so much overwhelmed with music, but they did not come back. No Camarillo Brillo, no Trouble Every Day, no drum solo from Terry Bozzio… Dweezil said it’s because „it’s the rule of the house, they don’t let us play more.” Well… who knows?
Okay, I might be back later with further thoughts… Music is the Pest!! (as a friend of mine said - meaning Budapest, of course, hehe).
May 25th, 2006 at 10:10 am »
One more thing: I was there with a girl who was not really into Zappa, she didn’t know his works too much. While looking at her during the show, her face fell… “I need these songs!!!!” - she said after hearing the St. Alphonso block. And after the show it seemed she’ll need the whole setlist…
May 25th, 2006 at 3:23 pm »
look at http://www.mosemoses.de and go on “news” there is a describtion how to find pix from düsseldorf. more to come. and…if you’re a zappafan, don’t miss it. we have to drive over 4 hours too to see the show….dont’t say you’re too old for it
you will live to regret it.
May 25th, 2006 at 7:12 pm »
Copenhagen performance was Great.
All of these guys would have been allowed to play with “Dad Himself”.
Fantastic to see that Napoleon is still alive and well.
Close your eyes - and the Master himself is there.
GO SEE THIS SHOW - you won’t regret.
May 25th, 2006 at 7:20 pm »
I was in Dweezildorf on Sunday, and i must say: “THE BEST (!!!!!!!!!!!) ZAPPA SHOW I`VE EVER SEEN”
And defenly i can say this, because i work for Frank on the 88 Tour at the catering-crew and see all shows in Europe 1988!
Thank You Dweezil,Gail and all the others!
Come back,again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 25th, 2006 at 8:07 pm »
No recordings of these concerts seem to be posted ?
May 25th, 2006 at 9:04 pm »
Hey Guys-
Check out the new interview with Dweezil about the ZPZ tour on Gibson Guitar’s Web site:
http://www.gibson.com/allaccessfeatures.aspx?aliaspath=/AllAccess/Zappa%20on%20Zappa
Great interview about Frank
May 25th, 2006 at 11:40 pm »
My report on Dweezildorf will be up soon on pianetapases.de/zpz
May 26th, 2006 at 12:25 pm »
I’m going to see ZPZ tomorrow in Milan…can’t wait…when I bought the tikets I wasn’t really sure about it, but from what I hear in here, well, it seems to be real good.
I’ll let you know
May 26th, 2006 at 1:11 pm »
I’ll be in Milan tomorrow too, can’t wait for the concert… the tickets were a bit too expensive though
May 28th, 2006 at 4:14 am »
well…just got back from the concert, 4am here in Italy…took a while to drive back home from Milan to Verona.
It’s been a grate concert, even if I’ve never had the chance to see Frank live in my life, I know his music pretty well, and I feel to say that they did a very good show. Obviously the technical level is far away from Frank’s bands, and they had to perform some songs in an easier way…btw, no matter what, Napoleon and Vai are just “amazing”.
As someone already sad, they almost played the whole “Roxy and Elsewhere” plus other songs, like S.Alfonzo, the “You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore vol.1″ version.
Even if I felt like something was missing in there (Frank) I wanna say “thank you” do Dweezel, Napoleon, Vai, and all others who put this tour together; for a 23yo Italian guy like me, that was 10yo when FZ died, and had never had the opportunity to thank him for all the grate things he did, this concert has been almost a dream. Thank You.
Nicolò
May 28th, 2006 at 4:18 am »
oh, btw, no Terry Bozzio in Milan…so wanted to see him.
T_T
May 28th, 2006 at 10:41 am »
yes, the absence of Terry Bozzio really disappointed me… they even played less songs because of this… not fair.
May 28th, 2006 at 4:29 pm »
terry bozzio wasn’t in zurich either. shorter set also due to zurich laws (curfew at 11 pm ??) that’s ridiculous … still two brilliant sets - my favourite was/is/will be “montana”. WOW - it rocked like hell. and the band (the ensemble) was the star. but still: dweezil loosen up a little bit. what about a secret word and audience participation ? that would be fun. fz was wrong: you CAN still do this on stage
May 28th, 2006 at 4:43 pm »
See this on Terry Bozzio’s presence.
May 29th, 2006 at 10:52 am »
Hi!
I saw the milan concert: great band, maybe they just missed a little bit of backing vocals presence, with frank everybody were singing. No bozzio on stage, a great vai, he was stunning, when I heard him last year at the G3 in milan he was not as good as he has been saturday. Napoleon, well, napoleon is amazing, without him, in my humble opinion, the band would not have sound zappa at all. dweezil is really good and if u close your eyes u might even feel a little magic in the air, maybe it was because i was emotionally moved… I mean frank zappa’s music live on stage in front of me… . Joe travers on drums was great,I can’t even describe the wall of sound he creates and I want to stress this fact: the band was great but u can’t compare, epecially when the concert is opened by the never on sale roxy video…!!!! To be totally honest I have to say that the venue wasn’t full at all, maybe the tickets were just a little bit too expensive or maybe, given the fact that the medium age was pretty high, all the happy families were at the sea, and last but not least they’ve played “only” 2 hours ‘20 while I was expecting, after the reviews I’ve seen, a monumental 3 hrs concert. Anyway: w zappa or frank rules!ciao
May 29th, 2006 at 8:36 pm »
Saw the concert in Rome, Italy yesterday. Had been waiting a whole year since I first heard about it, and I can only say it was worth all the excitement. I have seen three live concerts of FZ in my life, all flabbergasting, and although I could not compare Frank’s solo construction with Dweezil’s (who would ?) the whole set was great. The band is extremely tight. The music is the greatest in the world. I have been collecting FZ’s videos and music for the last thirty years, since I was 14, and I was astonished to see the great filming of one of the roxy concerts with a version of Montana/Dupree’s paradise that I had never seen !! To start that was already a great boost. Plus to see Zappa looking so great and relaxed really brought a frog in my throat. Why the hell did he have to go so early. There is an EMNORMOUS need for more of this music. could we get him back and replace him with ……..(fill in with your teenage rocker of the moment) ??
Anyway Terry Bozzio wasn’t there : bummer. This also means we lost 4 songs. Here is the listing for the ROme concert :
FZ on video (Montana/Dupree’s paradise)
Help, I’m a Rock
Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Florentine Pogen
Pygmy Twylyte
Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
King Kong
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
St-Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
Inca Roads
The Black Page pt. 1
Enter Steve Vai
The Black Page pt. 2
Peaches en Regalia
Montana
Village of the Sun
Echidna’s Arf
Zomby Woof
Sofa
A token of my extreme
Steve throws out a few guitar picks
Exit
all in all a 2 hour gig starting at 21:30 after the video, and ending at 23:30.
A lot of things have been said already about this set, all beautiful, and I agree with all of them. I found myself more than once with a happy grin, while listening to the most beautiful contemporary music being played by the best band you …ever heard since FZ left us !!!
I really appreciated how Steve downplayed his strong scenic presence out of (at least I thought)
respect for the venue. He could have completely offuscated Dweezil, and he didn’t. For me, that’s really a great attitude, good musicianship and plain camaraderie. The whole evening was overwhelming, and I will be bragging about it for ages…..
On a very minor note, if I must list the negatives, there was a continuous feedback for part of the concert, to the extent that dweezil and the band commented on it - but what are you gonna do in the middle of a gig ? - and sometimes I found the music too loud to really appreciate some subtleties, but hey, who cares, I was flying !
Don’t hesitate, GO GO GO , you’ll never regret it.
Last thing. I brought my wife, my brother, and his wife with me, and all three usually run away when I put FZ on, but they wanted to see this thing I’d been nattering about for months. They all came out of there really enthusiastic about it, and wanting to hear more !! SO, bring your non-zappian friends with you, they may be surprised, and discover that THERE STILL IS REAL MUSIC OUT THERE !!!
May 30th, 2006 at 5:28 pm »
Sorry, I forgot “imaginary diseases” which they played in the second half of the set and a great “trouble every day” (how could I have forgotten that one ?) as an encore……I think this is all.
May 31st, 2006 at 10:44 am »
Just woke up after attending the concert at Brussels. It was great!!!! I’m still buzzing!!!!
I too have been fortunate to see FZ three times live in Rotterdam. When the concert started with the film I felt very emotional. The band was good, but unfortunately the acoustics in the “Forrest National” is not great. But apart from that the concert was great. At times when I closed my eyes it was (for me) as if Frank was really there. I admire Dweezil and the rest of the band that they dared to undertake this series of concerts. I’m also happy to see so many young people turned up at the concert. For all who would still be doubting, go buy your tickets and go to the show, you won’t regret it.
May 31st, 2006 at 11:28 am »
And now the points of the Belgian jury…
The venue: Vorst Nationaal, May 30.
As you may know, the sound of this concert hall is, shall we say, “less than optimal”, and quite possibly a bit of a nightmare for the soundguy. We had seats directly behind the mixing booth so what we heard was probably “as good as it gets”.
The setlist: exactly the same as wannabeard posted above.
The band: I was really impressed and pleasantly surprised. From the first note to the last, the playing was flawless and incredibly tight (and indeed, “heavy”, as Balint noted above). A definite strongholder within the band is Napoleon M Brock. He gave warmth to the songs and “a face” to the band. Had a bit of trouble getting the high tones at times, but considering he’s doing vocals originally done by the likes of FZ, George Duke and Andrew Belew: who can blame him!
Dweezil: definitely has all the guitar chops, did some great FZ style solo’s and his overall guitarwork on the tunes was fabulous. Not so much a frontman though (this is not criticism mind you, it’s observation). Which leads me to the one small minor point of this tour: although the music and the performance is quite simply superb in every way, there’s an element of interaction missing (and I guess we all know what/who that element is…).
Steve Vai: I’m not a big fan of his 200-notes-per-second playing style, but I must say he was a very competent side-man to Dweezil. Didn’t attempt to steal the show, a good complemental team-player so to speak.
Ah, and Terry Bozzio! Did a fantastic drum-duet with Joe Travers (who himself amazed me with just how good his drumming was). Bozzio’s drum sounded a bit too bassy to me in comparison with Travers’, but hey, that’s just naggin’.
Kudos to all the other players as well: impeccable timing, excellent musicianship — with extra points to the bass-player for ENTHOUSIASM!
Favorites: the first half of the concert needed some warming up but things got hot as of Florentine Pogen. Punky’s Whips: how great to see this performed by the man himself (TB); ditto The Black Page (I, II): fabulous! Echidna’s Arf (Of You): it’s always been one of my favorite tracks, and the performance here was very, very tight.
So there you have it. I’m very glad I didn’t miss the opportunity to see these guys. To the NaySayers I would say: reconsider. Give this band a chance. They more than deserve it. Music Is The Best!
Now if you’ll excuse me: I’m very. Tired. Meeting up with some KUR readers before and after the show may have something to do with it…
May 31st, 2006 at 1:07 pm »
Hello All,
I was at this show yesterday but couldn’t get into it. A more positive review from another guy underneath to give you a neutral image.
They first showed the Film of Zappa in the Roxy back in 1974. Great stuff and the sound was much better then the actual concert of ZPZ. The concert was in sound and in performance miles away from the Zappa movie we just saw. I know this concerthall has very bad soundings but I’ve seen many groups here who did a lot better. I’ve seen Frank playing in 1988 in the Veledrome in Gent in a concerthall he described as the worst ever played. But he also said that they would play at a quiet volume so that everything would be alright again, as it effectively was. I have the tape so I can even tell know that it sounded ok. Now in Vorst you couln’dt hear all the instruments very well, the bass sometimes was on mess of a sound, the keyboards were on and of, etc. When Terry began to sing, no voice. Was the soundman sleeping??
Enough about the sound. The band wasn’t a band. They weren’t together. As stated below they had to warm up during the first set. But is was Terry who pulled the second set together with his heavy drumming (he lost two drumsticks in the act) and cheerfull singing.
When he went away even Steve Vai (with short hair) couldn’t pulled the thing back together. It dropped again like pudding.
Also Dweezil is no frontman, Ahmet can but he was nowhere to be seen (and he’s damn right not be part of this were only in it for the money tour - comment I heard on the spot). I’ve seen AZ/DZ and they were great, also they had Mike Kenaelly and Scott Tunis back then.
Dweezil stood there, not moving a lot and saying little and the things he said were so rehearsed and cliche that it made me sick. During King Kong they did some improvisations like Zappa did in the movie (that’s what Dweezil said they were gonna do). This was not a spontanious thing. I’ve got many live recordings of Zappa. Now Dweezil must have acces to a lot more. He took some parts and put them together without shaking the coctail. During the keyboarsolo every band member stood playing looking at thsi guy without showing any enthousiasm. Only the bassplayer and Napoleon jumped to the music. I think Mike Kenaelly would have done a better job moulding the band together and leading them thru wild improvisations instead of showing all the tricks Zappa did in a row.
Not that they are no good musiscians, they are, but they try to copy Zappas’ act, wich is foolisch to attempt. I’d rather have a personel stamp on the performance wich Dweezil said in interviews he would do. Seen nothing of that. Even the setlist is almost the same every night. Even the effects and the kind of gitaarsolo’s he plays are the same. Just seen the solo from Inca Roads on the net and live it was the same. Is he afraid or insicure?
Anyway, I love Zappa, I love AZ/DZ, I Love the muffin man, The grandmothers, etc, But this was beyond my expectations. Finally we left after Montana. Yes indeed we left the concert.
If the accoustics were better it would have been a lot more enjoyable. It could have inflicted the band’s performance. Also the hall was only half filled. They had to hang curtains around the higher levels (a full hall would also give better accoustics-I know). If ZPZ had only chosen the Ancienne Belgique. It would have been completely sold out but far more superior to this hall.
See you,
May 31st, 2006 at 2:53 pm »
Phil says:
conc. the guy’s hard-laboured piece above (and we all know we ain’t talkin’ about Peter himself here…):
- if you go to a concert on a free ticket , enjoy the music & say cheese & thank you - it’s called basic manners, and we were all brought up that way in jolly old Belgium, remember?
- don’t expect somebody (even a son of Zappa) to fulfill your every musical wet dream - Frank called his music the greatest OPTIONAL entertainment
- conceptual continuity clue: anal retentiveness is not an imaginary disease - some of us have a life, you know
- musical impressions: deft job by dweezil (pogen, inca roads,….) - anyone ever tried to add an new dimension on those classics? great synergy in the 2nd set - all involved brought up the best playing in eachother - good luck with that alone in a room…
- to sum it all up: in 2006 one goes to a concert on an invite ticket, doesn’t like it & is as graceful as to suppose his/her opinion (remember clint eastwood’s adagio…) should be of interest to others - what’s the next step: a free live broadcast of every concert with interactive setlist via the zapper in your living room on webcam + free titties & beer?
- for those who were there (4000 Belgians can’t be all wrong haha) - nice atmosphere in the end - ask the band themselves…
tush tush tush
Phil
May 31st, 2006 at 3:02 pm »
Hello Phil,
I must have been in the wrong mood then. Also I would have bought a ticket anyway as I did in november 2005 ’till my friend offered me one for free for the replaced show. Though this doesn’t make me a subjective whitness. I liked the Muffin man with Ike Willis more then ZPZ.
See you next week,
Peter
May 31st, 2006 at 5:18 pm »
Hi Got tickets for the gig in Dublin on Sunday night, looks like I’m in for a helluva night out if the reviews are anything to go by. Will post my comments as soon as I come down!!!!!!
May 31st, 2006 at 5:23 pm »
i didnt expect alot from zpz but loved it, also it was nice to see steve play (i just couldnt sit still on a chair) i loved the vibe specially near the end and its sweet to be the owner of dweezel’s signature (ja nerdy i know) on a side note, we didnt get tix, we arrived too late, but squeezed our way in trough v.i.p. im happy it worked and i really really enjoyed the concert even tho i missed first half hour;
May 31st, 2006 at 7:06 pm »
I was yesterday in Brussels’ ZPZ concert… Let’s say I’m happy and quite satisfied, despite the Forest National awful sound.
May 31st, 2006 at 7:58 pm »
Have possessed the tix for both LA shows BEFORE any other US shows were added!
Can this get any better? If ever this rotten little planet needed FZ and his objective observations it is now. Think of the lyrics for Dubya . . .
HAIL ZAPPA
HAIL ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA
May 31st, 2006 at 9:42 pm »
A fabulous concert, way beyond my expectations. I already got my ticket last summer but a few months after that, the concert was postponed to May 2006. It was worth the waiting, though. The band played awesomely tight and it really looked as if we had entered a time machine which sent us back 30 years (maybe that’s not for me to say since I’m only 23 years old, but I think I’ve seen and heard enough footage from the mid-70’s, which is my favorite Zappa period by the way, to compare; besides, they showed some of this footage before the concert, so there was an immediate chance to judge that).
Dweezil was very reminiscent of his father, even looking a bit the same due to his hairdo and the way he stood there. I was also impressed that he managed to play the guitar parts that well, for the most songs they played weren’t exactly the easiest ones.
Napoleon Murphy Brock has always been one of my favorite Zappa musicians and I was really glad to see that his enthusiasm hadn’t changed a bit. He did a very good job singing and playing and his age didn’t stop him from moving around all the time and hopping along the stage like a penguin.
The part where Dweezil made hand signals to, as he said, ‘confuse the band’, wasn’t as spontaneous as Frank and his band used to do it but hey, I don’t expect every musician to be as fantastic as Ruth Underwood, George Duke or Nappy. And the band Dweezil and Ahmet (by the way, where was he? I thought they were both going to perform?) got together is probably the next best thing.
Aaah, and then we had Terry Bozzio. What could you say about such a talent that hasn’t been said before? He still got the same raw energy as on the original versions of the songs he played, singing and drumming at the same time. Nice they played “Punky’s whips”: I still think it’s hilarious that this is about the only way this infamous lead guitar player called P. Meadows is going to be remembered for the rest of his life. I also was pleased that Terry got to do “The black page drum solo”, one of my favorites from the “Zappa in New York” album.
Steve Vai’s guitar contributions were also swell and it was great to hear him perform some Zappa tunes I never heard him perform. The way he ‘duelled’ with Dweezil as Frank used to do with him was maybe a bit risky, but it all went OK and he fit in well with the band.
Yes, I know, there wasn’t really the kind of interaction Frank used in his shows and yes, the satirious and humoristic part was rather missing. But isn’t the music itself really what it’s all about? The way FZ had people come on stage to join a dance contest or the way he let his musicians do sketches can’t be done the same way if he’s not going to be around anymore to ‘direct’ and create it. What remains is his music and I think this Zappa Plays Zappa tour emphasizes that perfectly. I already had seen a good concert from The Muffin Men a couple of years ago and I expected to see something similar, but Zappa Plays Zappa was more than just a cover band with guest performers. It was a worthy replacement, not bettering the original but certainly much as good. Finally there’s a tribute band that represents FZ’s work very accurately and can offer people like me, who have never seen Frank perform live, a true alternative. Thanks, guys! Hope to see you many times more.
May 31st, 2006 at 10:01 pm »
Hello there,
So what, I sat there in this awful Forest National with my 21 year old son. I promised him in the early 90’s to take him to a FZ concert, as soon as possible. He was 10 then. Unfortunately Frank left that quick there was no time left to keep the promise. As a precussionist and drumplayer my son really digs FZ’s music and we spent hours, days and so on listening to the live recordings. And then, suddenly, ZPZ came in the news. I immediately bought the tickets for the Brussels show and my son flew in from Munich. What an amazing audience, a lot of fathers and sons and generally cool people. THe show did not fascinate us that much, I think that the poor sound quality really was one of the major reasons. Tears began to fall when I saw the inital FZ video. About the ZPZ band, well, Brock was fantastic, as I saw him last year with the grandmothers. Incredible artist who really pushes some kinda participation of the audience. The band plays as it fits, a kinda too reasonable, if u see what we mean. Well, a nic e evening of entertainement, the numer one entertainer was the one and only Terry Bozio. Entertainment is knowledge, but still music is the best. We missed some sort of ‘fighting and particpation spirit’, a spontaneous explosion and that’s it. Thanx nyway to all the musicians for this evening.
May 31st, 2006 at 11:08 pm »
I thought the video introduction was a good idea, with a pleasantly weak quality to the sound.
Then soon after the the help i’m a rock prelude i found myself often distracted from enjoying the songs by the reverberations and unusual acoustics. Since i was a not far from where barry was sitting - hi barry, hi dr sharleena - and with no mention by barry of this, i wonder if there are not possibly various different sounds throughout the hall.
For the second section, i think personal acoustic adjustments were in place to listen reasonably easily, and there was plenty there for to do so.
Terry bozzio was the star of the show i thought, at least from my allocated seat.
Also i thought there was an interesting contrast with the fluency that steve vai took over the guitar play offs.
Well worth the effort, and would have loved to hear with good sound conditions.
June 1st, 2006 at 5:19 am »
I’m going to watch the Manchester concert tommorow night. It was my 20th Birthday present from just under a year ago. Flo and Eddie might be there as well.
I’ so ‘cited.
June 1st, 2006 at 9:25 pm »
I’d like to update my review to say ‘with no mention by barry of anything quite like this’. I minor amendment, but his venue comments had covered ‘less than optimal’, a euphemism i evidently hadn’t thought through.
June 1st, 2006 at 10:24 pm »
I was at the Brussels show, great concert, good athmosphere. Frank Zappa is of course irreplaceable, but the band members were all great and focused on the music rather than spectacle. Dweezil did a fantastic job on playing these complex guitar solos, Napoleon Murphy Brock had the perfect vocals for this show, demonstrating passion and enthusiasm, Terry Bozio looked like an uncaged savage - this show was worth every eurocent ! Not to mention Steve Vai, his very competent, controlled self.
As an aftertought, we really need again a musician like Frank Zappa, unconventional, eccentric and saying what others don’t dare to say. Any one of you feeling ready for the job ?
June 1st, 2006 at 11:20 pm »
Saw FZ at Shepton Mallet in 1970, going to Albert Hall tomorrow - will let you know…
June 2nd, 2006 at 2:15 am »
just got home from Manchester (England). forgot a pen so here’s what i remember of the setlist (slight variation so worth a post i thought):
FZ on video (Montana/Dupree’s paradise)
Help, I’m a Rock
Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Florentine Pogen
Pygmy Twylyte
Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
King Kong
(Dweezil’s guitar loses signal - pause where it seems nothing can be done…
Joe decides to run band through impromptu versions of)
Filthy Habits
Pound for a brown
(Dweezil plugs into another amp)
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
Father O’Blivion
St-Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
Inca Roads
(interlude)
(Enter Steve Vai)
The Black Page pt. 2
Peaches en Regalia
Sofa
Chunga’s revenge (with FZ solo on video (circa 81, red jump suit) ZPZ band playing backing
Montana
Village of the Sun
Echidna’s Arf
Zomby Woof
Trouble every day
The Orange Country Lumber Truck
A Token of his Extreme intro to…
Cosmic debris
(Exit)
General impressions… great, i’ve read all of the reviews above and can relate to all of the positives especially with what Barry and Featfan have more eloquently said, and some of the negatives too but that didn’t stop it being a really great show. The sound was muddy and too heavy in bass at first. This actually improved considerably after Dweezil’s amp problems! I’m glad they carried on as we were all getting restless, had waited a long time and there were three guitarists! Seems the set was similar to mainland European dates but with no Terry Bozzio (must admit big disappointment about this - the FZ Chungas Revenge solo over the band was nice, a reminder but would’ve prefered Bozzio and more songs). Steve Vai was awesome - i like what he does and like some mad alien, he does it very well. Joe was surprisingly great on drums and general enthusiasm, Billy on percussion was excellent and precise, so glad they included a vibes player in the line up, especially for the era of tracks they played, and Sheila’s backing vocals again really added something. The Dweez knows his chops, and i like the arrangements where the guitar plays the intricate lines, star of the show was Napoleon though - worth the ticket price alone. Held the stage alone and dancing, moving around etc gave the show the warmth and humour that is integral part of this music we all so love. I saw Zappa in 88 - Ike Willis and Bobby Martin were awesome but NMB is something else.
Best tunes for me were Inca Roads - Dweezil’s best solo & Napoleon’s great singing; Echidna’s Arf which the band ripped into and; Sofa, very neatly played with three guitar parts restraining themselves, Aaron on trumpet - really nice. Yeah, and Black Page was lovely and Peaches too…
Get a ticket, travel far - worth the wait, worth the money. Like my mate said, we had smiles on our faces all night…
June 3rd, 2006 at 2:38 am »
Just got in from the ZPZ Royal Albert Hall gig. Overall, fantastic, though the opening FZ on video projection (approx 30 mins of Montana/Dupree’s paradise) became a little tedious, but the end segue with Frank (on video) and Dweezil (on stage) tuning their guitars in unison was a clever touch.
No Terry Bozzio was a let down, but Napoleon Murphy Brock was the crux around which the evening turned - what a voice. It’s a pity that the ‘ZFT’ couldn’t have built a few more bridges in recent years and got one or two other ex-Mothers on stage. Still, Steve Vai made up for the lack of Mr Bozzio and he was simply stunning (he and Dweezil playing ‘Black Page #2′ was a real highlight). His presence really moved the show up a gear or three.
We were also treated to a 38-years-after-Uncle-Meat reprise of ‘Louie Louie’ on the Royal Albert Hall organ, a great touch of conceptual continuity!
I think we heard nearly all of the tracks from the ‘Roxy & Elsewhere’ album, with cracking versions of ‘Cheepnis’, ‘Village of the Sun’, and ‘Echidna’s Arf’… Other highlights included ‘King Kong’ (with Dweezil conducting with FZ-esque ‘hand signals’ to the band), ‘Trouble Every Day’, ‘Zomby Woof’, ‘Montana’, ‘Inca Roads’, ‘Florentine Pogen’ and ‘Sofa’. A great evebing’s entertainment - let’s hope it’s not the last time they do this. Was it worth £48 and a 7 month delay? Absolutely.
June 3rd, 2006 at 9:24 am »
I saw the RAH gig last night too. I agree with Iohannes Soute that the intro video was too long. However the synch up later with Frank playing guitar on the big screen with the rest of the band playing live was really great. And the rest of the gig was fantastic - what a tight band! The major disappointment for me though was no Terry Bozzio - the guy is a legend and one of the main reasons for me going..whatever happened to him?
June 3rd, 2006 at 4:31 pm »
Missed my train for the first time in my life to stay to the end (Albert Hall 2nd) of a wonderful concert.
Dweeze did great, his guitar work was a fascinating blend of father and son he has worked hard and sensitively to make this work- always with the pieces the main priority- fantastic tone on that SG and impressive part playing that dad would have given to someone else. I can see what people have said about his fronting this fine group vis a vis people shouting out for the old mans repartee etc but hey this is a different fellow who I thought had a laid back dignity.
Stevie V was the demon prince as ever, I knew there was to be no Bozzio so not a big downer but what of Flo and Eddie?? again I didn’t really expect to see them but….
The band were all superb- interesting audition process- the AH organ stuff was great how many other venues had this kinda thing? The sound comments above are about right its hard to get bass sweet in this type of hall but the sound was powerful and suited the excellent set. Ok they were a tad careful on one or two tempos but all the licks and textures were delivered, frisson moments a plenty. Great to see the moments of really moving reaction from the from the boring old limey audience.
Napoleon was magic it must be something to get praise like in these posts I hope he knows it cos he deserves it- a rich talent of the kind all too rarely seen these days- like the sadly missed MC looking down from the dome(Sheds a tear) so important to keep the good music alive.
June 3rd, 2006 at 4:39 pm »
Saw the Manchester show.. It was pure magic.
If you get a chance check it out.. Napoleon is wonderful.. full of honest enthusiasm for the work, and bravo Dweezil.. You pulled it off!
June 3rd, 2006 at 5:50 pm »
RAH was really really good.
Personally the intro wasn’t too long - i loved every second of frank and ruth and tom ripping it up.
The band was awesome as a group. They gelled and seemed to be enjoying it, especially the bass player WHO WAS TOO LOW IN THE MIX.
Sheila Gonzalez was awesome on sax - her solos were as good as napoleon’s. NMB was having a riot. he had so much fun but even so his voice was perfect.
the absolute highlight for me (cant believe noone else has mentioned it) was that they finished off the first half with EAT THAT QUESTION, my favourite zappa song of all time. Don’t know whether they’ve done that anywhere else.
Dweezil solos were dweezils solos. He overplayed. he’s not as good as his dad but since noone else in the world is, that’s not a big issue. Steve Vai blew him out of the water. absolutely incredible and i’m not much of a vai fan.
Playing the organ was a great touch and made me glad i came to RAH instead of manchester.
Overall, fantastic entertainment, a fitting tribute and well worth the money.
June 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 pm »
I can’t really comment on the first set at the Albert (due to appalling sound way up there in the rear circle) - though Inca Roads was still incredible.
In the intermission those lovely folks at the venue let me move to a box right next to the stage. I was hearing more from the stage monitor system than i was from front-of-house pa. (Mr Vai’s side monitors were aimed right at me).
So, the 2nd set was simply astonishing.
I think Dweezil is the highlight of this band - his guitar playing was absolutley lovely, just enough blues, just enough melody, just enough mangle it-strangle it; his onstage demeanour was much like that of fan. He wasn’t trying to be Frank, which was just perfect. Oh No/Son Of Orange County was really beautiful.
Of course, the band were incredible and they can funk in 11/8 with the best of ‘em! Thankyou so much Dweezil, hope to see you again sometime.
June 5th, 2006 at 11:35 am »
I was at the RAH show last friday. Not too sure about the first track they played (especially now I’ve read that ‘Help I’m a Rock’ was played at some of the other shows). I enjoyed most of the songs, although I thought NMB sounded a little too professional on a couple of them (eg: ‘Hungry Freaks, Daddy’) and I got a little bored by the guitar solos. Sheila Gonzalez was outstanding, especially on King Kong/Eat That Question. I think Vai dropped her camera at the end of the show leading my friend to go: “putain! qu’est-ce qu’il est perche’ ce mec!”
June 5th, 2006 at 1:29 pm »
I really enjoyed the London show despite the sound being rubbish in the circle - guess the sound guys forgot to put any speakers up there. I thought the intro video went on a little too long, but Dweezil’s band more than made up for it - both sets were top notch FZ, with no real duff songs that I can remember. The Roxy orientated show just rocked with Napolean’s vocals. The only thing I would say is that if Dweezil does this again he should take on more of Frank’s signature solos.
June 5th, 2006 at 1:57 pm »
Saw the Manchester show. Fantastic, even in spite of the technical problems.
Highlight among many was Echidna’s Arf. The man in the seat in front of me was moved to tears at the end of it, I nearly was myself.
NMB was superb, and hats of to Dweezil as well. He’s a mean guitar player and all round good egg.
June 6th, 2006 at 11:22 am »
Hey all! I was at the show in Paris yesterday, it was absolutely mindblowing!!! Bloody hell, these guys can play!
Zappa’s music is not only alive, it’s really kickin’ butt! Dweezil has become my favourite guitar player! His playing has grown to be simply… amazing!
Now about the show, it started at 8 PM, with the 30 minute Roxy movie bit (Montana/Dupree’s Paradise). The venue (Le Zenith) was packed, I would tell 99,9% of beeing sold-out. The crowd was very warm. The show began at 8:30, and that was really one of the best live performance I have ever been to! Inca Roads was really cool!
They played until 10 PM, then we had a 20 minute break. Then, the band came back with Terry Bozzio for a furious version of “I’m so cute”, then “Punky’s Whips” where Bozzio had to change drum kits with Travers (Bozzio broke a skin on his kick drum during “I’m so cute”). The show went on, Dweezil said they had no curfew, probably because they don’t play today, next show is in Athens tomorrow. Well… they played until 11:55 PM!!! What a fantastic show! more than 3 hours of Zappa’s music! Vai joined the band on the second half of the show too, and was really great (I’m a fan of Vai, but I admit I never found him really exceptionnal when improvising on something else than his own music, but his played and soloing that night were perfect, absolutely amazing too). Highlights were King Kong, Chunga’s Revenge (very intense, I’m not spoiling for those who will attend the next shows)… They played The Black Page (Bozzio-only, then the #2 version), Peaches and Regalia,… and ended on Sofa, which was absolutely brillant. What can I say, one of the best live show ever, surely one of the best live act currently touring. Dweezil has become an amazing, really AMAZING guitar player! Everyone in the band was great, and had his share of improvising and spotlight. The only thing that I found missing was more interaction from Dweezil, he seemed kinda shy, and not enough interacting with the band other than musically of course, that part was really cool. A great band! Oh, one last thing about the audience, Dweezil noticed that from the first row too, very diverse… I’d say between 25 and 55, and some came with their whole familly, was very fun to see 10 year old kids with Zappa t-shirts.
What more can I say ? Brilliant! Hope there will be a dvd out of this tour!
June 6th, 2006 at 11:23 am »
A MONSTER PARIS SHOW
For anyone still wondering if they should get tickets or not…stop wondering!!! Last night’s Paris show was so monumental, so gigantic, so unfuckingbelievable, the 50 euro ticket was a steal!! The band played for 4+ hours. And not only did they play, they went ballistic. The set list was pretty much the same from Copenhagen, with slight variations here and there. Watermelon in Easter Hay, Hungry Freaks, Daddy, etc.
First of all, hats off to Dweezil for doing this. What an homage and not only that, what a real thing. ‘Cause the Dweez is appropriating his father’s music. I think we could be moving past the “tribute band” thing. An orchestra playing a Beethoven symphony isn’t called a Beethoven tribute band… Frank’s compositions were meant to be performed, not only by him.
Anyway, hats off to Dweezil’s band. They were royal. Great sax, keyboards, vibes, drums, bass. Couldn’t see everyone unfortunately from some badly placed speakers. And couldn’t hear much rhythm guitar.
The show was just amazing. NMB is a dynamic vocalist, a fine dancer and provided the only bit of stage life. That was the one thing missing. Dweezil is obviously a humble guy. He thanked the Paris crowd no less than 100 times. In fact, that was about all he managed to say. Bozzio moves faster than Spiderman. He broke the bass drum head after He’s So Cute! Some stage acrobatics followed. And Steve Vai is beyond words.
My only complaint is that there wasn’t someone (Ahmet maybe?) to liven up the stage with witticisms.
GO OUT AND BUY YOUR TICKETS!!!
June 6th, 2006 at 2:36 pm »
Just a word to sum up the Paris show : WOW.
Wow, again.
Beginning around 8 PM, the show ended around midnight. In between : the 30-minute Roxy footage with Montana and Dupree’s Paradise, around 3 hours and 15 minutes or pure live enjoyment and a 15-minute break between the two sets. Imaginary Diseases was a tasty opener, with members of the band jumping all over the stage (especially Pete Griffin, this guy rocks). They did Eat That Question. They did Chunga’s Revenge with FZ’s video on the large screen. They did most of the “Roxy & Elsewhere” material… but sorry Fred, no Watermelon (see post above).
I too expected more interaction between DZ and the other members (King Kong was an exception), and too bad there wasn’t some kind of audience participation (Dweezil said that if we knew the lyrics to Camarillo Brillo, we could sing along, but that wasn’t very easy :D) . But whatever, these are very minor issues. I had such a great time… and it seems I wasn’t alone. My hands still hurt from clapping so hard… The band deserved it. Boy they can play ! I already mentioned Pete Griffin but all the musicians are fabulous. When Aaron Arntz played the intro from “Eat That Question”, I was in another dimension. Scheila Gonzalez is fantastic, just like Billy Hulting, Joe Travers, Jamie Kime… and of course Dweeezil, who played some amazing solos. Not to mention NMB, who dances and sings and plays like it was 1974 again. Not to mention Steve Vai, who simply stunned me, and Little Terry Ted Bozzio, the kick drum destroyer
June 6th, 2006 at 2:42 pm »
Little mistake in my post above : the previous poster who said Watermelon was played was not Fred, but Parizen. Can’t modify my first message…
June 6th, 2006 at 4:43 pm »
I saw the Royal Albert Hall gig and thought it utterly amazing. It was like a five-course meal in which every dish was your favourite and every single ingredient was done exactly the way you liked it, even though the waiter hadn’t asked you what you wanted, the chef’s record wasn’t hugely impressive and most of his staff were an unknown quantity.
I’d forgotten that Bozzio was supposed to have been playing, so I didn’t notice his absence. The other guy was more than competent. However, I did recall that at one stage Flo and Eddie were booked to appear, and kept worrying that they’d suddenly turn up and spoil the party. But thankfully they stayed away. Sorry all (both?) you Flo and Eddie fans.
I’ve been liucky enough to witness a few Zappa concerts, starting with the infamous one at The Rainbow at which the poor guy managed to get himself thrown from the stage, so I’m on fairly safe ground when I venture the opinion that the ZPZ concert was as good musically as many FZ gigs and, in the case of the Odeon Hammersmith in 1975, better.
What’s more, the band seemed to be enjoying themselves and genuinely pleased with the enthusiasm their performance was greeted with. A few assholes at the back spent a lot of time shouting (in a non-ironic way) but even they couldn’t spoil a fabulous evening.
I’m so jealous of all of you who have yet to see this tour.
June 6th, 2006 at 7:51 pm »
Some reflections on ZPZ at the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 2 2006
I had never been to the Royal Albert Hall before, but it seemed an
appropriate venue for the evening’s entertainment bearing in mind the
trials and tribulations it caused Frank all those years ago
(something Dweezil would mention at the start of the show). It’s an
impressive building, both inside and out, but I confess I went with
more than a fair share of trepidation. Judgement reserved but
expectations somewhat low, notwithstanding the many good reviews I
had read about the European shows so far. I’m not sure I really
understand the point of all this.
I suppose the Albert Hall was about three quarters full – a fair
sized crowd - by the time the video began. As you all know by now we
were transported back to December ‘73 and a performance of Montana
and Dupree’s Paradise, and it was great to see. No doubts about
that. But I’m afraid I couldn’t really bring myself to applaud the
screen at the end as many did…….er Dweez, we’ve been promised the DVD
of this for so long now, am I really supposed to hoot and cheer that
you deign to allow me to see twenty five minutes of it?
Ah well, on to the show proper. After the initial three songs I knew
that Florentine Pogen would assault my eardrums, and THAT I had been
looking forward to for a few days. And they did indeed play
Florentine Pogen. But it didn’t assault anything. Come on guys,
this is a HEAVY riff. Make my chest ache. Vibrate through me. No?
Gee thanks. “You’re not impressed are you?” from the soon-to-be-
missus to my right. And thus Pygmy Twylyte, The Idiot Bastard Son
and Cheepnis passed me by in similar fashion. Napoleon was good to
see again, and was clearly enjoying himself, and I have to say that
Travers, lousy Vaultmeister though he may be, is a damned fine
stickmeister. I tell you what Joe, you stay behind the kit and I’ll
look after the Vault. Deal? Joe? Joe?
And then. And then, for the second time in its history, the Royal
Albert Hall reverberated to the strains of Louie Louie emanating from
the largest pipe organ in the UK. Now even an old cynic like me had
to smile at that, and good on you Dweez. A really nice doff of the
hat to history and proof that Conceptual Continuity is alive and
well. And a fine King Kong it turned out to be, with Dweez using
hand signals a la Frank, and even the Filthy Habits riff making a
welcome appearance to boot. Then, after various adventures in the
frozen north, the first half finished with a really good Inca Roads
and a surprise Eat That Question, and you can’t go wrong with those
two tunes, now can you?
With no Bozzio, part two began with Dweezil introducing Steve Vai and
the two duetting in accomplished fashion on the Black Page. Peaches
featured the pipe organ again and sounded just fine to me. Montana,
ok, Village of the Sun, I love that tune, Echidna’s Arf, yep, good,
and then Zomby Woof, during which I decided it was a good time to
take a short break. I’m sure Steve Vai played a jolly fine solo,
but, er, been there, seen that. Then the screen was again unfurled,
Dweezil began the Chunga’s riff, and for five minutes Frank was there
in his red boiler suit, head bobbing, fingers wrenching at his Les
Paul, and we were back in the early 80s and life was fine because
there would doubtless be a new FZ album soon and this time I do
believe that I did applaud the screen. And maybe wiped a tear.
The show, as you know, ended with Oh No, Orange County Lumber Truck,
Trouble Every Day, all great songs to hear, A Token of His Extreme
(or Tush Tush Tush if you prefer), and then, finally, everyone’s
favourite waltz. The audience seemed happy enough, giving the band a
rousing reception, and the band seemed happy enough, so that’s all
right then. But there was something missing all night. Of course
there was. I would have liked to have left feeling more positive
about the whole thing than I did. It wasn’t that I was feeling
particularly negative. I just didn’t feel anything very much, except
maybe a little melancholy, and I wanted to feel something more. In
general I didn’t experience the emotions that I have felt seeing
Frank’s music played live on other occasions ( I well remember being
in floods of tears a few years back hearing the Britten Sinfonia
perform Uncle Meat, yet it was utterly joyous). I think maybe it was
all a bit too close to home. For me, Chunga’s Revenge was the
highlight of the evening, which is in itself ironic and yet not at
all ironic, and of course I enjoyed some of the other songs because
they are such great songs, and worth hearing whenever you can. The
band was accomplished, as you would expect, and I’m pleased Dweezil
enjoyed himself and clearly enjoyed playing his Dad’s music. He
seems like a genuinely nice chap to me. And you know, you can
sometimes see Frank in Dweezil on stage. At times, if you half
closed your eyes, that posture, it could almost have been him. I
couldn’t help but think as I headed for home that it had been
eighteen years since I last saw Frank play live, and that I never
ever would again.
Am I glad that I went? On balance, yes, just. Did I get the point?
Not really. Would I go again? I don’t think so.
There’s just far too much missing.
Magic Fingers
June 7th, 2006 at 3:34 am »
i’m psyched for the philly show. travelling all the way from tennessee to get my first taste of live zappa!
June 7th, 2006 at 8:40 am »
Travelled to Manchester from Glasgow for the show and it was well worth it.Sound was not great at times due to loud/boomy floor tom but Joe Travers as previously with the Z BAND was excellent as was NMB bringing some humour to proceedings(it belongs).
The part of the show when Dweezils rig went oink could have turned nasty(a Glasgow crowd/albert hall) but most folks went for a pee then Dweezil went straight thro his amp which meant no Ship Ahoy type activity as in clip but his solo on Inca Roads was fab as he was pissed off with the ineptitude of his andy warhol like roadie.
Steve Vai is a monster,his solo in Zomby Woof was incredible ,he did kind of steal the show but two hours of his noodly twangfest would be overdose territory
I was really looking forward to seeing Dweezil to see his more rock EVH style would cope with the structure/changes of FZ pieces.
To some extent he pulled it off but I feel he is happier playing his own noodly twangfest stuff
in saying that I hope he tours again and that there is a Glasgow show though I feel the barometer of the whole thing will be how well the gigs go in the states.
June 7th, 2006 at 12:53 pm »
being to young to have ever seen frank play live this was the first time i got the chance to see any of his music played live.
what can i say apart from the fact that it near enough made me cry. amazing performances all round, a wonderfull selection of songs (ok my life will not be complete until i see the Ensemble Modern play amnerika but that aside..) and a wonderfully entertaining collection of fine musicians..
please please please do it all again..
June 7th, 2006 at 7:17 pm »
hi all
Paris show june 5
if you read all comments, you have read one or two review from this show, i just add my two cents & feelings (excuse the english, I’m french
there was month we waited for it, and it was worth it.
the film at the beggining made everybody wondering if that wasn’t “too much”, but finally not.
so much peoples was wondering what would it be, it’d take the first part before everybody getting warmed and then Bozzio came, what’s a killer he still is !
At the higher level in the venue, the sound was pretty good (ain’t that difficult to mix that kind of music ?) but the bass sound was to “round”, not enough kicking, perhaps too low end, i dont’ know but the bass player which was really good didn’t get what it deserves, too bad with the place of the bass in FZ music.
Steve vai made good solos, but to my taste, not much “lyricall”, too fast and not enough musical, if you “ear” what I’m thinking.
I found out Dweezil did the right things, not trying to be faster than Steve, and trying to find good melodies to work on, Hats on !
Finally a very good concert, everybody I talked to was thinking the same, IT’S NOT FZ, but this is his music, and the band alltogether reach the required level. I’ve been impressed by Joe Travers I didn’t know, NMB was GREAT, etc etc really they was all great.
A big challenge but Dweezil has succeed.
that’s all folks !
it gives me tear just to think about it.
I would like one of this kind every single day
come back Dweezil !
June 7th, 2006 at 8:56 pm »
I’m going to see ZPZ in Philly. I got my tickets the 1st day they went on sale. Can’t wait.
I saw FZ three time at the Tower (some of the best shows I ever saw) and once at the Rutgers Field House (horrible sound).
June 7th, 2006 at 11:56 pm »
went to Dublin, Vicar Street. Truly awesome.
Napoleon most have a mirror in the attic.
Different set from above in general tho we started with a “new” number ‘imaginary diseases’
A few o my top tunes were
Zombie Woof
Cheepnis
Camarillo Brillo
Peaches in Regalia
Pygmy Twylyte
& of course Sofa to finish
Steve Vai was mesmerising, Dweezil amazing & brave.
The only thing missing was the frank wit, which is irreplacable.
Thank you Dweez & the boys
June 8th, 2006 at 8:33 am »
Went to the Manchester show and agree with David’s review on 7th June. Napoleon was amazing and really added that special something that was needed and really connected with the audience. I’m not sure how old he is, but his energy, humour and vocal skill were fantastic.
I agree that Vai was out of this world too, but ridiculously fast solos leave me a bit numb after the first 3 or so. At one point he and DZ were sharing a solo, taking it in turns to reply to the other’s music. After one mind blowing Vai section I really felt for DZ, wondering how anybody could possibly follow it- his response was slow, simple and melodic which was perfect.
Fair play to the band for keeping things moving during Dweezil’s technical difficulties. This created a bit of spontaneity which I liked and DZ couldn’t have been more apologetic.
The only down side for me was the fact that all of the Medium tour shirts and all of the programmes sold out as I was in the queue for the merchandise! Oh well, I guess they’ll be on eBay soon, will have to start saving!
June 8th, 2006 at 8:47 am »
ps. Stuck some dodgy, shaky photos on my Flickr site, just search for Stevo3 or Zappa Plays Zappa and you should find them, got a couple more to put up but the site is down at the moment.
June 8th, 2006 at 10:42 am »
I was at the Amsterdam show, their first stop in this tour. I think it was some amazing stuff going on on that stage. For me, being barely 27 years old, I never really got the chance to see the great maestro himself perform on stage. Therefore is was great seeing Dweezil (Ahmet was not around unfortunatly) and this incredible band play this magnificent music. The playlist was mostly 70’s rock-orientated stuff like songs from roxy & elsewhere, apostrophe, one size fits all and overnite sensation. Dweezil played extremely tight and Napoleon M. Brock still rocked the house with his onstage presence. Incredible, it seems like that man never got older, and he must be like in his sixties now? Great stuff. After the first half of the show they returned with Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai playing along some songs. It seemed to me Bozzio was not at his best, he wasn’t really flowing in a way I know he can, he was just pounding his kit really hard and didn’t seem to get into his ‘zone’. Though I always like to hear and see Steve Vai, he didn’t add that much extra. Also the fact Vai and Bozzio drew a lot of applause from the crowd, I felt like the essential from the show (Frank’s music) was a bit lost in all the showmanship. Even though there were some things not exactly to my liking, I thoroughly enjoyed this evening. I expected the greatest live musical experience I would ever see and that’s exactly what I got.
June 8th, 2006 at 12:44 pm »
I was at the Albert Hall. I’m 45 and took my daughter-22 and son for his seventeenth birthday along with their cousin-18.
I saw Frank probably a dozen times and he was never less than mesmerising-just occ for the wrong reasons. I adored his music, so it was a poignant trip for me and the nearest my kids would get to see him*.
The film was great. Just great. Those who think it went on too long need to take time out and do a bit of reflecting. Ah Ruth and Chester and the Brockmeister-simple amplification, tricky tuning, those amazing guffaws-bloody mrvelous…
The show built up well-tears in eyes at several moments-to hear St Alphonso’s pancake breakfast..waaaaaaaah. But of course Frank ain’t there. It’s ironic that the thing that sends this night into orbit-’Frank’ is also the slight niggle that adds drag to that orbit-Frank ain’t there.
But as the evening goes on and a real cohesion between audience, band and FZ grows, I realised that this is all we have left and if none of the solos had that amazing savvy chutzpah of Frank’s musical sixth sense-you had to be there to feel the sense of rightness flow through you as his melodic lines lifted you richly towards and through any ceiling- I realised that they were carving out a memorial on stage for the guy-he is irreplacable and that presence/non-presence shone more and more brightly as the evening wore on, somewhere cigarette smoke shifted and an imperious hawk-nosed profile looked on, at the bogus pomp.
Oh by the way my family wnet wild. My son was eyed up by Diva and i blew Mrs Z a kiss.
Love to all. (Frank would hate that!)
*The Muffin Men are FANTASTIC. They are not a tribute band, it’s like saying the Halle orchestra are a Beethoven tribute band. Go and see and support them they are bloody marvelous. Check out their website. Their CDs are great.
June 9th, 2006 at 12:50 am »
If you love Zappa.. don’t miss this opportunity
It is as good as it gets on this plane of existence.
And they ROCK
June 9th, 2006 at 1:09 am »
Saw the band in Manchester on 1st June.
Absolutely excellent & lots of respect to Dweezil for pulling this off. Frank’s music is tough stuff and for such a predominantly young band to knock out this kind of music was awesome.
Napoleon Murphy Brock was undoubtedly the highlight of the show. He added an authenticity and nostalgia which it otherwise would have lacked reafirming why Frank chose him.
Didnt miss Terry B as Joe was outstanding along with all the musicians. Vai of course is another level of guitar but DZ was equally great. I don’t think it could have been performed any better.
The sound up at the front of the circle was crisp and loud. DZ’s equipment failure was a slight lull. He kept his cool and pulled it off even without his rig playing straight thru his amp for a few numbers.
After the interval it just went from high to higher. The band playing with Franks video solo was a very nice touch.
Loved every minute of it. Been playing Zappa more again ever since the gig. Hell even the guitar’s back out again. Inspiring…as music should be.
June 10th, 2006 at 7:36 am »
I attended the ZPZ gig at the royal albert hall in london and it was way beyond my expectations. Although i didn’t outwardly cry i had tears in my eyes a number of times.
My message to Dweezil is “Please make a habit of doing this stuff on a regular basis, you have made a big fan of your dads very happy”.
June 10th, 2006 at 7:33 pm »
I travelled a long way (and paid a lot of money, to a guy named Hoover) - no, to be at the Albert Hall, and of course it was great. I loved the opening vid and thought it was such a great touch that the band came on and tuned to Frank.
I saw Frank many times in London over the years and I was struggling to see through misty eyes at times.
However - the sound was AWFUL, especially at first, and I had really good seats. Bass drum far too loud - as is often the case - inaudible bass until the second set - but everything covered in a layer of Mudd. Even the words were inaudible - although you could tell that they were being sung - and fortunately I knew most of them. It wasn’t just the Hall’s fault - or the sound guy’s - the band didn’t play with any light and shade! Frank used to be a master at this - ‘dynamics’ - take it right down - play really fucking loud - then just a little bit here and there. A song like - Village of the Sun should be played so you can hear the tone of Napoleon’s voice and appreciate the nuances - it sounded just like everything else! Don’t get me wrong - I loved the whole show and would recommend anyone to go - but as this is here, I think it’s worth saying………Also Dweezil seemed to be louder than Stevie Vai in all the ‘duets ‘ - that seems very straaaange’. It did get better as the night went on and of course there were some great moments…….
And another thing - the material - okay we all love Roxy etc. buy what about anything post 76? (I read that they played City of Tiny Lights earlier in the tour - and I suppose without Bozzio (soooo disappointing!) we couldn’t hope for that - but nothing from Joe’s Garage or later - c’mon! If you’ve seen Bobby Martin or Bozzio or Ike Willis - you’ll know what I mean - we love NMB but where was the humour - it didn’t seem to belong!
Music is the best!!!!!!
June 12th, 2006 at 6:02 am »
the philly one was so good. simply amazing. that’s all i can say.
June 12th, 2006 at 5:01 pm »
Hi All…We’re gearing up for the Boston show on 13 June…can’t wait to check it out and post a review….Any sign of Bobby Martin??
June 12th, 2006 at 5:49 pm »
The Philly ZPZ show was excellent and it was an eventful evening of entertainment!
First off, while standing in line to enter Tower theater about 5 squad cars stopped, blocked and circled a man and his son in their car, one of the cops was pointing his pistil at the driver yelling “get your hands up where I can see them, where is your weapon” to which the man driving replied over and over “I didn’t do anything, I don’t have a weapon” things got a little tense since this was all happening about 25’ away from a long line of concert goers… In the end it turns out they caught the right guy a few blocks down the street, this poor guys son (who was about 10) was really freaking out… As you may have guessed, the Tower Theater isn’t exactly in the nicest part of town but it is a nice venue.
So on to the show, I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house, the view was awesome and the band was exceptional. I am very proud of Dweezil, his playing has really improved over the years and he would have made his dad very proud! Napoleon was his usual entertaining self and it was great to hear the vocals on many of the songs sang by the same gut who sang them on the albums over the years.
The first half of the evening music was performed by the base band, mostly younger musicians who are all very talented led by Dweezil, with Napoleon bringing up the right. Dweezil reminds me a lot of his dad, (I first saw FZ in 1977 in Chicago) the way he stands and the way he cocks his head when he plays, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree here… And his playing was terrific, Frank had a very unique sound, I’m proud to say that I was an FZ fan in the early 70’s (back when liking FZ wasn’t quite as cool) and Franks influence found it’s way onto my playing as well so when Dweezil was riffing away I could hear his dads style, those chicken pickin, rapid fire, legato runs up and down the neck that defines the signature Zappa sound.
Slightly after mid show Terry Bozzio came on stage and put on one hell of percussive show, the guys really is amazing and he is so hyperkinetic, you think the guy might explode…
Soon after Bozzio took the stage Mr. Stunt Guitar, Impossible Parts player and the man with super human fingers took the stage and proceeded to whip everyone’s ass! Steve Vai did an exceptional job on the Black Page and soon after the band kicked but on my favorite Zappa tune “Peaches in Regalia” It was awesome! And then they really hit it hard on “Echidnas Arf of You” the band was exceptional, there is no other way to put it.
In all the band played for just over 3 hours, the only downside to the night was had to be the quality of the sound… Maybe they were having technical problems but my guess is that the front of house soundman was having an off night, the vocals were muddy (Bozzio’s vocals ripped your ears apart, I saw a lot of people plugging there ears when he hit the higher notes) and Dweezil’s guitar mix wasn’t dialed into until half way through the show, the bongos were way out of mix for a while as well. Then the first solo or two from Steve was poorly mixed, it was just a blur mid house and at times you couldn’t hear anything even though his fingers were moving, but the sound guy finally figured it out about 3/4ths of the way through the show and seemed to get in the pocket… I’ve heard this is a great sounding hall so this was a little disappointing, but none the less it was a great show… And I guess we have to cut him some slack, he tweaked the system when the house was empty so a full house did have a huge impact on his mix.
If you are a Zappa fan I strongly suggest that you see this show, it’s as close as your ever going to get and you may never get this chance again!
June 12th, 2006 at 6:29 pm »
I also attended the philly show and on our way to find parking I noticed a little crowd next to a bus by the venue. It was none other than Mr. Vai with his guitar chatting with some folks. Very cool. The show was indeed great by the the sound was pretty poor. The bass was pretty low and almost inaudible. Some of the guitar parts were also difficult to hear. I was hoping to see the video of Frank during the Roxy and Elsewhere show but they didn’t open with that nor show it later. They opened with “Imaginary Diseases” and they did not play “Sofa No.2.” They did play “Eat That Question” but outside of that the previous posting of the set list is what they played. During the last tune (A Token of My Extreme instrumental) Dweezil pulled up a young kid by the name of Eric who was at his first concert and cued him to jump to help end the tune and the show! Very cool. They also included the Pink Panther theme during King Kong along with a little but of Filthy Habits. The back-up band consisted of the follow ing: one main keyboardist:another female keyboard/vocalist/horn player;bassist;drummer;back-guitarist;percussionist.Overall it was a great show and I’m glad I got to see some Zappa music played live by musicians who played with him.Those who are going to see this show I am sure you will dig it. Enjoy because who knows if we will get to see it again!
June 12th, 2006 at 8:26 pm »
the show at the tower theater in philly last night was fantastic. standing ovations for almost every song, a very enthusiastic crowd. dweezil played very well, quite a different style than when he played the solo on “whipping post” with frank at the tower in 1988. napoleon murphy brock was rock solid as the main voice of the show, giving an anchor from which the other musicians could improv off of and return to. steve vai was, well steve vai, guitarist extraordinaire. terry bozzio really impressive with his “hands like a hammer”, he is truly one of the worlds best percussionists. i wish ike willis could’ve been included. the rest of this band of unknowns played very well, and held their own under combat conditions. i have to say it was the shortest intermission i’ve ever witnessed, and i’m sure more than a few people were still in line for beer or the bathroom when the second set began. i hope we don’t have to wait another 18 years for the music of frank zappa to be played in philadelphia.
June 12th, 2006 at 9:20 pm »
I went to the Tower show last night and it was easily one of the best shows i’ve ever seen!! Killer tight band and bringing Bozzio and Vai out just made for a perfect show. For a guy in his mid-50’s, TB can still flat out wail! I was most impressed with Dweezil. He really adapted his style of play to Frank’s quite well. Gone were the Eddie Van Halen runs of his 90’s work (thank God). The setlist was also a nice mix of prime Frank. My only complaint is the minimal use of TB and Vai. They were each only involved for about 30 minutes. The core band was tight and awesome so they weren’t needed but still would have been nice. I also liked how Dweezil included a little kid from the 2nd row named Eric who was at his first show. I’m sure he’ll never forget it! Great crowd and quality venue. Not quite sold out but close which was nice to see. I hope this does become an annual event as i will be there every time!
June 12th, 2006 at 9:59 pm »
I went to the Phily show last night and I was blown away by what I saw. I tried to take down the setlist but i missed a couple. Seeing Dweezil with everyone just having fun was really great to see. Unfortunately, after the show we had to drive back to Tennessee. The setlist was a bit different from ones i’ve seen on here.
setlist: the first set was with NMB
-Imaginary Diseases
-Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
-Florentien Pogen
-Pygmy Twylyte
-Idiot Bastard Son
-Cheepnis
-King Kong (amazing)
-Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow/St. Alphonzo’s Pankake Breakfast
-Inca Roads
-I’m So Cute (w/ Bozzio)
-Tryin’ To Grow a Chin (w/ Bozzio)
-City of Tiny Lights (w/ Bozzio and Napoleon)
-Punky’s Whips (w/ Bozzio)’
-Black Page #1 w/ Bozzio and Joe Travers and the percussionist synchronized
-Black Page #2 enter Steve Vai
-Peaches en Regalia exit Terry Ted
-Montana and an impressive guitar duel
-Village of the Sun
-Zomby Woof
—–End of 2nd Set—–
Encore:w/ Napoleon
-Camarillo Brillo
-Orange County Lumber Truck
-Enter Vai and Bozzio
-amazing duel w/ Vai and Dweezil, then Terry Bozzio solo, then Joe Travers solo
-Token of My Extreme (instrumental)
——————The End————————
Overall I was totally blown away by a stellar performance. As I’m young, this kind of thing is the closest I will ever get to seeing live Zappa. I’m glad Dweezil is doing this.
June 13th, 2006 at 12:21 am »
Where to start for a review of the BEST show that I’ve seen in a number of years (and I’ve been to more than my share)? I guess the beginning is a good place to commence. The Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA is located in the “forgotten” section of the town. Sprawling over three square miles, UD is another of the infinite number of suburban boroughs and townships that surround Philadelphia. The venue is situated in close proximity to a train station and in a largely urban setting. Hence, the further one moves to the west away from the theatre, the more affluent the geography appears. With that said, the Tower Theatre is a grand and stately music hall that the likes of which are, unfortunately, quickly disappearing from the American landscape.
Seated seventh row left center, my wife and I relaxed for about 30 minutes until the band took the stage. Upon the first note, I was struck with the musicianship present and the coherence evident between the band members while executing such intricate compositions. I won’t go into details about each track BUT I will say that my excitement level rose with each subsequent song and that, even after three hours of aural bliss, I did not want the experience to end. The core band members were excellent, Terry Bozzio seemed to “attack” his kit rather than play it, and Steve Vai led us all down the path of 100-notes-a-second guitar virtuosity. Through it all, however, Dweezil remained firmly in control of all that was transpiring.
Dweezil also definitely put those commentators from the European reviews that questioned his “personality” in their places by making this show “Eric’s night.” A young lad wearing a Black Page T-shirt and attending his first concert ever was invited on-stage to assist the band with a resounding stomp to end the festivities.
Americans who have lined themselves up to witness this awesome display are in for a tremendous experience. I hope that Zappa enthusiasts, young and old, will join in and embrace ZPZ in their quest to keep Frank’s legacy and unparalled work LIVE.
June 13th, 2006 at 1:18 am »
Unfortunately, I could not make it to Philly
for the show. Based on the reviews, it must have been great.
I am still waiting for the grumpy dirtbag buzzkills to step up and start in with…
“Dweezil is a blah, blah, blah…”
“The ZFT is really bad, blah, blah, blah.”
Come on! Let’s get busy!
June 13th, 2006 at 1:50 am »
Ah Yes Frank will will always be missed and never be completely replaced (although I heard Franks voice thruout the show) but this was a great show just the same.
My seat was just a few down from where I saw him in 88. Last row but in the Tower its still great. My daughter and grandson were blown away.
My favorite, Zombie Woof was just great!
Anyone who hasn’t seen Project Object yet should check them out. I know the ZFT isn’t a fan but I can tell you those guys are great and have been keeping Franks music alive for years. Nappi and Ike both tour with them regularly and other FZ Alumni join in on some of the tours. Anyone from Philly can see them a couple times a year at the World Cafe Live.
FZ Music is the Best.
bleepyou
PS To Thomas, The second song was Hungry Freaks
June 13th, 2006 at 2:06 am »
What time does the band come on…want to go for drink but I am going to be pressed for time????
June 13th, 2006 at 2:13 am »
The Tower Theater show was as good as everybody says. If the tour is headed your way it is definitely worth the ticket price which I thought was a little high before I saw the show.
No matter what your feelings toward the ZFT you have to say that the Dweez can play a bit. The band from top to bottom was first class. Bozio and Via were in good form but Napoleon stole the show. I had forgotten how good he really is.
The set was the perfect mix of fast and slow - older and newer for the lineup they had on stage.
June 13th, 2006 at 6:19 am »
“Anyone who hasn’t seen Project Object yet should check them out. I know the ZFT isn’t a fan but I can tell you those guys are great and have been keeping Franks music alive for years. Nappi and Ike both tour with them regularly and other FZ Alumni join in on some of the tours. Anyone from Philly can see them a couple times a year at the World Cafe Live.”
I second this; Project Object is really really talented. I went to their recent World Cafe Live show (I was right under the guitarist on the right hand side). They have every bit of spirit that these performers have, and talent too. I actually thought that their Eat That Question” was far superior than the one that ZPZ put on (and some other songs in their set like “Uncle Remus” and “Twenty Small Cigars”). If only they had the money for Terry Bozzio and Vai… Oh, why can’t they all just get along?!
June 13th, 2006 at 7:31 am »
Wouldn’t it be cool if Moon Unit sang “Valley Girl” for one of the encores? Wouldn’t it be cool if they had Ike Willis sing “He’s So Gay” in San Francisco? Wouldn’t it be cool if Frank showed up and played “My Guitar wants to kill your Mamma?”
June 13th, 2006 at 1:30 pm »
Ner York - June 12
I left the show with mixed feelings. Napolean was incredible. Every bit as entertaining as he was 30 years ago. His dancing and stage antics stole the show. You have to wonder why he never had a big solo career.
The band was good. Unfortunately, the music was mixed very poorly. The bass was way too loud, causing echoes which blurred the overall presentation. The vocals were almost entirely drowned out. Napolean was barely audible and there was a harshness to the sound that made things unpleasant after a while. Frank would never have permitted a band to go on sounding like that.
The biggest disappointment of the night was definitely Dweezil. Trying to stand in the shoes of one of the greatest showmen I’ve ever seen, he just couldn’t cut it. As a front man he looked timid and confused. He played too many solos and they were too long and not very interesting. Hearing Steve Vai in the second act really put his playing into perspective.
He should remind himself that people are paying to hear his father’s music, not listen to him indulging himself in mediocre solos. He ought to understand that the wild applause at the beginnig of the night was for his father’s memory and not for him.
I was really exited at the beginning of the night and the first set, which was mostly straight songs and few solos was really great. But after I don’t know how many long, dull solos by Dweezil the evening became kind of tiresome. . His audience participation bit showed that he has none of Frank’s charisma or stage presence. I would advise Dweezil to get out the way and let the music be the star.
The highlight of my night was that I was sitting two row behind George Duke. I got a chance to talk to him at intermission and he’s a really nice guy.