The Grande Mothers Re-Invented performed to an appreciative audience of about 300 at Festival Place in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on Canada Day, July 1st at 7:30 pm. They performed flawlessly for over two and a half hours with one fifteen minute intermission. For the most part, the material performed came from the period between 1965 and 1975. Highlights, at least for me, included exceptional performances of Pound For A Brown, Eat That Question, Chunga’s Revenge, Invocation And Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin, Holiday In Berlin, Abye Sea, Dupree’s Paradise, Little House I Used To Live In, Enchinda’s Arf (Of You), Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? and, of course, Sofa. There were enough songs performed from the catalogue of Mothers of Invention albums to satisfy any level of fan, newbie or hardcore, as the following setlist suggests:
1. Pound For A Brown
2. Call Any Vegetable
3. Eat That Question
4. Lonely Little Girl
5. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
6. Harry, You’re a Beast
7. What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
8. Chunga’s Revenge
9. Holiday In Berlin
10. Abye Sea
11. Invocation And Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin
12. Idiot Bastard Son
13. Florentine Pogen
14. Evelyn, A Modified Dog
15. Enchinda’s Arf (Of You)
16. Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?
17. The Air
18. Debra Kadabra (sung by Chris Garcia/amazing Beefheart-esque voice)
19. Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy
20. Sofa #1
21. Orange County Lumber Truck Medley
22. Trouble Every Day (sung by Don Preston)
23. Dupree’s Paradise
24. Little House I Used To Live In
25. Pygmy Twylyte
Encore 1: Peaches En Regalia
Encore 2: Montana
The Grande Mothers Re-Invented are:
Don Preston — keyboards, vocals
Roy Estrada — bass, vocals (pachuco falsetto)
Napoleon Murphy Brock — tenor sax, flute, lead vocals
Miroslav Tadic — guitarist (lead, stunt & otherwise/awesome)
Chris Garcia — drums
