Zappa Plays Zappa: Fall Tour!

It’s that moment we’ve all been waiting for here in the Old Continent: ZPZ hits Europe today, playing at Shepherds Bush Empire, London this very evening. I know Magic Fingers is attending, so I’ll be interested to read his review. Next up: the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France… and Belgium!

If you attend any of these shows, be sure to post a little review in the comments! Last year’s ZPZ reviews page turned out to be a great read.

34 thoughts on “Zappa Plays Zappa: Fall Tour!”

  1. Finaly, tomorrow i will be at the Tilburg concert, and yes, i have tickets for the Belgium concert too. REVELATION

  2. Just picked up my tickets last Saturday. I, too, am one hungry freak Balint. It’s been 36 years since FZ’s music was last performed live by a Zappa in these parts (hint: it’s the last show of the Fall Tour). Never have I seen tickets go so fast…

  3. Oke,
    First (short) review;
    Tilburg; The band is better then last year. There is more space for improvisation, and yes audiance participation too. (kill the sweeds) It goes like this; Someone in the audiance can say a spontanious sentence that is NOT related to Franks music, and they build a song around it. Unfortunatly the person that was pointed by Dweezil couldn’t find a sentence so someone else yelled “Kill the Sweeds” Well, they replied that sentence thru diffrent songs. Hilarious.
    Nice solo’s from Dweezil, and he does a great duel with his father on the big screen. The song are a mix from real old to the later ones. A perfect concert for all visitors. Aswell young as older people. Wonderfull. Ray White is a big plus and amused himself. Can’t wait to see it all again in Antwerp.
    They brought a bunch of new shirts, and some cd’s too. Finaly i’ve got a hold on the Buffalo (18euro) and the new dub room special cd (12euro) not bad at all.
    I had a great night, but when i left the parking lot, i hit a pole and scratched my whole left side of my 29 year old car. . .

  4. my london review is at the zappa.com forums, ‘ZPZ Fall Europe Reviews’, is the thread title. I thought there would be more review as well, but it was a small venue remember, and the only.. ONLY.. show in the UK.

  5. Here’s my review which I also posted on zappa.com:

    I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show. Before last years show I’d been keeping a very close eye on the tour so by the time I got to the show I felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen. For this show I did the opposite and intentionally kept myself in the dark so to not ruin the surprise. I wasn’t disappointed, the show was fantastic. I won’t give a song by song account, just some thoughts and personal highlights.

    The band came on at just gone 8 and opened with a very brief sound check/improvisation followed by Black Napkin, complete with a solo from Frank, and played for about 2 hours 45. There were numerous appearance from Frank during the show, mostly taken from the 1980 tour. The video was well integrated into the show. Last year the video felt slightly eerie, as if it was the Ghost Of Frank Zappa. In hindsight last years show felt more like a tribute than a celebration, I guess this was inpart due to the rather formal surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall. This year however it was defiantly a celebration with Frank occasionally popping in to join the party. I think it’s worth noting the time keeping skills of the drummers that were performing with Frank in the videos and also of the band on stage. Both would need to be exceptionally tight for this time-machine trick to be accomplished. My guess is that Joe plays to a click derived from the video.

    The set list was completely different from last year, bar one songs but said song was performed in a different arrangement. There were a good number of Franks shorter compositions and less guitar solos. Dweezil is a great guitarist and I enjoy his solos, but Franks the star of these shows. The arrangements were more varied then last year, last year Dweezil performed a lot of the tricky part on guitar (the St’ Alphonzos vibe section being a good example) this time the tricky bits seemed to be more evenly distributed around the band. Ray White was fantastic. His voice was just as powerful when he played with Frank and his improvisational skills were put to great use.

    My one criticism is that I didn’t think Zoot Alures was as tight as the other songs. The album version of Zoot is one of the few Frank tunes that has a prominent introspective aspect to it. However the live renditions from the 80’s is performed bombastically. The beauty in the 80’s version, for me, is the way the band manage to preserver the delicate melody, despite the power of the performance. Kind of like a ballerining grizzly bear. The rendition from last night wasn’t one or the other, in fact it sounded fairly uncomfortable with itselfs. Dweezil did say that he’d “just learnt it” so lack of rehearsal is probably the culprit here. Anyway this one tiny criticism does nothing to undermine the otherwise exceptional performance and I feel like a party pooper even mentioning it!

    The venue was great. I was just to left of the stage, in front of Pete and Scheila, and the sound was fantastic, not too loud and crystal clear. Being able to do shake my ass a bit was loads better than being in a seat. Some of Franks tunes have got such great grooves it’s difficult not to move. Dweezil commented that he’d never seen a mosh pit to Illinois Enema Bandit. I really hope they use the same venue next year…. actually I really hope they pick a venue in Bristol, but I think that’s unlikely.

    Some minor points; the band is hairier than last time and Scheila’s hot. Also, here’s my review of last years show:
    http://www.zappa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23#283

    Cheers
    Ben

  6. Secret sentence in Amsterdam:
    “I love my toolbelt more than a human baby”
    Ray made a pretty good blues song out of that.

  7. Hi,

    It was great! Last year everybody in the band was nervous, this time around they were laughing and trying to make each other laugh. A celebration indeed.

    Ok, setlist with comments:
    1 Stinkfoot – featuring Frank from the Dub Room Special
    2 City of Tiny Lites – Enter Ray with a voice that hasn’t changed. Oh my God!!
    3 Florentine Pogen
    4 Advance Romance – Dweezil saw somebody waving with a plastic chicken and announced this song as “A song about a love for a chicken that has gone astray”
    5 Doreen – A premiere. The backing vocals weren´t that good, but Ray saved the day.
    6 Suzy Creamcheese
    7 Brown Shoes don’t make it – Great rendition, technology is so far nowadays that they can really make the sonic cuts work. Joe Travers sang all the Frank bits, every now and then he’s too busy drumming to have enough breath left for a stunning performance, but he makes it.
    8 America Drinks And Goes Home – Dweezil on lead vocals. He started out great but didn’t make it ’til the end.
    9 Dog Meat – As from the yellow shark. Sheila nailed the Dog Breath part on soprano sax. Fabulous.
    10 Dumb All Over – With Frank from the Dub Room
    11 What’s New in Baltimore – great version, more Swedes got fucked.
    12 Pygmy Twylyte – Best song of the evening. Last year it was a nice but difficult song, this time around they made it a festival of joy. Everybody on and off stage went wild.
    13 Dupree’s Paradise – so many improv’s that the band got confused, which is a good thing: they took chances. Ray’s “I love my toolbelt more than I love a human baby” was hilarious.
    14 Uncle Remus
    15 Willie the Pimp – Dweezil’s guitar sound was too thin on this one.
    16 Joe’s Garage
    17 Wind up working in a gas station – it’s great to have a female vocalist in this song
    18 San Ber’dino
    19 – Zoot Allures – Majestic, slow and beautiful. Pete’s bass (which I couldn’t hear at all last year) had made a slow ascend the first 30 minutes, in this song he gave me goose bumps.
    20 Ship Ahoy – more emotions came up. Dweezil did great holding back on technique and concentrating on feeling. It hurt.
    21 Illinois Enema Bandit – Ray White, Ray White, Ray White!!!! Brilliant singer. The start of the solo section was hilarious, the band really tried to make us hear wat i’ts like to get an unwanted enema. Absolutely hilarious and gross. More Swedes.

    Encore:

    1 Cosmic Debris – With Frank from Dub Room, duelling with Dweezil.
    2 G-Spot Tornado – Great song, unfortunately Dweezil fucked up half way and had a hard time counting himself in again.
    3 Muffin Man – With Frank’s solo from Baby Snakes, after that the band introductions and a stunning closing solo from Dweezil.

    See you next year!!

  8. Hey, this is a great site!! I saw the San Diego show stood in front of soundboard not a better seat in the house (I mean that! I paid $100
    just to stand) Got to see the soundcheck really cool, great set, Ray is the man. Dweezil does his dad proud. I really think they should stop trying to get the younger crowd involved, not because they should’nt listen to Frank. Its because the younger crowd is not into the music I saw a few people that brought their kids to the show and it looked painful for the kids. I have two kids myself both in their 20’s and I would torment them with frank’s music. AHHH fond memories, I mean my son would think it was funny and my daughter would YELL
    TURN IT DOWN it does’nt sound like my kind of music. So from my experience the younger crowd with a few exceptions(I guess thats how I got hooked on Frank the few exceptions) should stay home.
    Besides any song over 2:30 they get bored, and if you have to explain anything to them forget it. But if you ask my kids who my favorite musician is The only answer you’ll get is FRANK ZAPPA
    God I love my kids.
    Keep up the good work!!!
    Zercon

  9. Zercon, I don’t think appreciating Zappa has anything to do with age. I’m 25 and got into Z when I was 20. I’ve meet as many younger people who dig Zappa as older people (admittedly, I’ve meet few of either). At the London show it was the younger people that made the show great. They were the ones getting into the music and letting the band know they were doing a good job.

    I don’t think Dweez wants younger people to be dragged along to the show by the parents who are telling them “this is good music, listen and learn”. Dweez wants younger fans to come along because they’re intrigued by Zappa and want to find out more.

    Also it makes good commercial sense to get some younger people into Zappa. They have disposable income which they can spend on completing their Zappa CD collection.

    Also I detect an air of intellectual snobbery in your comment, something along the lines of “these kids don’t know anything about music. They couldn’t hope to understand the complicated music of Frank Zappa, it’s beyond them.” There was some of this attitude at the London gig; “look at those kids jumping around. They surely don’t understand what they’re listening to. They don’t understand that those jokes are more than just crude knob jokes. The correct way to listen to Zappa is to stand perfectly still and scratch your beard.” I really don’t care for this attitude. Firstly it gives an insight into the minds of these people (they’re intellectually insecure) but more importantly it turns off potential new fans.

  10. wow! I have seen the show in Fribourg, Switzerland and it was really great. i particularly like the songs where Frank plays with them from the screen. they have undigged some nice footage to do that with …
    the band was tight and had fun. the woman on the sax is very powerful. Ray White still has the voice (not the same power though – but hey, we’re all getting older …). the songs they have chosen are a great mix and a travel trough the years of Franks output. the Dweeze plays really really good guitar and he does a good job imitating his dad in the solos. but I think there will always be the notion of “imitating” when he does it. it’s not the same. Frank did his “air-sculptures” with impulsive power, very unique. and Dweezil does it with an immense knowledge and technique – also verrrry impressive. – all in all a super great concert, we went home very content. keep on doin’ it! and may the music of Frank live on!

  11. Did’nt mean to make anyone mad. It was only a personal observation
    of what i saw at the show.

    Zercon

  12. Benedict, where do you live? sounds to me like the UK well I live here in the US and I’m very intouch with what my kids are into I listen to Frank day in and day out bought every thing he has to offer saw him in 84 saw his kid twice in the last two years,saw every tribute group there is. saying kids have more money has nothing to do with getting the music out to the younger crowd, it has to do with just getting the music out there the more Dweezil tours the more people will show up plain and simple.

    Music is the Best
    and i’m sure those kids at the show were not drug there by their parents kicking and screaming they just looked confused!!

  13. I’ve been to Frankfurt and Dweezildorf. “Accept No Substitute” provokes high expectations. Frankfurt wasn’t worth it. Very low energy. No good mood. I was dissappointed. Maybe they had visited the Oktoberfest the day before in Munich ;-).

    D’dorf though was 100% better. More fun on stage, more interaction. Tighter performance. They were good on this one.

    Also I notice that the public interest seems to be declining. Far lower ticket sales in D’dorf this year. They had to rearrange the hall space by large curtains in the last minute before the show to accomodate the small audience.

    How was that in other cities?

    Also the goal to drag more younger people doesn’t seem to work – at least here in Germany.

    M.

  14. In Amsterdam we were at a smaller venue. I think the absence of Steve Vai was a large factor in the smaller crowd.

  15. Reporting for Stuttgart, October 3rd: Venue not sold out, as reported for Dweezildorf. Didn’t spot too many younger fans in the audience. Energy started to flow after Pygmy Twylite (i.e. after about 30 mins). Excellent show nonetheless.

  16. Was at the show in Paris yesterday, amazing show! Great venue and very good sound! They played for about 2 hours and 45 minutes (started at 20:15, ended at 22:45, with a 15 mns pause). Can’t give you the setlist, but they improvised a “gay power ballad” called “you’re gonna feel the power of my love guillotine”, as well as a gospel called “long live porno” inspired by a phrase from the audience, as heard by Dweezil. On both songs Ray White improvised really cool and fun lyrics (btw he was amazing all along). The setlist was excellent, in the end “G-Spot Tornado” wall totally brillant, as well as City of Tiny Lite, Dog Meat, Muffin Man, Dumb All Over, Wind up working in a gas station, What’s new in baltimore, Pygme Twilite, Dupree’s Paradise, Uncle Remus, Willy The Pimp, Joe’s Garage, San Berdino, Zoot allures, Illinois Enema Bandit and more…

    Great news: THE DVD IS AVAILABLE (scanned the back cover, if you want to see the content at: http://soulfish.free.fr/zpz/) ! Dweezil said it was the first time yesterday. Bought it, but didn’t have time to watch it yet! Some very cool t-shirts were available too, but they really were overly priced, and didn’t seem to be a very good quality, judging from the one I bought. The sold programmes too, either signed or unsigned, too pricy. They really should do something about that.

    To sum up, the band was really cool , the audience very warm, the place 90% full (the venue has 2600 seats), and we all really envoyed the show! Dweezil stayed on stage to shake hands and talk to people at the end, the band seemed to have enjoyed the show too! Can’t wait for next year! ;)

  17. Two days after the Belgian gig. Tame people. The show started of with no speakers. So all what Dweezil said was not heard in the crowd. My temper was going down. It took to long before the mike was fixed. No audiance participation, Ray got the secret word from Dweezil. “Fuck you up” and the song was built (or rehearsed) round this sentence. Dweezil was giving info about some song, while someone in the crowd yelled “just play the song”. Na that was anoying Dweezil, and just played it. Let Dweez do his chat, he is doing a great job playing the music of his father. Respect him therefor.
    Hey, the guy with the chiken was in the audiance (was it Bazbo?) and that chinken went on stage and did a gig with the group. Cool.
    I went to this show with two musicians, (no Zappa freaks) and they were analyzing the music. Sublime they said. Dweezil picked the right musicians. but i’ll guess we all knew this.
    In a nutshell; Great music, well performed, tame people, bad concerthall. i prefer to stand. Tiny projection of Frank on the big screen.
    See you next year Dweezil, and THANX

  18. Zercon Says:
    September 28th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

    I saw a few people that brought their kids to the show and it looked painful for the kids. I have two kids myself both in their 20’s and I would torment them with frank’s music. AHHH fond memories, I mean my son would think it was funny and my daughter would YELL TURN IT DOWN it does’nt sound like my kind of music.

    When my son was an infant, the only music that would settle him was from the album Uncle Meat. 19 years later he curses me because he likes the music of Frank Zappa so much. Now we’re going to ZPZ together, father and son, as it should be. You really got to get ’em early….

  19. Antwerp, Oct 6: I really enjoyed this concert — more than I would’ve thought so, given some of the material that was played. True, there was a bit of a false start with the mic not working, followed by an out of sync Frank-on-screen vs the band.

    Dweezil started it off by saying: “This is show number eight, and we’re all kind of like zombies” which didn’t bode well obviously. But I think the band delivered some incredibly good live music in a show that lasted some 2 hours 45 minutes — no intermission!

    The venue: very good sound, but seated which I think is just plain wrong for a show like ZPZ. As a result, the audience’s reaction wasn’t as warm as it could’ve been. And of course there was the idiot who thought it was funny to shout “just play the song”. That pissed off the Dweez visibly.

    After the show, Balint, Dr Sharl and I hung around the tourbus for a while and got to have a talk with Aaron Arntz, Billy Hulting and Scheila Gonzalez — which was sort of like the perfect ending to a perfect evening.

    In all: good times! See also these pictures on Flickr including the official playlist

    One more thing: I got my hands on the DVD and I can tell you it’s deeeelicious!

  20. Antwerp, Oct 6: I really enjoyed this concert — though there’s still a kind of a bitterness in me. I missed the monster songs (Dog Breath, Baltimore, Zoot Allures and stuff), there was too much of the early stuff for me (Susy Creamcheese, I’m Not Satisfied…), and there were the big pauses between songs… I don’t think the audience was lame or anything (hey, I was a part of it :-) ), but if the band waits too long or doesn’t do anything for moments, there WILL be silence. And that is STRANGE – in a sort of a “rock-concert”. Also: you could tell from Dweezil’s face that he’s REALLY tired.
    But: the whole weekend was FUN: meeting Bary’s Imaginary Publisher and Doctor’s Imaginary Sharleena, the hostel, the walks, the shoestore called “Zappa”, the food, the DVD, getting an autograph, meeting Sheila Gonzales… :-)
    After all: a professional concert with some minuses, a fun weekend and a DVD!

  21. I really enjoyed the concert. It was good to hear more detail of the individual instruments after the vorst national sound wash of a year ago, so i would give the venue a positive vote. Close to the rail station and hotel too. I thought the band were indeed tight, though also that perhaps a little more relaxing into flows of songs would help. If the same groups tours next year then further band familiarity may breed content on this notion. Maybe they were just a bit tired.

    Highlights for me would be dzl’s solos, the bass solo, the world famous ray white’s improvised lyrics on ‘fucking your shit up’, the sax solo, the over flexible chicken solo, and the two guys who gave a standing ovation to every song. Pygmy twylyte was the song going round my head the next day.

    Having a range of cd’s/dvd’s means that i can continue in the tao of zpz for a whilst longer, and of course saves getting round to online ordering.

    What was the dunce for a day doing saying shut up and play the song. He must have been at the wrong concert.

    So another year until the next episode. Fine.

  22. Dweezil Refuses

    “Man, I’d love to play ‘Watermelon,’ but that song’s a little too heavy for me right now,” said Dweezil Zappa to the crowd attending the second showing of ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’ at the Chevy Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. “Maybe in a few years, we’ll see.” During the few breaks in the straight three-hour set, the stage was pelted with requests as everyone calls out the song they want to hear, from ‘Montana’ to ‘My Guitar wants to Kill Your Mama.’

    The shouted song request Dweezil notes is for ‘Watermelon in an Easter Hay,’ the climatic song from the third act of 1979’s ‘Joe’s Garage.’ In context of the rock opera, the song is the last one ever played on earth before the final musician conforms to a world without music. It’s a high point of the album musically. Frank’s guitar playing is beautiful the way sound can be called beautiful. On the surface, it’s a pretty song to listen to. With futher knowledge about how Frank was invested in music, specifically in the type of ‘air sculpture’ guitar solos that comprise songs like ‘Watermelon,’ the song becomes more than just a pretty sound. It’s a way to know what possibly made Frank happy and sad, to better understand another human being – the utmost goal of art.

    ‘Watermelon..’ also shares a distinction from Frank’s body of work. With two other songs, ‘Black Napkins’ and ‘Zoot Allures’ from the ’76 album of the same name, Frank considered ‘Watermelon’ a summation of his life’s work. Despite gaining radio play and national fame with songs like ‘Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,’ ‘Dancin’ Fool’ and ‘Valley Girl,’ Frank wanted his work to be represented by three highly orchestrated, instrumental pieces. Frank Zappa wanted to be considered a serious musician with a funny side, and not a comedy group that occasionally quit fooling around. The posthumous release ‘Frank Zappa plays the Music of Frank Zappa’ explains this in the liner notes, notes written by Frank’s son Dweezil.

    Seeing Dweezil on stage play the rhythm sections along with the audio track from one of his father’s concerts was a swell of mixed joys. Dweezil watches the screen just like how everyone else watches, with head titled and eyes raised in attention. In that, it was strange, as to anyone else in the building, they are watching footage of a favorite musician play, dead for nearly 15 years but immortal. But for the eldest Zappa son, it’s a version of home movies. He’s watching his Dad. And with that are all the moments he shared with his father, from growing up with the man until the very last days before his death in ’93.

    For the last fourteen years, Dweezil Zappa has lived without his father. He was seventeen when his first album, ‘Havin’ a Bad Day’ came out. He’s spent time as an actor and a personality. Though they all have collaborated together musically, of the four Zappa children, Dweezil has taken to Frank the most. As a musician, Dweezil’s guitar is tight and noted. During the concert, he performs an effortlessly rendition of ‘Ship Ahoy,’ a trance-fusion piece where the drums and bowing of an electric upright bass barely detract the attention away from Dweezil’s light-fast hands. The song is Dweezil and Dweezil alone.

    Though eldest daughter Moon Unit was the voice behind the highly succesful ‘Valley Girl’ single, she has gone on to write a novel and raise a family. Younger brother Ahmet appeared with Dweezil in a handful of related projects but like Moon Unit, he’s gone on to write fiction. Youngest child Diva specializes in high fashion knitted goods. For the last two years, Dweezil has taken upon the mantel of his father by organizing the ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’ tour, a celebration of Frank’s music that’s partially bittersweet.

    During the concert, Frank is projected upon a screen. Footage of ‘Cosmik Debris,’ a crowd favorite, is played from ‘The Dub Room Special’ DVD. Frank is playing a oakwood brown Gibson SG. So is Dweezil as he strums along. During the solo, the footage of Frank plays with Dweezil in a conversational exchange. Frank whips off a quick barrage of notes and Dweezil responds in kind. It’s a wonderful display of technology and legacy mired with metaphor as a fifteen-foot tall Frank towers over the band, specifically his son in the front.

    Watching Dweezil look up to his dad, figuratively and literally, inspires admiration spliced with worry that Dweezil Zappa can’t escape his own name. If there’s another person named ‘Dweezil’ out there, they’re doing nothing to make themselves known. Being unique with the Dweezil moniker is one, but the last name of Zappa carries the weirdness and the weight of a musically prolific and profound father. Had Dweezil not ventured out into many different projects in all sorts of media, it would be easy to adopt a cyncial view of ‘Zappa Plays Zappa’ as a child cashing in on a famous name. But looking deeper, this is not the case. It has never been the case.

    Frank and Gail Zappa never had any outlandish motive or bizarre parenting habits. When it came to their children, they were always honest, caring and respectful. The Zappa children, despite having far-out names, might have the most grounded and developed childhoods available when it comes to their parents. In the end, Frank was a head-of-household who nurtured a sense of individuality within his children. If they developed an interest in music, Frank supported it and helped it but didn’t let his children rest on their laurels, or coast by on their name. Frank was known to be a hard teacher and a demanding musician so if anyone wanted to work on music with them, it would have to be out of an honest and sincere desire to do it.

    Dweezil is sincere and honest when he talks about his late father, both at the Wallingford concert and on the ‘Over-Nite Sensation/Apostrophe(‘)’ DVD that discusses those two albums. Dweezil breaks down the audio tracks of a few songs on the DVD, marvelling at the complexity of the arrangement. His appreciation is visible. When he laughs, he maybe going through the five stages of grief at once in less than a second, settling on accepting before, love.

    Sincerity keeps Dweezil from playing ‘Watermelon’. There’s no doubt that he could, physically. But emotionally, Dweezil says he isn’t ready yet. There’s a line he can’t cross, a step he can’t take yet. Hearing him say that was the high point of the concert because it was reaffirmation that there’s a point where Dweezil stops from becoming Frank. A child with less integrity would have no reservations from playing the song, complying with the paying customer to ensure they come back the next time the tour rolls through town. But turning down the request for such a reason as it being too heavy, to personal, is a sign that Dweezil actually cares about this music. He’s not living off the name. He’s an active participant in supporting the living being of music.

    The concert ends three hours after starting with an encore performance of ‘Muffin Man’ that brings everyone to his or her feet. By this time, the voice that called out the request is one of the many cheering at the crescendo of sound at the concert’s end. Patrons exiting talk, some mournful that their favorites weren’t played. One or two voices are caught talking about Dweezil’s kind refusal, each marked with a smudge of disappointment that’s wiped away at how awesome it was to hear ‘G-Spot Tornado’ live. One day, Dweezil will play ‘Watermelon in an Easter Hay.’ It will be an intimate performance no matter how many are in attendence, as it will be ‘tween only a father and son, two individuals coming together as family, over that long divide of death rendered powerless by a son’s endless love hand in hand with the strength of life found wrapped tightly around in music.

  23. zercon says kids in the u.s. don’t like frank’s music (citing his own kids as an example?)

    well, allow me to be another voice that dispels that theory.

    last year my wife and i went to see zpz with our 17 year old son, his 17 year old friend (a multiinstrumentalist himself) and his father, another long-time hardcore fan.

    our sons loved it. and there were other families there, including one with three late-teen/early 20s daughters who have been fans since they were toddlers.

    this year we’re going again… except this time our 16 year old daughter is joining in with the fun, too.

    sweeping generalizations need not apply. :-)

  24. The Richmond VA gig on 11/8 was absolutely incredible. What that band does starts to go beyond music and off into something else entirely…they are that good!

    The venue was pretty small, but the sound in there was good I thought. I heard they had 1100 people total. The band seemed more comfortable and more together than when I saw them in August, which was amazing since that was a great show too.

    There was some tech issues with Dweezil’s guitar not making any noise, and while the roadie worked on that, Dweezil suggested the rest play Eat that Question! This was a real treat since I love this song! Finally, they narrowed the issue down to a dead volume pedal and cannibalized one from Sheila’s rig, it looked like. Anyway, they were back in bizness and rocked hard for three hours!

    THANK YOU DWEEZIL!! What a kick ass band and what an amazing band leader you are!

    The Dog/Meat was superb. Never thought I’d ever see songs like these played live – not to mention played the hell out of, too. Frank would be very pleased, I think. The stage antics during Dupree’s and Willie the Pimp were hysterical! The crowd was very into every moment nad Dweezil was surprised by our devotion, I think he mentioned at one point…can’t wait for the dvd and for the 2008 tour!!

    ZPZ rules!!!

    Setlist for 11/08/07
    Toad’s Place, Richmond, VA

    I’m The Slime
    Dumb All Over (with Frank video)
    Eat That Question (impromptu sub for What’s New In Baltimore while techs fixed DZ’s volume pedal)
    Doreen
    Magic Fingers
    Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy
    How Could I Be Such A Fool
    Ain’t Got No Heart
    I’m Not Satisfied
    Pygmy Twylite
    Dupree’s Paradise
    Uncle Remus
    Willie The Pimp
    Dog/Meat
    G-Spot Tornado
    Joe’s Garage
    Wind Up Workin’ In A Gas Station
    San Ber’dino
    City Of Tiny Lights
    Cosmik Debris (with Frank video)
    Yo’ Mama

    Encore:
    Illinois Enema Bandit
    Muffin Man (with Frank video)

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