| Dweezil Does Frank Proud As Zappa Plays Zappa [message #283502] |
Di, 20 Juni 2006 21:57 |
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June 20, 2006,
Dweezil Does Frank Proud As Zappa Plays Zappa
Jason MacNeil, Toronto
When Frank Zappa passed away, many believed seeing his music given true
justice in a live setting would be slim at best and probably
impossible. But Dweezil Zappa has other plans. The son of the late
musical maestro has put together an "A" list of talent for a tour of
Europe and North America that is paying tribute to his father. In fact,
more North American "Zappa Plays Zappa" dates have just been announced
for October.
Trying to perfect Zappa's meticulous, meandering and extremely
challenging horde of musical pieces is an unenviable task. The
last-minute, one-night absence of singer Napoleon Murphy Brock due to
family matters on this night didn't help either. But Dweezil showed
some of his father's improvisational skills, proverbially flying by the
seat of his black and white pajama-like pants for an engaging and
strong 140-minute set.
Fans filing in were treated to some rare footage of Frank Zappa
performing "Montana" on a video screen before Dweezil and the tight
supporting cast opened with "Imaginary Diseases," during which bassist
Pete Griffin and saxophonist Scheila Gonzalez hopped to the beat. After
announcing Brock's absence, Zappa told the crowd they were going to see
some tour firsts, beginning with the mid-tempo bluesy "Stinkfoot" sung
by drummer Joe Travers that resulted in a standing ovation. The
audience participation was also requested prior to the laidback yet
winding reggae-centric "King Kong" from 1969's "Uncle Meat" album, with
Dweezil conducting the crowd in a similar vein that his father did with
his musicians. Gonzales also shone during this number, taking the lead
for a snippet of Henry Mancini's "Theme From The Pink Panther."
The first set was indeed impromptu, as usual inclusions "Pygmy
Twylyte," "Florentine Pogen" and "The Idiot Bastard Son" were nowhere
to be found. Instead, the group soldiered on with the one-two punch of
"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and the gear-changing "St. Alfonzo's
Pancake Breakfast," which at times resembled Primus on downers. "Those
seats must be really uncomfortable," Dweezil quipped following yet
another standing ovation from the near-capacity crowd. The first half
closed with the memorable "Inca Roads," with Gonzalez on lead vocals
for the first time.
Following a 10-minute intermission, the group returned with drummer
Terry Bozzio, who led the way through some of Zappa's most arduous yet
appealing tracks. Following the punk-ish "I'm So Cute" and "Tryin' To
Grow a Chin," both from 1979's "Sheik Yerbouti," the band opted for
tour premieres of the funk/rock/jazz of "Pound for a Brown," a song
Bozzio said he hadn't played since 1976 or 1978. The 56-year-old
drummer almost stole the show with the punishing, hellish and
multi-faceted solo "The Black Page #1" from Zappa's 1978 "Zappa in New
York" album. "The Black Page #2" ensued, with guitarist Steve Vai
sauntering out for the remainder of the show.
>From there, the band ventured into a string of favorites, including
"Peaches En Regalia," which still resembles something out of a
psychedelic spaghetti Western film, and "Montana," which found Vai on
lead guitar and occasionally dueling with Dweezil. Realizing that they
were nearing the venue-imposed 11 p.m. curfew, Zappa opted to close
with "Trouble Every Day," concluding a show that contained the verve,
fervor, spontaneity and excellent musicianship one would expect from
Frank. Dweezil did his old man proud.
Here is the Zappa Plays Zappa set list:
"Imaginary Diseases"
"Stinkfoot"
"King Kong"
"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"
"St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast"
"Father O'Blivion"
"Inca Roads"
"I'm So Cute"
"Tryin' To Grow a Chin"
"Pound For a Brown"
"Punky's Whips"
"The Black Page #1"
"The Black Page #2"
"Peaches En Regalia"
"Montana"
"Village of the Sun"
"Echidna's Arf (Of You)"
"More Trouble Every Day"
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