Yeah OK, if you’re not into Frank Zappa’s music, see ya in the next bloggo.
I’d never been to Stubb’s in Austin, shamefully enough, so I really looked forward to seeing Dweezil and the entire Zappa Plays Zappa band there last night. This was my second time hearing them live, again thanks to friend and fellow FZ enthusiast Jack Riddle.
One detail to get out of the way – I had the pulled pork sandwich plate with cole slaw and pinto beans, after the crisp roast duck quesadillas appetizer – all quite tasty. And as concert venues go, Stubbs was one of the most convenient experiences I’ve ever had, anywhere. Zero traffic near the place, no problem getting a cheap parking spot, made it easy to enjoy the evening.
Zappa Plays Zappa is Dweezil’s labor of love to continue live performances of his late father’s considerable catalogue of music for a fan base that’s very evenly spread across the face of the planet. When I saw them previously in Houston, his band of mostly young, very talented professional musicians also included Ray White, Zappa alumnus that played on & off with Frank for many years. This time, it was Dweeze and the (mostly) young musicians, no Frank alums. Which is no problem at all... there’s an incomprehensible amount of talent in this band, almost too much for one stage. And they all need every ounce of their chops to play this music.
It’s important to note that Dweezil is not out to emulate his dad, nor re-create his shows. He did need to spend many, many months refining & re-tooling his technique on guitar to be able to play the songs Frank did, but the similarity pretty much ends there. On the first tour, the opening song started with big-screen projection of Frank playing, and Dweezil playing along with him. That appears to be a thing of the past. Impossible to say if any other musicians who played with Frank will ever be a permanent or semi-permanent part of Zappa Plays Zappa, but I would imagine that any who wished to – and could still reasonably play and maintain sanity on tour – would be welcome. Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Napolean Murphy Brock, and the aforementioned Ray White have sat in, and safe to say fans would welcome any alum.
They started the night with DZ, drummer Joe Travers, guitarist Jamie Kime and bassist Pete Griffin playing ‘Apostrophe’, using it as an extended jam to warm up to a sizzling extended bass solo. They were joined immediately after that by percussionist Billy Hulting, Scheila Gonzalez on keyboards and sax, and relatively new vocalist Ben Thomas. Everybody but Billy sings regularly throughout the night, Jamie slightly less so. This is a band that has played together for about 3 years, and it does show. There were minimal glitches or problems through this first night of their limited current tour, and the fun they have onstage belies the difficulty of their tasks.
It’s hard to pinpoint specific high points of a show like this because there’s so many of them. They only played 20 or so songs, but to make a Zappa audience happy, that’s all you really need. The catalogue is so large & diverse that any reasonable fan understands they’re just not going to hear every favorite. This time around they pulled just a couple more titles from ‘Joe’s Garage’ and ‘Sheik Yerbouti’ in response to numerous fan requests through the ZPZ web site. Personal favorites for me were Crew Sl*&, Montana, Muffin Man, Keep It Greasy & RDNZL.
Most of the way though Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy, Dweezil announced they’d be bringing out a special guest. It was a little embarrassing to have a gtr tech dash out, set up & wire a small pedal rack while the band was vamping & waiting, but when Eric Johnson came out he was warmly welcomed. To say that Dweezil and Eric have divergent styles would be an understatement. They do share the common element of being able to shred at lightning speed, but Eric’s tendency to speed through arpeggios with stunning up & down range starkly contrasts to Dweezil’s more atonal style of rapid playing that progresses more reasonably between low and high. So their team-soloing was tough to get ears around until they finally dialed it in about halfway through. The sound was remarkable, very similar to Dweezil team-soloing with his father on ‘Sharlena’ from Vol. 3 of You Can’t Do That On Stage… I highly recommend the entire series.
Maybe the toughest job of the night – and the tour – belongs to Ben Thomas. Being asked to channel Frank’s vocals requires more than simply singing like him. Twisted up sense of humor, ability to spew same through extended improvising, and lightning-paced alliteration skills are all prerequisites. And he succeeds wildly, despite a shirt that made him look like he was pulled straight off a John Deere tractor in a corn field, and frankly being a dead-ringer for Thomas Haden-Church. Hearing the lyrics to ‘Broken Hearts...” coming from such a down-home-looking guy just adds to the surreal nature of any Zappa performance. He excels at the megaphone solo, the verbal improvising needs work.
But another tough job is held down by Scheila Gonzalez. The only woman in the band, playing keyboards, sax, and singing is not enough... she has to do all of it really well. And when she ripped out her solo for the Pound For A Brown encore, Dweezil seemed to be taking sick pleasure in giving band cues for double-time, jazz, half-time swing, and dynamic ups & downs that she handled with no problem. That solo was better than anything Dweezil played last night, and that’s saying A Lot. Everyone got a chance to solo on that last song of the night.
It does my heart good to hear this music live, not just from Frank’s son, but being performed by musicians of such high caliber. Frank Zappa’s popular image is nothing like his reality of being against drug use, being a family guy, a highly intelligent man, and insisting upon excellence from all professionals around him. Say his name, and you’re far more likely to get a response riddled with sarcastic references to drug use – which he did not - , or being a freak - which he was not. He’s arguably America’s greatest 20th century composer, yet he probably will never be given the proper respect that he deserves, not that he ever cared about such things. His music is challenging, both to play and to listen to, therefore he will never enjoy much popularity.
But those of us who still listen know how special his legacy is, and it would appear that it’s currently in very capable hands. Seeing the serene smile on Dweezil’s face when he stares out into a crowd says a lot about where he finds himself in his career, and in his father’s shadow. It’s a staggering legacy to live with, let alone address musically on a nightly basis, and he does it well. Dude even stayed out in front of the stage after the show to sign stuff & pose for pictures. That tells me he understands how this music has touched people, and the responsibility he carries. Judging by a crowd that tipped just slightly younger than older, it’s a legacy that will be appreciated for many, many generations.
