(Dweezil) Zappa Plays (Frank) Zappa

Zappa Plays Zappa
Accept No Substitutes
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Monday, June 9th, 2008
Balcony-Center, Row A, Seat 14
$31.50

Roy and I are everyone's concert buddies. If you want to go to a show and don't know any other fans, call us and we'll probably be up for it. I can appreciate live music and a good performance even if I'm not familiar with the music. (After I moved from Philadelphia, three different people told me they stopped going to so many concerts because I wasn't there to go with them.)

Roy and Mitch used to be coworkers. He's still at our company, but in a different department. I first met Mitch when we all went to Yes' Masterworks show in St. Louis eight years ago. Mitch is a big Zappa fan, so he asked if we wanted to go to the Zappa plays Zappa tribute band. It was right by us at the Pageant. I love the Pageant when I have reserved seats with an unobstructed view and the show is non-smoking. It was, and the balcony was reserved - we got seats in the front row center balcony. I only like a couple Zappa songs and there's a lot I don't know of his material. The band was led by Frank Zappa's son Dweezil and had some other of Frank's bandmates in the band with him. I was looking forward to the evening.

Mitch drove to our place, and then we walked to a new pizza place called Pi. It's right across the street from the Pageant, and we could see people lining up for the general admission area while we ate. There's a new store attached to the venue. They were selling merchandise there, rather than in the room itself.

Once we got to our seats, I pointed out to Mitch that there was still space open by the stage. He could stand in the front row if he wanted to. I was mostly joking, and we kept our seats. The show started very low key. Dweezil Zappa came out and spoke to the audience before playing. And then they opened with a bit of Survivor's Eye of the Tiger. I enjoyed the first couple songs, but it got old after a while. I only knew two songs "Joe's Garage" and "City of Tiny Lights".

This is Mitch's review:

OMG (as the kids type these days).

What a show!

I found the torrent for the Minneapolis show and spent the day Monday listening to it over and over, and i was still totally blown away last night - the show was (IMHO) much better than any of the recordings i've heard of ZPZ before. TIGHT. If they're jammin and crankin like this at the beginning of the tour, i can only imagine how it will be for the rest of you who get to see them later. The solos were phenom. DZ really let the rest of the band play too - there were two different times where he went round the band (King Kong and Cosmik Debris) letting them play and play. And i really enjoyed the last bit where he and Sheila dueled it out. Relistening to the Minneapolis show i can say we got more extended solos in many cases and i am hoping for a CD of this tour from the ZPZ crew!

We were in the front row of the balcony and had a perfect view. Couldn't ask for better (didn't want to stand in the front on the floor - heck i'm 51 and it was way past my bedtime LOL!). It was fun to see DZ's reaction - again, i've never seen them before, but he seemed genuinely surprised to see people grooving on the stuff. He was fascinated (or maybe it was another kind of reaction) by the guy dancing so strangely on the side of the stage late in the show.

The sounds were amazing. The guitar work phenom. The band was just tight! Ray was wonderful to watch. Sheila had her own little cheering section and rocked us all... I don't know all the other guys in the band, but there wasn't a slacker in the bunch. Drumming wonderful and energetic.

The extended solos were just incredible. The new sounds out of DZ's guitars just can't be imagined. You have to see this show!

Would have loved the Inca Roads to be in this show too.

Only thing that disappointed me was that the show wasn't sold out! There were quite a few empty seats but they still played as if there were millions.

Dweezil had a laid back stage presence. He certainly wasn't a slouch, but the bass player, percussionist, and singer Ray White were a lot more interesting to watch. I just kept feeling that I'd enjoy this more as background music. I liked the music itself, but it didn't hold my attention. If it were daylight and outside and I had to book to read, I would have liked it better.

I guess I wasn't too in tune with the music. At one instrumental part, Roy told me they were playing Yes' Owner of a Lonely Heart. The bassline had the same rhythm, but I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not. After the show, both Roy and Mitch told me it was it and they did more of it than just the bass line. How could I be sitting there and miss a song from my favorite band?

Dweezil did something seriously cool after the show. As the band was leaving the stage, they were shaking hands with the people up front, throwing out guitar picks, and such. Dweezil signed a couple autographs for people. Then, he jumped off stage to the orchestra pit to continue meeting fans and signing autographs. I've seen a lot of musicians greet fans after the show, but never immediately afterwards. They usually need to take a break to freshen up or rest a bit. We stayed up in the balcony for a little bit while the crowds thinned out just watching him interact with the fans down there.

We walked back home afterwards. It's interesting watching the crowd. Quite a few people from the concert were walking westbound on Delmar along with us. It usually thins out by the time we get to my street. Mitch, Roy, and I talked about the show. How does a tribute band play tribute to a band known for improvisations? Do they play famous solos or do they do their own thing in the spirit of the original? I couldn't tell what they did that night.