pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

Boo… no concert photos this time around… they wouldn’t allow cameras into the venue at all. :(

(Dweezil = rock)

This was my 3rd time seeing the Zappa Plays Zappa tour (aka Tour de Frank)… each one being different (set lists, lineup, promotions).  This time was at Portland’s Hawthorne Theater as the “You Can’t Fit On Stage Anymore” variation of the tour.  The venue had a small capacity (~300), you get a download code at the venue to get the entire recorded show after they mix it down (about a month?), you have a chance to win a free Hagstrom guitar (at each show), and you get to help choose the set list for the night.  Of the 68 available tunes in the ZPZ band’s repertoire, here were my selections: Broken Hearts Are For Assholes, Inca Roads, Montana, Peaches En Regalia, and Sofa. They played two of my choices. I was really hoping for “Montana,” though.  Eh, choosers shouldn’t be beggars.

Dweezil came out first and talked about the download code and how it wouldn’t quite be ready within 8 days, but that it’d be worth the wait.  I’m sure it will, as it’s gonna be 3 CDs of professionally recorded audio for “free.”  Free in that it’s part of the pricey ticket.  But, it’s not like I have to pay for it again, eh? :)

The band was very similar (if not the same) as when I saw the 2007 tour at Moonlite Gardens in Cincinnati, OH.  Different set list, of course.  They had a few technical difficulties during the show, but veryveryvery minor, and they rolled with the punches very well.  Outside of Ray White, they were all pretty much playing for the entire show, and even Ray only had a few breaks when he wasn’t needed to sing.

The ZPZ Band this time around is:

• Dweezil Zappa: Guitar
• Aaron Arntz: Keyboards
• Scheila Gonzalez: Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals
• Pete Griffin: Bass
• Billy Hulting: Marimba, Mallets & Percussion
• Jamie Kime: Guitar
• Joe Travers: Drums & Vocals
• SPECIAL GUEST… Ray White: Guitar & Vocals

(Ray White is the pimp)

Setlist: (any help in filling in the blanks is appreciated)

• Peaches En Regalia (a fave of the set)
  
• City of Tiny Lights
• Inca Roads (a fave of the set)
  
• I’m Not Satisfied
• Pygmy Twylyte
• Idiot Bastard Son
  
• Cheepnis (partial) then back to Inca Roads (??)
  
• Hagstrom Guitar Giveaway Jam (I didn’t win… boo…)
• Chunga’s Revenge with solos
• Billy the Mountain (28 minutes) (a fave of the set)
  
• Andy
• Dirty Love (a fave of the set)
  
• Uncle Remus
• Willie the Pimp (a fave of the set)
  
• Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station
• San Ber’dino
• Yo Mama
• Black Napkins
• Encore: ____________ (missing name, more guitar solos)
• Muffin Man (a fave of the set)
  

All in all… fantastic show… 2 hours and 40+ minutes of amazing musicianship… the only things to make it better?  My own pictures perhaps… oh, and winning the guitar would have been nice. :)

I hope they come around again in the fall… I’ve seen all three of the ZPZ tours.  And this was technically the “2008” tour, even though it was in 2009 (obviously).  Seeing as I wasn’t into Frank’s music before he died, this is the next best damn thing.  Thanks, Dweezil and Co.!

The Appropriate Linkage:

• http://www.zappa.com/zpz/index.html
• http://www.myspace.com/dweezilzappa
• http://www.myspace.com/zappaplayszappa
• http://www.hawthornetheater.com/

~Dan – np: Ryan Adcock – Finished -LP-