review of this past Sunday's ZPZ concert at Canton [Ohio] Palace Theatre

[Milhouse G]

Oct. 26, 2006
Ohio.com
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/15852025.htm
Dweezil Zappa shares dad's musical vision

First, thanks for posting this.. I went to this show and was hoping you
or someone would post a review here when one became available.

Thus Dweezil Zappa, 37, has
made it his mission to share his father's music with (ideally) a
younger generation ... in Canton
I saw only a few younger faces sprinkled among the same old grizzled
Zappa geeks (including me) who filled the seats.

I was there (at the ripe old age of 25), but I was up in the balcony, so
perhaps this reviewer didn't notice me ;c)

Actually, being a fan of Frank Zappa for about 20 years now, I wonder if
that qualifies me as a grizzled old Zappa geek. I'm sure the 6.5 years
I've spent reading and posting to AFFZ and the uncountable hours I've
spent reading stuff at Roman's site and the Zappa Patio and on Yahoo's
Zappa-List, and the many shows I've collected and traded all more than
qualifies me for the "geek" part. =P

Dweezil doesn't possess the magnetic stage presence of his father

Or any at all, really.

Napoleon Murphy Brock ... was a whirlwind, singing most of Frank's

parts in

addition to his own and sounding nearly exactly as he did 30 years
ago.

That's why you gotta love Nappy. In 2006, the man still sings and dances
like it's 1974. I missed him the last time I saw Project/Object and he
wasn't there.

The set list for the nearly three-hour show leaned heavily on material
from Zappa's 1970s albums ... with a few old
Mothers-era tunes thrown in for good measure.

They played "Who Are the Brain Police", for fuck's sake!

a version of Montana that displayed the best and
worst of Vai's whammy bar acrobatics, light-speed legato hammer-ons,
unrepentant mugging and stunning technique.

His solo on "Zomby Woof" more than showcased "the worst"...

the instrumental Pound for a Brown.

This was easily a highlight of the show. Dweezil has concocted some new
hand signals and cues he used to lead the band through the
improvisations, and he utilized some random cues in addition to
providing each soloist with a different vamp. Sheila Gonzales' sax solo
got that 1988 vamp, the percussion player got a laid back, jazzy vamp
and the other keyboard player got both the "fast jazz" vamp that FZ
liked to use in the 80s *and* the "Filthy Habits" riff/vamp.

To his credit, Dweezil, who also comes from the Vai/Van Halen shred
school, worked hard to approximate his father's more herky-jerky
soloing style.

I gotta give him mucho credit for that. Stepping away from the old
school Eddie Van Halen / Steve Vai "shred" style and playing a bit more
musical, a bit more bluesy.

He didn't simply ape Frank's licks during the
instrumental ballad Black Napkins

Actually, this would be a complete lie, as Dweezil's solo on "Black
Napkins" was as close to the shortened _Zoot Allures_ album version solo
as one could get. It was essentially as exact a copy of that solo as
Dweezil could manage. Which was disappointing, in a sense, since a vamp
like that should give Dweeze plenty of room to show some real
personality and show what he's capable of playing in the vein of FZ's
style. In a way, though, it's also kind of cool.. I mean, that's one of
my favorite guitar solos ever, and if I could play it note for note, I
would probably do so at every available opprotunity.

I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

Great show all around, though. They played for about three hours and ten
minutes and I never felt bored (though I rolled my eyes at Vai a couple
of times).
--
Milhouse Guidry of the mWo
Empty barrels make the most noise.

"If it takes you more than two, *MAYBE* three posts
to say what you think needs to be said,
you don't know what you're talking about and should shut up."
--The Bede

mWo. It's not just the coolest, it's fa lyfe, so survey says
whether you like it or don't like it, never E-e-e-ver tell
me he did *not* just SMELL what mWo 3:16 reeks of.

[Charles Ulrich]

Post by Milhouse G
I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

It's as if they were a Project/Object cover band...

--Charles

[Milhouse G]

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G
I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

It's as if they were a Project/Object cover band...

I may be missing the point you're trying to make, but I would remark
that I've seen P/O five times and, they've played Village / Echidna's /
DYEWTT each time.
--
Milhouse Guidry of the mWo
Empty barrels make the most noise.

"If it takes you more than two, *MAYBE* three posts
to say what you think needs to be said,
you don't know what you're talking about and should shut up."
--The Bede

mWo. It's not just the coolest, it's fa lyfe, so survey says
whether you like it or don't like it, never E-e-e-ver tell
me he did *not* just SMELL what mWo 3:16 reeks of.

[Charles Ulrich]

Post by Milhouse G

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G
I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

It's as if they were a Project/Object cover band...

I may be missing the point you're trying to make, but I would remark
that I've seen P/O five times and, they've played Village / Echidna's /
DYEWTT each time.

West of the Mississippi, they always stop after six notes of Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing? Same with Pojama People.

Maybe it's a fact about Glenn. Have you seen P/O with other drummers?

--Charles

[Milhouse G]

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G
I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

It's as if they were a Project/Object cover band...

I may be missing the point you're trying to make, but I would remark
that I've seen P/O five times and, they've played Village / Echidna's /
DYEWTT each time.

West of the Mississippi, they always stop after six notes of Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing? Same with Pojama People.
Maybe it's a fact about Glenn. Have you seen P/O with other drummers?

Four of the five times I saw them, it was with Glennard. They always
played "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" (including the one time I saw
them without him on the most recent tour.)
--
Milhouse Guidry of the mWo
Empty barrels make the most noise.

"If it takes you more than two, *MAYBE* three posts
to say what you think needs to be said,
you don't know what you're talking about and should shut up."
--The Bede

mWo. It's not just the coolest, it's fa lyfe, so survey says
whether you like it or don't like it, never E-e-e-ver tell
me he did *not* just SMELL what mWo 3:16 reeks of.

[t***@gmail.com]

I definitely have footage of them doing the whole medley at least twice
in Seattle, Charles. They cut if off the way you say on the first show
I taped (2002?), but did the whole thing the next time they came. And
I think they did the whole thing in Portland the one time I went there
as well, though I'd have to review the tape to be sure. Pojama People
did do the cut-off version when I saw them.

Chris

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G
I would like to add that for some reason, this band chooses to play
"Village of the Sun" and "Echidna's Arf", but don't perform "Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing", leaving "Echidna's" with a somewhat abrupt end.

It's as if they were a Project/Object cover band...

I may be missing the point you're trying to make, but I would remark
that I've seen P/O five times and, they've played Village / Echidna's /
DYEWTT each time.

West of the Mississippi, they always stop after six notes of Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing? Same with Pojama People.
Maybe it's a fact about Glenn. Have you seen P/O with other drummers?
--Charles

[Charles Ulrich]

Post by t***@gmail.com

Post by Charles Ulrich

Post by Milhouse G
I may be missing the point you're trying to make, but I would remark
that I've seen P/O five times and, they've played Village / Echidna's /
DYEWTT each time.

West of the Mississippi, they always stop after six notes of Don't You
Ever Wash That Thing? Same with Pojama People.
Maybe it's a fact about Glenn. Have you seen P/O with other drummers?

I definitely have footage of them doing the whole medley at least twice
in Seattle, Charles. They cut if off the way you say on the first show
I taped (2002?), but did the whole thing the next time they came. And
I think they did the whole thing in Portland the one time I went there
as well, though I'd have to review the tape to be sure. Pojama People
did do the cut-off version when I saw them.

Yeah, I asked Glenn about it, and he said that he played it both ways
with Project/Object.

I guess I only remembered the one that sounded incomplete.

--Charles