Zappa.com

From the San Diego Reader:

Thirty-nine years ago this week, on October 4, 1970, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention played the Peterson Gym at SDSU. The newly formed Mothers featured former Turtles singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, billed as “the Phlorescent Leech and Eddie,” or Flo and Eddie, due to Turtles-related litigation.

Before the show, many in the audience were talking about Janis Joplin’s death the Sunday prior. Hard-rock trio Head Over Heels, brought down from L.A. and paid by Zappa himself, was the opening act. Few in San Diego had heard the new Mothers, whose recorded debut, Chunga’s Revenge, was two weeks away. So, anticipation was high when Zappa took the stage: “Hi there, boys and girls!”

Wearing tie-dyed jeans and a purple T-shirt, Zappa told the audience, “I went to Grossmont High and Mission Bay High. You can see how much good it’s done for me.” Among the reported set highlights was a lengthy excerpt from the operatic 200 Motels, which had been performed and recorded with a symphony orchestra that summer but was yet unreleased. “Definitely X-rated material,” Zappa warned the crowd beforehand. “Anyone who will be offended should leave now.”

The set closed with the Turtles’ “Happy Together,” resulting in a standing ovation and a lengthy encore of “Who Are the Brain Police” (a song that inspired the name of San Diego psychedelic band the Brain Police).

A review of the show in the San Diego Union complained of Zappa’s guitar solos, “He seems to deceive himself sometimes into thinking he’s Eric Clapton or somebody and, really, he isn’t.” The Daily Aztec gave a more glowing review, though it was noted that Zappa “played for an audience a good third of which was too spaced out to perceive it as anything but ‘weird’ sounds.” (1)


(1) http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/sep/30/blurt2/

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A Blanket in my Muesli. A Blanket in my what??

He's a CEO for Chrissakes!

Excellent job Diplo...now that is what I call substance!

Who is Eric Clapton ?

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Alan Thicke: ''Now Frank, for those of us who have seen you as some kind of guru over the years, that's a kind of nihilistic assesment of music. Where's the hope ?''
Frank Zappa: ''Well, there isn't any...''

I think he was in Tommy.

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

Nice find dpd - and the "critic" is right - Zappa was no Clapton.

Shall we run down a list of EC attributes and see if FZ fits the bill?

EC:
heroin addict

FZ:
not a heroin addict

EC:
alcoholic often drunk on stage to the point of giving lacklustre/sub-par perforomances

FZ:
not drunk on stage and worked hard to give the audience an entertaining musical experience

FZ:
wrote "I'm not black but there's a whole lotta times I wish I could say I'm not white"

EC:
said "Keep Britian White"

so yes I agree - FZ was no Eric Clapton

Yes indeed.

The only injustice in these comparison/observations is that Clapton seems to have had the better genes.

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A Blanket in my Muesli. A Blanket in my what??

He's a CEO for Chrissakes!

I like Clapton. A lot of people do. Why compare?

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

Why indeed. But I think FZ was more than a musician, although he would be the last to say he was a cultural leader, he was a lightning rod for idea's for individuals to be more objective, think for themselves etc. Clapton playing 23 nights at the Royal Albert Hall with Phil Collins is not my reality sandwich and a cup of tea.

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A Blanket in my Muesli. A Blanket in my what??

He's a CEO for Chrissakes!

lol. Well said

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Music > Everything
CLETUS must now, regretfully, dispose of the ones who refuse to alter their unmusical ways.
http://www.vulturesawait.com

Don,t get me wrong I,ve enjoyed the blues riffs and jams of Clapton,but in my opinon Frank is levels above and is far more enjoyable to listen to.Yes Frank was a social jammer and brought important issues to the surface with wit and humor.He made comments on the obsurd and rediculise actions of government and socity.Frank raised the bar for all musicians and lyicists and has given a place for thought to grow.

In my view Frank was far more adventurous and interesting to listen to than Eric Clapton even on a great night. but that's me.

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Take a penny... give a shit.

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Clapton and FZ don't even belong in the same sentence together. Not even close.

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BANNED and FAT

It's silly comparing the two. Who cares? You can listen to both if you like!

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

And since you mentioned them in the same sentence, does that mean you're going to Hell?

Wait a sec: you're Joel Osteen. Of course you're going to Hell.

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Eric clapton= Sears poncho

F fuckin' Z= REAL PONCHO

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BANNED and FAT

Ok, well, I'll chime in I guess. FZ is my favorite musician, period. There is not a particularly close second. Clapton, as is well known, became quite the little mainstream artist over time. With that said though....



EC ain't no joke yo.

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The fun hasn't beginned yet, uh, later on apparently The Mothers are gonna hand out the bingo cards and everything, you know

how right you are

cheers for that

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Do you think that I creep in the night
And sleep in a phone booth?

clapton is great.

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"bit of nostalgia for the old folks."

But he could have been greater.

FZ 10/10

Clappo 6/10

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A Blanket in my Muesli. A Blanket in my what??

He's a CEO for Chrissakes!

At best, he's a mixed bag. I like some Derek & the Dominoes and some Cream, but that's about it. I find the vast majority of his solo work unlistenable.

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Don't Be Stupid Unless You Want To

I wouldn't say unlistenable. I'd say more like un-stay-awake-able...

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Just, yawn, talking about it makes me feel.....t, t, t, t....tired.......snorrrrrrrr.....

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"drums are too noisy, 'n you've got no corners to hide in"

Spammers are bad enough period, but when they start posting in genuine threads they should be found and shot.

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The way I see it Barry, this should be a very dynamite show.

I wonder how Clapton felt, in 1973, when he realized his best work was behind him.

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Everytime we picked a booger we'd flip it on this one winduh. Every night we'd contribute, 2, 3, 4 boogers. We had to use a putty knife, man, to get them damn things off the winduh. There was some goober ones that weren't even hard...