Zappa.com

Did you attend the ZPZ show with Dream Theater at MacEwan Hall in Calgary?

Dweezil and the band love reading your reviews.

Please do not post in this thread if you did not attend the show.

Mikey
Zappa.com Webmeister

I went last night purely to see ZPZ and hoped that the other bands were at least entertaining. I had never heard any Dream Theater before, and had never heard of the other two. Only heard the first band, the beer area was outside the hall and I have priorities, but they didn't sound like anything special. Big Elf was a classic prog rock band, with the singer playing old analogue synths on each side of him. At one point he throws on a giant top hat. Wouldn't have normally listened to them, but was a good show (they had a giant stack of Orange amps as well).

I noticed very few Zappa shirts (that weren't being sold at the merch table) on the people there (I wore mine from the last tour, I think it's retarded to not wear the shirt of the band you're seeing to their show, who's going to wear an Oilers jersey to a Flames game?) but a ton of DT shirts. Never knew they had such a big following. I only lasted for three songs of DT's set, because it though they were pretty good musicians, I really didn't care for the music. Plus I had to get up at 6am for work, and I realized I wasn't going to like it anymore after an hour. Sorry DT fans.

So, ZPZ was great, not as good as the last time with Ray and the other keyboard player (name escapes me). The sound at Mac Hall is not the best in the world, it's basically a gymnasium, and when the sounds are loud, a lot gets washed out. Despite that, the songs were tight, and Ben did some pseudo thai-chi movements and awkward dancing to 'The Purple Lagoon'. I'm pretty sure the setlist was typical of the tour and now is about the only time I wished I lived in Saskatoon cuz the shorter set just made me jealous (especially after I read they played the Black Page the night before).

Sheila did an amazing job at juggling sax, flute, vocals and keyboards, but the second keys were missed on songs like 'My Guitar' when I wanted to hear those horns blowing along with the staccato chording on the keys. Also, Ben was pretty good, but I wonder what a female lead vocalist would be like along with a few more horns and another guitar. I realize that budgets are tight, but the sound was lacking in a few key areas.

That being said, the Roxy songs were perfectly pulled off, and I was begging to hear 'Cheepnis' but it did not come (maybe next time). Pound for a Brown was great with the solos, and Ben did a fantastic job with Inca Roads.

I will go see them again when they return, I just hope it's in a better venue. Thanks for the music Dweez and co.

This was the second ZPZ show I have seen. Unfortunately, I never saw Frank live. However, given the quality of the ZPZ shows, I feel that I've 'experienced' an FZ show. And what else can you ask for without the use of a time machine?

The recent show at Macewan Hall was disappointing in that it was too short. In fact, if not for the ZPZ part of the show (although I too was interested in seeing Dream Theater) the evening would have been a bust. Dream Theater was not as good as their reputation; Scale the Summit were talented though needing some "time-polish"; and Big Elf was laughable at best. How they managed to NOT be the opening act escapes me- "Coming soon to a high school near you"

A long time friend (and "our" guitar player) got me interested in Frank a long time ago. He attended the show with me both times. At the Jubilee Show, I verbally commented that I felt I actually owed Dweezil an apology for my previous impression of him. So here it is:

Mr Zappa-
My sincerest apologies for my severe underestimation of you and your talent. The Jubilee Auditorium Show in Calgary actually made me feel ashamed of myself. I had heard some of your own material decades ago and was expecting better; likely due to your dad's material. When I heard of the ZPZ shows, I was interested to hear it but, again, felt it would be a mere "reasonable facsimile" and , for some reason, believed it would be more of an exploitation of your dad's work. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The skill level and obvious dedication it must have taken to master the material I heard and produce the show I experienced clearly erased my earlier opinions. More striking was the way you handled yourself and the obvious satisfaction you displayed in playing the material. I was in absolute awe and I now have the utmost respect for what you have done. I can only believe that Frank (as you called him in the show) would feel the same way. One of the saddest things I realized is that I couldn't think of a way to try to equally honor my own father. There simply is nothing I could do that would so concretely illustrate my respect like the ZPZ production has done for you.

Zappa Plays Zappa is "officially" on my "Do Not Miss List". I can only hope that the next time through Calgary we will be treated to the full show without the other bands. The set list from Saskatoon looks really intrigiung. I wish I could have been there, too.

My thanks to Dweezil; the band; and crew. Every one of you showed what live music should be-entertaining, inspiring and satisfying.

I enjoyed ZPZ immensely, far better than Dream Theater whom I had seen before at Macewan Hall. Does anybody have the setlist for the Calgary show?