Zappa.com

Did you see ZPZ at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH?

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

4TH year in a row attending a ZPZ show and still no disappointment. a fresh set list added tremendously to the show also. i loved all the variety of tunes and especially the liberties taken with the guitar solos. it felt to me that almost all the jams were not " by the book". ive lived here all my life and i think the casino is a cozy venue but the sound there leaves something to be desired. if u decide to come back again try going back to the pavilion in boston. sheila continues to amaze and ben really looks to be getting comfortable. zpz continues to impress that infinite diversity in infinite combinations is not just technobabble. people who turn a blind eye to zpz have no idea what they are missing. keep hammering dweezil and maybe we could see a day where you sell out foxboro stadium. i know i'd be there in a second. enjoy yourtrip overseas and come back safe. ps.. could u add "son of mr green genes' to your set list the next time you come back to the " minchia valley" area? may the force of nature let you live long and prosper! "sincerely dweez i mean it", your fan, trek102704.

Awesome show, would someone please post the set list ?

When the band started playing Tinseltown Rebellion stuff I was hoping for
"Pick me I'm Clean " and they played it - joy.

Real joy however was attending the show w/my son - our third ZPZ show together.

Must have been seven or eight years ago when he borrowed my iPod then came back a couple of hours later and asked - "uh, Dad, who is Frank Zappa ?" and he was hooked !

Awesome show BTW, wish more of the band stayed out after the 2nd encore so we could thank them - if they're reading - Thanks ! You all are fantastic musicians - like you need me to tell you - and everyone around where we were sitting really enjoyed and commented on your work.
And Scheila - you still hot !

Lastly, I'd echo the previous poster - a little too much bass in the mix for the ballroom - but when the guitar-driven portion of the show came on it seemed the mix was fantastic.

Thanks and take care - Hugh_Jass

Last night in Hampton Beach I had no idea what to expect as this was my first ZPZ experience. What I got was beyond any expectation or pre-conceived notion that I may have had about Dweezil's ability to pull off Frank's music onstage. In a word it was superb, but I'm not sure that does it quite enough justice. This fine group of musicians took me back on a journey to my youth, catering especially to the album that started it all for me personally, "Live at The Filmore East." When I was about 16 my older brother sat me down to listen to "Filmore" and I was instantly transfixed and my musical landscape was forever changed.

Over the years I had always wished I had a chance to see FZ but like my obsession with The Beatles and more specifically, Lennon, it came too late... So for years I had scrambled to find every live recording I could find, listening to them with my eyes closed, trying to put myself there in a smoke-filled hall with Frank at the helm, interacting with the freaks and geeks(like me) who wanted to be part of his world for a few hours and see the masterful conductor reign-in the calculated insanity of his compositions...but alas, it just wasn't the same as actually being there.

And then opportunity came knocking...what's this? Dweezil and his crusaders attempting to carry on the life work of the insane genius of his late father? OK...but?? I had my trepidations and the skepticism was running amok, but I went with an open mind...and then some young lad who looked as if he should've been playing rugby with his Ivy League co-horts comes out on stage and grabs the mic as the show begins as the band starts playing 'Stinkfoot' and I'm thinking, 'is this a joke?'....but then....he begins to belt out lyrics...and I'm instantly grabbed by the familiarity of this sound...could it be?...and then it hits me like a 'sinister midget, with a bucket and a mop'...GOOD GOD this kid sounds hauntingly like Frank himself!!!

From that moment on the skepticism began to melt away, along with my brain, as this group of misfits began to hit all the changes, shred guitar solos, fire out insane lyrical passages in all the right places and compile a set-list from decades of material...and now I find myself taking the hook again, like I did 22 years ago in my brother's apartment and realizing that I haven't missed my chance to experience this phenomena of FZ's work.

And if anyone believes that DZ is trying to cash-in on the family name, then they haven't seen Zappa Plays Zappa yet. Like his father before him, 'The Dweeze' has amazing talent and an uncanny knack for putting the right musicians in the right places. These guys are awesome and I think it takes a lot of guts to even try and pull it off...and he's doing it for US because it's the right thing to do...and let me tell ya people, it's done quite well. So if you have that person in your clique or your circle who, like me, has reservations about what ZPZ is all about, buy them a ticket, take them kicking and screaming if you must and then sit back and watch their jaw drop to the floor.

Bless you, Dweezil, for this opportunity to see a group of young talent pay homage to the most incredible composer of the 20th century...I will be there every chance I get to see what's next.

S Fritz, Augusta, ME

I saw my first ZPZ concert on the first tour (Boston, MA) in 2006. At the time I was only 10, and had never really heard any of Frank's music. I knew Dweezil from his solo albums, and Steve Vai from his. But the only FZ song I knew was "Hungry Freaks, Daddy", which at the time I thought was called "Mr. America". Boy, did I have a lot to learn!

Sometime last summer, I started to become interested in Frank, starting with "Apostrophe (')" and "Overnite Sensation" and going in every direction from there. It's an intense listening experience, and I love every minute of it.

So, when I heard about the tour coming near to Maine, I jumped at the opportunity and called dad and made plans to go see the show.

I had heard about the changing of some positions (Ben joining on vocals, Chris joining on keys), and, to be honest, I didn't think it would be as good. Wow, was I wrong! The show was absolutely, positively, unbelieveably amazing!! The music spanned all of Frank's career and was a great representation of his talent as a composer, as well as the talent of the ZPZ members to stun, improvise, and amaze!

The real treat came after the show when my dad and I got everyone's autograph. We talked with Scheila for a bit, and she couldn't have been nicer! We got our pictures taken with her, then proceeded to go over and meet "The Dweez". He was real nice, and we took picture with him. It was a real trip for me, because I'm fourteen, and I've been playing guitar since I was three or so. So to meet a fellow guitarist of such amazing talent was truly a one of a kind experience!

I really want to thank Dweezil for creating this whole project in the first place. He really made Frank's music accessible to a younger audience, and it was such a marvel to see people from age 8 to their 60's and 70's. It just goes to show how great Frank's music really is!

Thanks for coming to play ZPZ! You sounded incredible (as always)!

~Aaron C., Rockland Maine

Saw my first ZPZ show having seen Frank seven times from 1974 through the 1988 tour. I too was skeptical but relieved after three songs into the show. Great job by the entire band. Dweezil and his band mates DID capture the magic of a FZ show. In regards to the venue..fair at best. I had what should have been good seats (three rows directly in front of Jamie). I completely missed the percussionist and only saw Joe's drum sticks. Shela was distant and I couldn't hear Ben so well. It seemed as though the distibution of sound was directly in proportion to the position of the musicians. I heard Jamie and the bass over everything...at times including Dweezil. It was still a great show and I was impressed after being a little skeptical. It took my son to his first concert that night. He was blown away by the experience and now has a geater appreciation for Frank's music after having some difficulty appeciating it. A beginning guitarist himself, he was very impressed with Jamie and Dweeezil. Due to the location of our seats, he spent much time watching Jamie. And thanks to Jamie for going out of his way to give him one his guitar picks. I would prefer a different style venue. People near us and a waitress kept blocking our view. THis band and music deserves to be seen and heard in a theater style seating arrangement, not long tables. One added note: Thanks for playing Blessed Relief form the Grand Wazoo album. It was really a surprise and provided a nice mix of Frank's music.

Pix from the July 2nd show at the Hampton Beach Casino:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Morgoth01/100702_ZPZ#