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Did you attend this ZPZ show at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta?

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

Set list:
Kashmir intro - Purple Lagoon
Imaginary Diseases
City of Tiny Lights (w/Santana prog and original post solo composed parts)
I'm a Beautiful Guy
Beauty Knows No Pain
Flakes (with Sheila as Cartman instead of Bob Dylan)
Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
Bamboozled By Love (hybrid of slow and fast versions, very cool)
King Kong (fast version, incl. Soup and Old Clothes funk vamp and five-five-FIVE vamp)
Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast
Father O'Blivion
Inca Roads
Sharleena
Pygmy Twylyte (R&E)
Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
Lucille Messed My Mind Up
Joe's Garage
Wet T-Shirt Nite
On The Bus
Outside Now
He Used to Cut the Grass
Packard Goose
Cosmik Debris (solo-fest)
Willie the Pimp

What an insane show. Light years better than last year when I saw them in Cleveland. Dweezil's new rig adds a whole new depth to the entire show. The Bamboozled arrangement kicked some major ass as did incorporating the Santana progression and the post solo composed parts in COTL. Also, from Inca Roads on, we basically got a full-blown guitar solo in every number. On The Bus and Outside Now were incredible. Solos from everyone else in King Kong (minus the electric steel drums. the solo was terrific, just never a fan of that MalletKat synth steel drum sound) and Cosmik Debris got the crown roaring. Joe's "Vinnie-esque" fills in HUTCTG were definately appreciated. His energy just kept flowing out in larger and larger amounts as the show went on. I got both of my younger brothers to come to the show. One of them is a guitar player who has just gotten into Zappa and the other one pretty much listens to only rap. Both of them were blown away and had a great time. We were right at the front of the stage so a lot of the vocals were lost. Didn't matter with Ray, though. COTL, Bamboozled, Packard all had him wailing so that you could hear his own voice over all of the other amps. Every time DZ soloed, everyone's jaw just dropped. There's no doubt who is looking down from above with a big smile on his face. I could go on and on, but words will only lessen the value of tonight. The band just keeps improving by very large leaps and bounds. Those poor little souls at Bonnaroo are in for a BIG surprise.


And one fan's request for DZ and company: How 'bout some 'Evil Prince'? Can never get enough of that Ray White.

P.S. Still no One Shot Deal. The lady at the merchandise booth said they're having "mastering" problems. Whatever that means.

Way beyond what I was hoping for. Dweezil blew me and my sons away. We, too, were at the front of the stage and missed much of the vocals, but we were in awe of Dweezil and all the others. Pete on bass gave was amazing, as was Jamie on guitar.

A must see.

OK, where to start? First of all every member of this ensemble is a star. From Aaron to Billy to Jamie to Joe to Pete to Ray to Scheila to DZ, these guys (and gal) can flat out PLAY. This was my 21st Zappa show (from 1974 forward) and third ZPZ show and I came away totally satisfied. I don't understand how this band keeps getting better. I was up front also and really didn't get the great sound mix but it didn't matter. DZ and company blew us away (I brought 5 others, 2 that had never seen this band) and the look on their faces was priceless. Music aside a personal thank you to Scheila for getting the entire band to sign my DVD/CD and to DZ and Jamie for giving my son a pick. I think what draws me to this band other than my obsession for Franks music is the genuine affection these people have for their fans and the FUN they have performing this music. I'll say it again, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS BAND GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND FIND A VENUE NEAR YOU AND GO, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.......hell you might be transformed into a Zappafreak like me (it's OK there are more of us every day) I could go on and on about individual songs but like the man said "Music is the Best" especially this music.....From the bottom of my soul to the band........Thank You

Hi everyone, Dweezil's blog this morning mentioned one of his favorite passions, a younger audience. I don't fit that profile but my 5 kids do. They all heard Frank's music in their mothers womb. Now 28-18 yrs old, they love it almost as much as their dad. I've seen 4 ZPZ shows, 06 in Houston, 07 in Anaheim Ca/Houston, and last night in Atlanta.

Traveling on business can have it's perks. Taking in ZPZ shows while on business trips, is a huge perk. I was fortunate to see the sound check. When the band started playing Charlena with Ray singing, tears were in my eyes. What a special moment. The concert last night had many special moments, the first for me was Imaginary Diseases.
I've been humming/singing Bamboozled in my head all day long. On my flight home today, I played most of the set list from the New Orleans show on my i-pod.

Dweezil nailed Inca Roads to the wall. Outstanding!! Packard Goose, yep that too. Looking around the crowd were smiles. Not just smiles but gleaming smiles. One guy standing next to me with his arm around his date/maybe wife, he didn't stop smiling. Dweezil and the band are playing many cuts off Joe's Garage, we can all hope he's thinking about Watermelon in Easter Hay.

Thank you to everyone in the band, from all of us.

Loved the show - the whole set was wonderful - there was a moment during the end of 'Flakes' that Dweez was holding a long note that was really 'Frank'. The Bamboozeled Suite was Killer..... but sure wooda like to have heard from the 'Bandit'!!!

I have photos on my photobucket site, but I can't post a link here!

You can go there and search for Zappa Plays Zappa ATL08 and that should take you there.... if some one who has more posts here can reply with the link that would be great!

Cheers,
FOTR

update:
for some reason the photobucket search does not find my ZPZ photos, but if you wanna see them, go to photobucket, search for "" fans-on-the-run "" {with the hyphens} , click on fans-on-the-run albums, then the ZPZ folder from the left side.

Music is the best.

Thanks to sleepingdirt for the set list- I am still reeling from the show- I got to see Frank 3 times (all in Atlanta)- & this group got it spot on. Wow- I just can not say enough good things about the show- The Variety Playhouse is a great venue- I've been to several shows there- & it was fun standing in front of the stage(I got a high 5 from Ray White!)
I'm a pro musician & I really love watching a group like this- they are all musicians of the highest caliber & I salute them all!

It was a fantastic show.
Much better than I was expecting.
My first Zappa show was May 19, 1973 in Annapolis, MD.
I was 14.

Last night was my first ZPZ show.
I took my 15 and 10 year old sons.
They both loved it.

The Variety is the best place to see a show in Atlanta.
I sat half way back in the middle so the sound was great.

Sheila made the show for me. It wasn't a boy's club like most bands.
Her presence really gave the music a breadth rarely seen in rock.
She is incredible, singer, sax and flute, keyboards, and actor.
Wow.

I wrote the songs down throughout the show.
Here's the set list as I wrote heard it:

Kashmir intro - Purple Lagoon
Imaginary Diseases
City of Tiny Lights
I'm a Beautiful Guy
Beauty Knows No Pain
Flakes
Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
Bamboozled By Love
King Kong
Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast
Father O'Blivion
Inca Roads (fantastic!)
Sharleena
Pygmy Twylyte
The Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
Lucille Messed My Mind Up
Joe's Garage
Wet T-Shirt Nite
On The Bus
Outside Now
He Used to Cut the Grass
Packard Goose
Cosmik Debris
Willie the Pimp (a great hard rockin' version - nice and loud)

They really do play these songs note perfect.

It was disheartening to learn, about an hour before the show, about Gail's cease and desist letters to cover bands. I've enjoyed Project Object over the years and though they are not as "faithful" to the notes played, they sure did capture the FZ spirit, especially when Ike or Napoleon or Denny were playing with them.

The T-shirts were $35-40.
Too much for me.
Nice designs though.

go see a show if you can.
as others have said:
you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Cheers

All I can say is WOW!! I've seen Project Object twice and I thought they were pretty good. But, after this show I understand fully why a Zappa needs to be playing this music. I brought my 13 year old son, it was his first ever live concert and he stood there with his eyes wide open and a hugh grin on his face for the whole show. He couldn't wait to tell all his friends the next day. The next time ZPZ is in town it looks like I'll be driving the mini van full of the next generation of Hungry Freaks Daddy.

Dweezil sound was superb. Every song was dead on the money tone wise, note wise and vocal wise. Ray was awesome as well. What a voice! The place was packed with fans old and young alike. It really felt like a family gathering. Thanks guys for a great concert and a great first concert experience for my son. I'm sure he'll never forget it...and neither will his Dad.

I could go on forever but I've got to go and buy me another copy of Roxy and Elsewhere cause I need a little more Cheapnis please.

great show! i'm the lifer standing down front. everybody in the band had a chance to shine and it was a good set list, with a lot of my all time favorites on it. just a few suggestions for the next tour. teenage wind, mudd club, tinseltown rebellion,doreen,just to name a few.can't wait for the next show!

Wow great show. but now i got a cold. not so bad a pill won't dry up. Could i have caught it from the band? i was five back from Ray so i could see everything and towards the end got three back from Dwezil. I'm not pointing blame cause shots of hippie moonshine will kill any germ. This was top notch, FUN. I'm telling all my buddys. We are ready in B'ham.

Reading the reviews of Thurs. concert was wonderful-to see the other fans express the exact same feelings about the show is amazing. My hubby and I are from Cinti and had seen FZ in concert 10 or so times since the mid-late 60's-he always played there on Mother's Day for some reason. Seeing DZ and his band gives me chills and when they played Joe's Garage -I HEARD FRANK!!! I cried a little bit-I miss his music so much, but DZ and the band has made up for the loss as much as can be. Thank you DZ so much for all your hard work and for caring about this fantastic and forever music. It has and always will be a part of my life. I work with a lot of Alzheimer's and Dementia patients, and I can just visualize myself at 80 having my Zappa music near me-what will they think???

Hey Scheila , them big wet ones look like they where designed by Gwar or the dudes from Green Jello. Them things are wild. Hey your Dale is better than Cartman, but both are killer. Peace.

Great show at the Variety Playhouse. This was the first time I have seen Dweezil. He did his Dad and his Dad's music justice. Frank would be proud.

My wife and I made our third ZPZ trip (Halloween 06 and Boston 07) from Nashville and these guys are just getting better and better. Lots of new ZPZ material this tour; highlights included (but absolutely not limited to) Cartman singing Flakes (funny stuff Sheila!), arrangement on Bamboozled, the Joe's mini set, Outside Now vocals and so much more. Here's a cool story- my wife goes to the bar upstairs (yeah I like to sit down, front row upstairs, getting old you know) to get a bottle of water. Pretty warm upstairs. She tells me later a kid maybe 16 or 17 is a couple of folks behind her in line and is almost crazed and gleeful in his abandon that Inca Roads (just played) must be the greatest song of all time! Who could argue? And he's trying to tell all the old farts about it. Preachin' to the choir boy, preachin' to the choir. You gotta love that and that in itself made the show for me. Dweezil said towards the end of the evening that Atalanta gets it. I agree. If this kid left thinking Inca is the greatest song of all time, then mission accomplished -enjoying and sharing FZ's music to the fullest and maybe a few more are now in on our secret- FZ's Music Is The Best. Thank you ZPZ and the nice people we met in Atlanta. I guarantee if you go see ZPZ you will not be let down. This is an extremely tight, professional presentation that leaves you wanting more and more. Dweezil and the whole band are sounding incredible. If you miss this- shame on you! We hope to see ZPZ next time around. GO SEE THIS BAND! Cool runnings Zappa Plays Zappa!
PS- It was nice to see Denney Walley and Janet the Planet at the show.