Zappa.com

Did you attend the third ZPZ show at the Morse Theatre in Chicago?

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

Treacherous Cretins
Andy
Magic Fingers
Carolina Hardcore
I'm Not Satisfied
My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
Inca Roads
Dupree's Paradise W/Solos
(Guitar Giveaway)
Billy The Mountain
I Don't Even Care
Camarillo Brillo
Dirty Love
Oh No
Son Of Orange County
More Trouble

Encore:
Peaches En Regalia
Muffin Man

Time Permitting:
Pygmy Twylyte QT Version

Requested: Inca, Billy, Dirty, Peaches, Muffin.

A very special night. Thanks everyone. Dweezil again showed some real grace tonight with his attempt to offer the video taper a chance to redeem himself. Billy The Mountain had a couple of flubs, at least I think so, after only my third hearing ever, what a treat. Overall this was the best show for me of the five Chicago shows I have seen this band play. Dupree's as a vehicle for solos. I believe DZ said that this was a first time event for this band. More Trouble was simply mind boggling for me, how bout the rest of you?

Come back as soon as you can, and stay as long as you like.

If you are the guy whose hoodie I have, send an email and tell me where to send it. twokats66 @ Yahoo. You know who you is.

All I know is that I got run over by a PBR truck and Zappa Plays Zappa was driving.

Great show and great choice of venue, again. As well it was nice to meet just about everyone. From Jamie to the sound guy to everyone in line for VIP, the show achieved what it set out to do; produce an intimate and unique enviornment.

Thanks for coming to Chicago and be well the rest of the tour.

I can't say enough and regret only attending Sunday. That said, got any extra Roxy ?

I am sure you're all waiting for my review so let's talk. I really think something truly wonderful happened in these last three days. We saw 45 different songs & over 7.5 hours of music. I have seen the band in secession of three shows but never at the same venue with the size & sound the Morse Theater had availed to us. Having the sound & size variables fixed; hence not traveling to different size theaters with unique sound night after night I was able to hear the songs they did repeat with a better ear and ability to judge how the band played them differently, and how their mood affected the approach & energy. They played Billy the Mountain each night & after seeing and hearing the song three times in row day after day as they would; I see the small differences each night has on the song, most times they hit the passage or measure they wanted sometimes they were off or didn't. It seemed the song became stronger & more familiar to them after the third day even though the mistakes the third nights were more obvious. They did Napkins twice, & even though the song is really just DZ's improvisation it sounded different at the end of the show versa the beginning. The end of show version seemed more rushed but more powerful, the beginning version had longer executions & more thought out & diverse expressions. Both were very moving & really expressed the musical voice DZ has.

Another really cool thing is the band has never played such diverse set lists in back to back shows ever! I never saw cosmic debris in three shows & saw about six songs I never had seen to date. The set lists are verging on grateful dead style of set logic; the three shows together represent one complete voice of what the band wanted us to hear not just one show, one night, one city. This greatly changes how they are giving up the music to us; we need to see multiple shows to get the entire palate of sound & musical concept they are conveying. I really like this change, playing the same set-list each night & changing maybe three or four songs to having completely different set-lists for each show & only repeating one or two songs allows the band to grow & find which tunes naturally go together from a musical transition. I thought ANDY into Magic Fingers demonstrated this fit, it felt right, same with Muffin into Slime. I hope they keep the set-list diverse in this manner to find each song’s natural fit from musical transition & set position which allow it to shine. Some songs sounded better later in the set. An example of this is Camarillo Brillo, sounded better later in the show then as the set opener. Muffin is definitely an encore type song.

As for last night, DZ wins MVP with Pete or Joe tied for second. DZ played so many notes last night I think I paid under a penny given how many he played. So many of his leads were just out of this world, I bet he would tell you he had a bad night, I saw DZ’s expression like he missed a note or played a few things under the perfection he wanted, but to us it was truly unbelievable. I wanted to go home and play my guitar after seeing DZ play. You inspire, as your Father did. You make me want to be a better player.

I loved INCA ROAD’s again, Ray’s voice fits so well and sounds so great, this time DZ dished up a more thought out lead climaxing at the end. My favorite song was Pygmy Twylyte QT version. This version jams so hard, I thought DZ lost a finger nail with his strumming hand playing so fast at the end, really who the hell can count that fast? Filthy Habits was a treat & the Treacherous Cretins opener was perfect, great jam. It was nice to see DZ sing again; my guitar wants to kill your mama. Oh No, had a great moving and emotional ending.

I am so happy for the band they have really come a long way since the first shows we saw in 06. We all want to keep this going; we support the band financially & with great love!

I have to mention, DZ you need to have the “INFRINGMENT SONG” you can go into when someone is filming the band, & just keep playing it until the video is giving up to you or they are dealt with, It takes away from the energy of the show for you to have to chase down these douche-bags. Hire big John to shake them down or go into the band all singing “INFRINGMENT” in some horrible timing with sirens & lights. Either way I saw the guy last night doing it & I was just waiting for you to say something (which I think takes away from your focus). He went to the back of the concert were I saw GM & the security talking to him, then I looked again & he was gone. This all happened before you called him out at the end of the show.

Please don’t stop us from having camera’s based on a couple of goobers not playing by the rules. We will self police the best we can & I almost got up & approached the guy but management was on it.
All in all, the best shows I have seen the band play to date!!! And it is just going to get better. The band is blossoming into something new. NEW YORK will be a total splatter. Good luck & best health to you, the band & your families.
Thanks again for the three shows!!!
We love you guys
Sincerely,
P.S Craig post the set list for MI & contact me internal to this web site. I couldn’t find your name on the list[size=18][/size]

Thanks for posting the setlist

As far as Duprees having solos, This wasnt the first time. He already did that last year, I believe it was 7-19-07 At 10klf at it was about 20 minutes long.

IIRC, the song featuring the solos was Filthy Habits.

Once again I am blow away!!!! This is the third time that I have seen the ZPZ show, and it gets better every time!! Dweezil and the band are just phenominal!! Please keep touring, and please keep coming to Chicago every year! I wish you guys (and Gal) the best of everything! Thanks for the great time!!!

This was the third time I've seen ZPZ as well and I agree, they keep improving. Hearing "Oh No" followed by "Son of Orange County" blew me away. And then, to top it off, "More Trouble Everyday"! The entire band is incredible. Ray continues to belt out the vocals like no one else can and Dweezil seems to somehow take his guitar playing to a new level each time I see them. The small venues are a nice change, I was a little concerned that the small crowd wouldn't create the energy that the band probably likes but the dedicated and enthusiastic fans seem to make up for the small numbers. I'm always amazed by how much fun the band seems to be having. I can't wait to be able to download the music and enjoy it again.

Thanks to all of you in ZPZ, hearing this excellent music played live at this caliber and watching all of you ( well, we couldn't see Aaron but he sounded great!) is something I hope to be able to enjoy many more times!

Now that you mention it, I think the soundboard laptop listed the solo vehicle as Filthy Habits, though the printed setlist I am looking at says Dupree's. If I recall correctly, didn't DZ say something about them planning to do one song in that slot, but then discovering during soundcheck that they just did not remember it so they had substituted Filthy Habits?

FYI - If anyone is interested:

The Saint Louis Symphony, November 16th 3pm @ The Harris Theatre. The program will include music by Frank Zappa & Steve Mackey. $68-$120. 312-334-7777

That's correct, they hadn't played it for quite a while and realized that they no longer remembered it well enough to play.

Once again, I am deeply touched by the commitment DZ, Joe and the rest of the band put into ZPZ. The time, money, energy, and motivation to pursue this project is awe inspiring. Thank you all so much!!!

After speaking with the soundman (I forget the brit's name), and finding out that this whole extravaganza barely breaks even, the point is further driven home that this is a labor of love.

I was sitting stage left (DZ's left) on the far end the balcony and had a birds-eye view of the band. From my vantage point I could see Franks picture on top of DZ's amp, a bittersweet reminder of why we were all there in the first place.

I absoultely loved this show. The band seemed loose and at some points almost "jam band" like during DZ's solos. I loved the projector sequences last year, they actually made me cry, but not having the projector focused the audience on the band, and the band seemed relaxed and unemcumbered without it. This band is just ridiculously tight. Un-f**king believable. I loved the jam in 19/4. Cant wait to hear the MP3.

Thanks again to DZ and the band.

TO DZ: I hope you got your guitar rig ironed out and I hope your left wrist is feeling better. During the show I saw Shiela suggest that a "jerking motion" might be the problem

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you..........

Hey DZ,

Just read the blog entry regarding the delay on the downloads.

If you want the opinion of one fan, I say take as long as it takes! Don't rush it on my behalf! I would MUCH rather wait till the end of the tour and then some, so that you guys can do this work unfettered by distractions.

I have to admit one bit of curiousity. I am wondering why you did not choose to go with a lossless format like FLAC for the downloads? Hell, I'd be willing to pay an extra 20 bucks per show just for the chance to get them in FLAC instead. For that matter, I'd pay $25 bucks per show to be able to download the rest of the Tour of Tiny Stages as well.

Regardless of all of that, sitting here two weeks out, I am still floating on the buzz from seeing this band again. I was DFC right behind the soundboard on this final night of the run. I spent a good 2/3's of the show with my eyes closed, submerged in the performance.

Someone else mentioned in one of the reviews that the set lists were approaching an 'almost GD like quality'. Being one of the small minority of Deadheads who are also FZ lovers, I noticed that too. It certainly is one of the things that I have hoped for most since my first show with you at the Auditorium Theatre.

I never saw FZ. In fact, in my 20's when people first started trying to expose me to it, I quite literally hated it. I can remember saying to a friend at one point, 'too many minor keys, and the changes are too weird' or words to that effect. So I never bought all the orginal albums, never even listened to most of them. By the time I was actually interested and starting to explore was just as FZ started to release the YCDTOA.

Thus I had no idea what it meant when you told us earlier this year that you had 'Billy' up and running. All I knew going into that first night was this was a song that hadn't been played live for a very long time(which in itself is a turn on for any deadhead). I avoided reading about it online, and kept my virginity intact.

So that first version of Billy for this band, was my version of Billy too. Incidentally, there were plenty of other songs played that I had never heard before, or if I had heard them, it was at a point when I was completely dissociated in the past. Thus, as far as I know, this run was my first exposure to 'Cretins', 'Lagoon', 'Packard Goose', 'Magic Fingers', 'Oh No', I'm Not Satisfied and plenty of other tunes that you had not played here in Chicago over the past three years.

But the first 'Billy' was really an experience. Because I had no idea what was coming, I had to pay extremely close attention or I would have become lost. I came away telling myself that if 'Tommy' was the first Rock Opera, then 'Billy' was the first Rock Operetta.

On one topic, I need to correct myself. I mentioned earlier that I wished you would play two sets instead of one. But I realize now that you do. Or at least you did on this tour. The guitar giveaway serves as a set break, at least for the listener.

Finally, back to that GD setlist idea, I began to wonder if you might have met or cross polinated with the folks around Phil & Friends during appearances at festivals this past summer. It really struck me when you put 'Cretins' together with 'Andy'. Maybe this is some famous live combo from the history of FZ, maybe not, but the two songs are complimentary not only in a pure musical sense, but in the stories which they tell. That overall theme, or feel, seemed to be continued through the night, culminating with 'Trouble'.

So really the only question left is, How soon can you come back, and how long can you stay? Another three nights, either at the Morse(which is great because it is in my own neighborhood) or at any other venue in Chicago, would be great. And the challenge next time is to create three set lists, with no repeated songs, that offer an arc through the project and the objects, with continuity clues, and maybe even secret words.

Come tell us a story in the style of DZ.

Just my take.

I agree about the downloads. I can't even imagine how hard it must be just to do the tour without even thinking about mixing the downloads on the side. I would rather wait and have a good mix than have something bad. And I can't even believe that anyone would consider sueing over something like this!! All I know is that this band and the work that they do will NEVER get the recognition that is deserved!! I can guarantee that as long as they are stopping in Chicago (or near by) that I will be there every time they stop. I just got the DVD of the first tour for Christmas (which I saw in Minnesota), and I am just in awe every time I watch it. The pure talent and dedication in this band (and the special guests) is just amazing! Thanks again to all of you for adding some joy to my life!!