Hello! Boy, got y'all JAMMED in here, don't they? What's that say? "Thanks for coming, what's the secret word for tonight? Your buddies Dirk, Tom and Tommy."

Okay . . . Alright, guys, you're looking for another secret word? The secret word for tonight is "Zappa Concert Tales!"

Let me try 'n explain this to you, folks: This afternoon at the hotel I was introduced for the first time to Sam Rouse, and Sam was going to give up his website tonight, and he was going to let it die. Fortunately he spoke about it on AFFZ and... this afternoon I actually learned how to host a reggae version of "Zappa Concert Tales" and I've been trying to decide whether or not I oughta host it even if Sam's not gonna host it. Now, maybe you can help me decide. How many people would like to read Zappa Concert Tales if Sam is not going to host it? How many people DON'T want to read Zappa Concert Tales? I think most people want to read Zappa Concert Tales.

What is This?

This is a compendium of concert tales, memories, etc. written by those fans who had the opportunity to see Frank Zappa in concert (before he joined The Big Note). This site was given life by Sam Rouse, who is a bitchin' dude. The site is now maintained by Stu Mark (who is glad to be here). New additions are welcome - email them to Stu Mark and they'll be added to the page. Be sure to include the way you want your tale attributed (name, email, nickname, whatever).

About submitting tales by other folks - It's important to have the author's permission before we'll place their work up on this site page, and to give them the opportunity to spiff it up for the web, if so desired. So, if you find a tale on Google or wherever, written by someone else, please contact the author and point them our way. We're also happy to add links to tales found elsewhere on the web. Regardless, thanks for stopping by, and remember, Music Is The Best!

This site brought to you by the fine folks who bring you Stu News And Photos

ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA ON TOUR AGAIN THIS SUMMER

In concept and performance, Zappa Plays Zappa offers audiences an opportunity to spend an evening with Frank Zappa's music, performed meticulously by a group of top flight musicians who have been schooled in its subtleties. Far from a "tribute band," Zappa Plays Zappa is more of a vehicle that underscores the compositional genius of Frank Zappa much as a symphony orchestra would perform pieces by a master composer. Nate Chenen, writing about Zappa Plays Zappa in the New York Times recognized this when he wrote that the show fully realized Dweezil's intent for it to be "an argument for Frank Zappa's legitimacy as a composer."

Frank Zappa died in 1993 after a career that saw him record over 80 albums. Today, the younger Zappa and his band mates are taking full advantage of the wealth and breadth of the material contained therein. "What we're preparing to do for this tour is perhaps even more complex than what we did on the first tour," says Dweezil. "Last year we learned about 40 songs from a very popular period of Frank's career and this year we will be learning about 30 more new ones that are somewhat more obscure. The tour will include material from 'We're Only In It For The Money,' 'Absolutely Free,' 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh,' 'Joe's Garage,' 'You Are What You Is,' The Yellow Shark' and much more, including orchestral works."

Frank Zappa will be, quite literally, visible during the Zappa Plays Zappa concerts. Large screen video of Zappa will be accompanied musically by the band enabling concert goers who might never had the opportunity to see Frank Zappa on stage in person to have this experience first-hand. Dweezil will rotate Frank Zappa video performances over the course of the tour.

The band Dweezil (lead guitar) has assembled for this year's Zappa Plays Zappa is composed of veterans of last year's tour including Joe Travers (drums), Billy Hulting (percussion), Scheila Gonzalez (keyboards, saxophone, vocals), Aaron Arntz (keyboards/trumpet), Peter Griffin (bass) and Jaime Kime (rhythm guitar). Joining the tour this year is Ray White, the vocalist who toured and recorded with Frank Zappa during the period of such albums as Tinsel Town Rebellion - You Are What You Is and Zappa in New York - (his is the lead vocal on beloved song "The Illinois Enema Bandit").

Dweezil is also working on bringing Zappa Plays Zappa into the home with a feature length performance DVD that documents the 2006 tour. It is expected to be released early this summer, concurrent with the 2007 tour.

Zappa Plays Zappa is an undertaking with a higher purpose in mind beyond filling seats with concert goers. Dweezil Zappa explains, "I think my Dad's music deserves to be heard by a wider audience. I really think he's been misunderstood for far too long, which brings me back to why I'm doing this: I'm so in awe of his accomplishments and want more and more people to know about him, and I think the best way for people to first discover his music is on a visceral level in a live situation. I think you have to be confronted with the complexity and the beautiful subtlety of all of it to fully appreciate the artistry of it."

Download photos and the Zappa Plays Zappa press release here:

http://www.specialopsmedia.com/assets/ZappaPlaysZappa/

http://www.specialopsmedia.com/assets/ZappaPlaysZappa/ZappaPlaysZappaAssets.zip

Check Out the new Zappa Plays Zappa trailer from the upcoming DVD:

http://www.zappa.com/zpz/videos/zpz_trailer.html

Official Site:

http://www.zappaplayszappa.com/

Dweezil Zappa on MySpace:

Frank Zappa on MySpace:

Zappa Plays Zappa 2007 Tour Dates

18 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Centennial Concert Hall

19 - Detroit Lakes, MN - 10,000 Lakes Festival

20 - Chicago, IL - Civic Opera House

21 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave

22 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room

24 - Cincinnati, OH - Moonlite Gardens

25 - Erie, PA - Warner Theatre

26 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion

27 - Detroit, MI - Meadow Brook Festival

28 - Cleveland, OH - Cain Park

30 - Toronto, Ontario - Hummingbird

31 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis

1 - Quebec City, Quebec - Albert Rousseau Hall

2 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino

4 - Boston, MA - Fleet Boston Pavilion

5 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre

6 - Westbury, NY - North Fork Theatre at Westbury

9 - Baltimore, MA - Ram's Head Tavern

10 - Norfolk, VA - NorVa

11 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

13 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom

15 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium

16 - Tucson, AZ - Fox Theatre

17 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre

18 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues

20 - Berkeley, CA - Berkeley Community Theatre

21 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues

22 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

23 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre

Whole Note Rest

25 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire

26 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Koncerthus

27 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - New Melkweg

29 - Fribourg, Switzerland - Le Fri-Son

30 - Munich, Germany Circus Krone

1 - Frankfurt, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle

3 - Stuttgart, Germany - Beethovensaal

4 - Erfurt, Germany - Messehalle

5 - Paris, France - Grand Rex

6 - Antwerp, Belgium - Elisabeth Hall

8 - Arhus, Denmark - The Music House

9 - Stavanger, Norway Ð Koncerthus

10 - Bergen, Norway - Peer Gynt

12 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene

13 - Lund, Sweden - Olympen

14 - Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus

Thanks, Sara

The Concert Tales

Friday, January 31, 1969

Summer Of 1969 by Robert Williams

28 August 1971, Portland Coliseum, "Thin Q!" by Fast Frank

9 December 1972, Portland Paramount, "The Rollo Show" by Fast Frank

12 December 1973, "The Roxy" by Lewis Saul

16 March 1974, Portland Paramount, "The Roxy Band" by Fast Frank

Memorial Day Weekend 1975 by Tom Tuerff

21 May 1975, Armadillo World Headquarters, "The True Story of Bongo Fury" by John Henley

3 October 1975, Portland Paramount, "FZ Memory #1" by Sam Rouse

3 October 1975, Portland Paramount, "Phydeaux" by Fast Frank

18 October 1975, Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, "Frank At The Old Place" by James Diesel

December 1975, Winterland, San Francisco, by Gary Worsham

18 September 1977, Fox Theater, Atlanta, "We're Not All Shitkickers Down Here" by Thonza

4 November 1977 (?), Uptown Theater, Chicago, "Audience Participation" by Paul Goldberg

circa 1979 by âD.L.A.K.

29 March 1980, Portland Paramount, "FZ Memory #2" by Sam Rouse

29 March 1980, Portland Paramount, "Coneheads & Crewsluts" by Fast Frank

20 April 1980, Fox Theater, Atlanta, "When All The World Was Young" by James Diesel

1 October 1981, Portland Paramount, "FZ Memory #3" by Sam Rouse

1 October 1981, Portland Paramount, "The Acid Feed-Back Show" by Fast Frank

18 October 1981, Frank Erwin Special Events Center, by John Henley

11 November 1981, Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens, "Take Off in Toronto, Eh?" by Fred Duquette

8-10 October 1988, Washington DC by Dan Snyder

30 June 1991, "The Show in Budapest" by Eddie Persson

16_08_1998, The Perfect Stranger, Santa Cruz, by Gary Worsham

9_November_1996 - Banned From Utopia in SF, by Gary Worsham

29_6_1999, _Der Krachhaus, Augsberg, Germany, by Bill (not Lantz)

Zappanale #13 Report, Phaze 1, by Jon Naurin

Zappanale #13 Report, Phaze 2, by Jon Naurin

Zappanale #13 Report, Phaze 3, by Jon Naurin

Assorted Tales, Assorted Dates by Michael Dawson aka Biffy the Elephant Shrew

Assorted Tales, Assorted Dates by Dawayne Bailey

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Ladies and gentlemen, this is intermission.Get your butt out there and register to vote! Would you please?

 

Send questions, comments, flames to Stu Mark (who is looking forward to hearing from you)

 

Hi, it's me. This is a note. It's a chance for me to talk about Frank Zappa Concert Tales. These stories are, in my opinion, an important part of the legacy of Frank Zappa. I never saw him in concert, and I wish I had. To see Zappa in concert, a live show, and I do mean live, well, I'll bet that would have been a memorable concert. If you are reading this and you have a memory of seeing ™s music, performed meticulously by a group of top flight musicians who have been schooled in its subtleties. Far from a Frank Zappa in concert, on stage, live, guitar in hand, well, please send me your concert tale. My address is stumark@earthlink.net. Thanks for reading and thanks for contributing. Frank Zappa Concert Tales is important to me, and I appreciate that you would take the time to read this, especially this piece down here that I would have thought no one would have read. May Frank Zappa Concert Tales bring you peace.