We're Not All Shitkickers Down Here!
18 September 1977
by Thonza

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It was a fine September day, as I wheeled into the gravel road leading to "HOUSE OF", a moniker Randy Roten, had pegged the humble little abode with. My next of kin, James Diesel, was already there, and in fact would soon become the sole resident of this hovel and be in residence there until the early 90's. James had purchased a whole row of tix for the '77 Zappa/Mothers show, and we all were ready for what we knew would be a masterpiece. Cody ("The biggest..well lets be nice about this...embellishment artist") , was there with his camera, a little Olympus OM1 that unbeknownst to us would record the show in great detail. Little did we know just how hot this show would be.

Duttenhoffer, an ole high school chum, and his lady soon arrived as did several other folks that were totally unknown to me, and in 10 minutes we were heading down the expressway making it for the Fox theatre. The Fox you see, had just gone through a massive campaign to renovate, and as usual, there were four or five starry eyed glitter queens standing under the marquee with buckets plastered with "Save the Fox" bumper stickers. I dropped my dollar in the bucket and headed up to the doors, which were of course packed with aging hippies, freaks, disco types in the throes of their ending era, and of course, people like me: The misfits of society who are drawn to Frank Zappa's music for both the sheer genius of it, or, and I fear the more apparent reason for most, the sense of belonging to a group that doesn't quite belong, if that makes sense.

As we sat by the huge double doors in the long foray, we were treated to the distant strains of sound check, a dity I can't recall now, but I looked at my next of kin, James, and without saying a word (We said "FUCK ME DEAD" to ourselves) we both knew we were about to witness something very special.

Soon the hired thugs, usually wannabe bouncers or off duty policemen wanting to "crack a few heads" opened the doors and began shouting "no cameras!" (Cody was game though and hid his masterfully) and "get your tickets out!", implying in their tone we fans were more a pain in the ass than the reason they would acquire full teamster benefits this night. We muscled our way through, obtained our stubs, got some dirty looks from the NWA vermin and were inside!!

We plowed our way through, because to our sheer delight, music could be heard in the distance. We ran into the theatre and were truly delighted to see our man, Frank Zappa himself, playing guitar for anyone who cared to hear. It was magnificent, it was inspiring (truly, this moment inspired and dictated the path and technique I would apply to my own guitar playing even to the day of this writing). The Lydian and Locrian scales poured over us and we cheered madly!

Frank gave us a nod and then nonchalantly asked "Can you buy cigarettes here on Sunday?" He then chuckled as several fans offered him packs and threw them on the stage. I was so excited I could no longer stand it and blurted out "We're not all shitkickers down here, Frank!!" Frank looked in my direction, raised that famous eyebrow and retorted calmly "I never said you were, but if you are, it's ok too..." I sat down. My next of kin, James Diesel however, had a question: "Where is Napoleon Murphy Brock?!" he asked. "I guess he's in Lake Tahoe" Frank said. Another request from the audience rang out "Is Ian Underwood with you tonight?" "No, he's back in LA" Frank shot back. Someone shouted "Peaches En Regalia" and soon other requests began to follow. Frank then said he would be back later and took his cigarettes and left the stage to a standing O!

Soon the lights went down and out walked the members of the band, the only person I recognized immediately was Patrick O'Hearn, then Terry Bozzio, that cute little drummer. The rest of the membership was totally different from the '76 Atlanta show. Frank came out and said, "For the guy who asked about "Peaches En Regalia," well here it is" , and the band broke into a rocking, synth laden version of this FZ classic. It became apparent immediately that the skinny (Yes, he was then!), frizzy headed keyboard player was a master of his tools. The Electrocomp and Yamaha Synths ebbed and flowed with Zappa's horn arrangement. Fragmented in the bridges and turn arounds were the Mini Moog and the famous Emu synth. This guy could make an analog synth talk! But the best from Tommy Mars was yet to come. Also impressive on this tune were Ed Mann and Bozzio's percussive precision. After "Peaches" Frank intro-ed the band and we were very attentive as to the identity of the new members.

After a concert standard, "The Torture Never Stops," the new material started showing up. Included in this was "Trying To Grow A Chin," "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes," "Jones Crusher." Sprinkled throughout this were the Zappa standards. Also "Big Leg Emma" "The Black Page" and "I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth" were excellent in this show, but after listening to the audience tape, I would say the tunes that stand out were "Envelopes" and "Pound For Brown." Tommy Mars scat vocal against his Yamaha grand was skillfully executed and a very musical solo. Preceding this was Patrick O'Hearn's bass solo... and even 21 years later, I still say this guy was rivaling Jaco Pastorious and Jeff Berlin for the fretless crown.

Though these were excellent, the highlight of this show was Adrian Belew's Jimi Hendrix tribute (the show took place on the 7th anniversary of his demise). This solo was incredible and gave us a preview of what Belew would be capable of four years in the future when working with King Crimson. The strat he sported was singing this night, the hall seemed to accomadate it very well, a phenomenon that I believe Frank realized while warming up earlier. I also remember how impressive Adrian's vocals were. Adrian's staple tune with this band, "City Of Tiny Lights," simply kicked ass.

As far as sound quality this show ranked with the best I've ever heard. Most Zappa shows were of high sound caliber (minus of course, the pitfalls that frequent most any live performance) but in my mind, the ambience that the hall produced that night was incredible, also the band energy was in high gear.

Frank's solos were what I would consider "standard" this night with nothing really standing out to my knowledge.

I did enjoy the solo in "Torture" and "Napkins" was especially good. It should be noted that at this time Frank's rig was really neat. The MXR Rack Flanger was a staple in that rig, and a lot of wah work was integrated (Frank was one of the few guitarist in these days to proclaim the Wah Wah was more for tone than effect). Frank had lost the classic SG which was his signature and was playing what appeared to be a '77 SG sporting the same wood grain finish.

Terry Bozzio was phenomenal. He was sporting a frizzy hairdo and was much more active in this show, a glaring counter to his almost passive personality the past two Atlanta shows. His vocal on "Titties and Beer" and "Punky's Whips" drove the crowd into a "petulant frenzy".

All in all, Tommy Mars left the greatest impression on me during this show. He was a very important member of this band during this period, vital to Frank's sound and to the live show energy (remember, Tommy was in the best shape of his career at this time and was considered "great material for "The Tower of Power"). His chops were honed to perfection and the Yamaha synths he sported were probably the best analog synths I have ever heard.

The scat vocal thing was truly inspiring, and Tommy even left his station once or twice for band member participation. I always wondered about Tommy's synths (model #'s, gear setups, etc.) but he is probably the most ignored keyboard player of our time (Writer's note-If anyone knows of any interviews with Tommy, etc. from Keyboard or Keyboard player, I would appreciate knowing).

In a world today full of digital, midi files, sequencing, and wave data, the memory of this concert remains a statement for analog and "ancient" equipment. I was greatly influenced by these guys, and a hunger developed for the music of this era soon after because of the show, contributed to of course, by WB's stupidity in the dissecting of "Lþther".

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