Zappanale report, phaze 3.
by Jon Naurin

| Return to Index |

I couldn't help but feeling a little sorry for Jazzprojekt Hundehagen,
the first band on the last day of Zappanale #13. Due to program changes,
their concert had to start at 11 a.m already, when many were still
asleep. The few of us who were there chose to stay in the shade under the
big circus tent because of the burning sun, and the fact that they only
played 2 or 3 FZ songs didn't exactly help getting people out in fron of
the stage. I will admit I didn't pay too much attention, but it was an
all-instrumental, 90%-improvisational set. One song was based on the
Torture Never Stops motif, and one was Watermelon In Easter Hay, but
neither thrilled me that much.

The second band was listed as Vaclav Cesak in the program, but I got the
impression that they actually had another name (Ya Hozna?). Vaclav Cesak
is the sculptor of the Zappa monument, and if I recall correctly, he
played the drums in this Czech band. I remember that I liked this band,
but at the same time, this is the concert that I remember the least. I'm
pretty sure this was the band that played Clownz On Velvet, where the
guitarists seemed to be doing an Al Di Meola impression in his solo. But
other than that, I don't remember much, except that I enjoyed their show.

Concert #3 was Beistelltische from Germany. Like the previous two, I knew
nothing about them, so it was quite a nice surprise to find out that they
were a vocal quintet, doing an a capella set. They started out with a
great Dead Girls Of London, and as second song (I think), their big
achievement: Billy The Mountain! Yes, they did the whole song, with the
story told in German and the sung parts in English. Impressive, to say
the least. Many other nice interpretations too - never thought I'd hear a
Doreen cover without missing Ray White, for example. A very good concert,
which had me search all over the festival area for a copy of
Beistelltische's CD, without success.

Next, Sweden's contribution to the Zappanale: Arne Fruit Quartet. And
there was no reason to be ashamed of being Swedish here, as the five (!)
guys delivered a mighty fine set. Nice and original setlist, and
everything played with lots of humour and energy. Strangely enough, I
can't remember that many of the songs that were played, but they did
include Jones Crusher, I'm So Cute and We Are Not Alone. I know the band
had hardly any time to rehearse, so they just said "Let's play the songs
we know", and under these circumstances, they did an excellent show.
Nasal Retentive Orchestra is from France, and they played mostly old MOI
songs. Everything sounded quite OK, except for the lyrics. As Charles
pointed out, it was apparent which songs came from albums that don't have
lyric sheets. Status Back Baby, for example, was obviously learned
phonetically, rather than word-for-word.

Only two shows left, the first of which was with Nigey Lennon, John
Tabacco and a band made up by Ed Palermo & Co. The audience seemed rather
sceptical at first, with much mumblings about "another attempt at getting
money out of her relationship with Frank", but Nigey and her band seemed
to convince most of them. Aside from a handful of Zappa songs (incl. Any
Way The Wind Blows and Cosmik Debris with Candy on vocals), they did some
Tabacco songs and "It Must Be A Cigar" an old Nigey composition that
Frank was supposed to have produced. I liked this show, and in the end,
it seemed most people did too.

Finally, The Grandmothers. A brand new incarnation that had never
performed before, and while it did show, it sounded much better and
tighter than the concerts I've heard from last year, with Billy Mundi on
drums. Now, the band consisted of Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Roy Estrada,
Jimmy Carl Black, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Bob Harris and Glenn Leonard on
drums. Seeing these guys together is really awe-inspiring, and Napoleon
once again helped making a great concert into something really special.

They did all of the oldies that Napi sung with FZ in 1974-76, and they
were all excellent. I've often been heard complaining about how he
treated Ain't Got No Heart, How Could I Be Such A Fool and I'm Not
Satisfied back then, but I am now willing to take it all back. With NMB's
showmanship and stage presence, it was quite an experience to hear them.

They also did beautiful versions Duke Of Prunes, Holiday In Berlin, and
some of their own songs, such as Immaculate Deception and The Eternal
Question. The biggest surprise was Village Of The Sun/Echidna's Arf, and
O In The Sky, which was quite a pleasure to see Roy do live. JCB only did
a few songs - possibly just Lonesome Cowboy Burt. As the show reached its
end, almost everyone who had performed came onstage and did a final Love
Of My Life. All in all an excellent Grandmothers concert, and an terrific
ending to a marvellous Zappanale.

(There, I ran out of adjectives. Still, I will be back with a phaze 4,
with some various impressions of the Zappanale. You have been warned.)


- Jon

Check out the FZ concert tape database at
http://home.swipnet.se/fzshows

Return to Concert Tales Index

Don't forget to register to vote!

Send questions, comments, flames to stumark@earthlink.net

Planet Zappafrank logo courtesy of Chris Edwards