Dweezil Zappa - Hot Rats Live!
Town Hall
Leeds
Uk

2019-12-10

It’s remarkable that, 50 years on, Hot Rats remains as highly regarded as it ever was.

Let’s face it, it’s hardly what you would call mainstream. The worry is that, if anyone came along with that material these days, they’d struggle to get it recorded.

Bizarre though it is, it’s a masterpiece, people still finding there way to it today, and so good and important an album that its half century is being marked with the release a six cd set opening the door on the sessions surrounding the recording of it (although I could well live without the accompanying board game & such which exponentially inflates the price).

Whilst it was hardly on the doorstep, the chance to see it performed in full, live, was not one I could comfortably pass up.

Deeezil’s long held the candle for his father’s music. Most agree that he does so with integrity.

Going into Leeds Town Hall’s a bit like going into a church. Huge, vaulted ceilings, columns, ornate stonework, tiled & mosaic floors, huge organ...an impressive setting in which to “worship”.

Dweezil has his now regular band in tow with him. They’ve been playing at playing Frank for some time now, and they’ve developed that wonderful mixture of razor sharp playing, humour, creativity and willingness to improvise which is essential to recreating the music. I still wish they had a vibes player, though.

At 8:00pm the band walk out & start the vamp to which will soon be Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow, shortly followed by Dweezil himself.

After the opening number we’re straight into the Hot Rats album, played in the order of the record. Along the way we get snippets and reflections from Dweezil, along with interjections from the band. It’s all very good, and the (pretty much) full house seems all very pleased with how this is unfurling.

The first set concludes at the end of a This Must Be A Camel to enthusiastic applause. In some respects, job done. However, there is a set two.

Set two is a more general celebration of Frank’s music. It’s largely tunes that most worshippers will already be familiar with, although there are one or two pieces inter dispersed for the more...studious disciple.

Again, anecdotes complement proceedings, as well as some “asides” free-formed by the band.

A thoroughly enjoyable, immersive experience which I wholeheartedly recommend you participate in if the opportunity should arise.

It ain’t Frank, but it ain’t half bad either! This son of Frank certainly cuts the dental floss.

We experienced:-

01 Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
02 Peaches En Regalia
03 Willie the Pimp
04 Son Of Mr Green Genes
05 Little Umbrellas
06 The Gumbo Variations
07 It Must Be A Camel

I N T E R V A L

08 Montana
09 Teenage Wind
10 I'm Not Satisfied
11 200 Motels/Bogus Pomp
12 Penis Dimension
13 My Sharona
14 Who Needs the Peace Corps?
15 Bamboozled By Love
16 Brown Moses
17 Heavenly Bank Account
18 I'm A Beautiful Guy
19 Beauty Knows No Pain
20 Charlie's Enormous Mouth
21 Any Downers?
22 Pick Me, I'm Clean
23 Twinkle Tits
24 Dupree's Paradise
25 Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
26 Here Lies Love
27 Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy
28 Encore Break
9. Intro
29 I Am The Slime
30 Tears Began to Fall

Played By

Dweezil Zappa - guitar, vocals
Adam Minkoff - guitar, vocals
Scheila Gonzalez - keyboards, sax, flute, vocals
Chris Norton - keyboards, vocals
Kurt Morgan - bass, vocals
Ryan Brown - drums

Recorded By Lesterferget

Lineage :

SP-CMC-4U >
TASCAM DR-40 >
Sound Forge Pro 13 >
Trader's Little Helper (level 8) >
Torrent Site

It's always a better day with a little Frank in it.