Word: zappa
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Zappa started the concert with "A Pound for a Brown," a syncopated number that was the perfect vehicle for bridging the gap between the musicians and the audience. He had hardly finished before launching into another, and then again another number, finally completing the first part of the set with "Cruisin' for Burgers." The audience was on its feet...
...second part of his performance. Zappa chose the story of "Billy the Mountain," a minirock opera that makes "Tommy" sound like "My Generation" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" seem a warmed-over-version of "The Lord's Prayer." It is a musical work of a complexity that jars the senses and shocks the mind. Musical ideas are clearly laid out and defined while themes occur and recur. The voices blend with tumultuous intensity while the instruments constantly expand until they finally obtain the feel of a full orchestra...
...never received any royalties. However, one day, a man in a white Cadillac drives up and gives Billy his royalties. And Billy thus begins one of the great picaresque adventures of our time. (At one point offing two FBI agents on the way from Los Angeles to New York). Zappa exploits the theme to poke fun at just about everything from vacations to super-heroes, and even rock operas...
...satirical nature of Zappa's material reached its height in the third portion of the concert with the song "Mudshark." A parody of white rock groups who try to play soul music. "Mudshark" is hilarious. Masterfully done, the song is based on a genuinely soulful beat, but it is performed in such a way as to point out the essential ludicrousness of the situation. The highlight of the number came when the two lead singers (former members of the Turtles) showed the audience how to do the Mudshark, i.e., simulated anal intercourse (no surprise to those familiar with Zappa...
...followed, and it allowed all of the musicians to demonstrate their worth. Ian Underwood and Don Preston were brilliant on keyboards, but much of the credit for holding the music together belongs to Aynsley Dunbar, the drummer. Never missing a beat (an extremely difficult task, given the complexity of Zappa's music), Dunbar was the second star, over-shadowed only by Zappa himself...