1979 Reviews

March 11th, 1979

Another exceptional opening vamp is supplied with what we know as Outside Now - over 6 minute long solo. Nice way to start a show. You can tell this arena has pretty bad acoustics, this is a pretty echoey tape.

Again, a very standard set punctuated by a few highlites including Warren's solo in Cosmik ("Alvin Lee Ladies and Gentlemen") and also a Santana reference during the lyrics. City of Tiny Lites is normal and Easy Meat contains a nice FZ solo. Andy is always a highlite and Inca Roads has Frank exlporing around, stretching and prolably composing or musing, a great solo. My tape ends after Wet T-Shirt Nite.

March 12th, 1979

So there, one month into the tour. A month throughout which we, the demanding reviewers, have insistently kept begging for more surprises, more great guitar vehicles and more monster songs. And then, when we least expect it, master Frank throws us a couple of tasty bones: three little surprises, all of which are classic FZ solo vehicles. No monster songs though, but as one of the big rock acts said (don't remember which), two out of three ain't bad.

First, Outside Now, in what might be its premiere performance. About a week later, it would become the (sorely needed) new solo vamp for another song, but here it gets the role as show opener - a tough task for a newcomer, but it does an excellent job. FZ shows his melancholic side, making his guitar gently weep and squeal forth a beautiful solo.

The following half-hour is free from surprises. City Of Tiny Lights keeps spawning solos that are better than previous year, but still far from great - you can really hear that FZ is tired of the vamp. But then, near the end of Dancin' Fool, the crowd is going apeshit and Frank has to stop the show to prevent people from getting crushed. There's a long break - the band even leaves the stage for a while, but out of this mess comes something good: the band enters the stage with a new "show opener". And possibly in an attempt to calm the crowd, we get Watermelon In Easter Hay, a really nice version which throws us into an even better Easy Meat. The solo has FZ shifting between two modes, one where he keeps hammering major chords in various rhythms, and one where he plays Eastern-inspired melodies. The outcome is great.

Andy has a short but very intense solo, while Inca Roads is the exact opposite. FZ stretches out, just like we want him to, and once again shows that he just wouldn't run out of new ideas for his Inca solos this year. This is not one of the very best - it doesn't flow as nicely together as it sometimes would - but parts of it are pure magic, and as a whole, it's nothing short of excellent.

A little disappointment when FZ cuts the set after The Meek, thereby depriving us of the Sophisticate/T-Shirt/Pee suite. And the first encore is short, just Peaches En Regalia. But all this is forgiven by the excellent choice of second encore. Yes folks, it's another of those Why-wasn't-it-played-every-night? songs, Black Napkins! It's not really as great as you would hope, but still a very worthy version. I'm sure that, had it been played more regularly, we would've gotten many, many memorable solos.

A short but nice show. Though the sound is crappy, it's worth getting (it might fit on a 100 min tape if you're lucky) for the three rare guitar vehicles, and for Easy Meat & Inca Roads.

March 19th, 1979

Now, when you think of the 1979 tour, a few things come to mind. That setlist, Frank's guitar, the rarities of For the Young Sophisticate and Wet T-Shirt Nite. But rarely do you think of the humor. Most of the shows are straightforward affairs, and this band had fewer personalities than, say, the 84 band.

This show, however, is an exception. You want secret words? We got secret words! 'And on guitar we have...' is the biggest, but we also get several mentions of the $500 belt buckle Thomas Nordeg bought, and an oddly pronounced 'I like you!', probably from the groupie of the previous night. Frank riffs on there all through the show, introducing every member of the band as being 'on guitar' (well, Arthur is 'on larger guitar'...^_^).

Best of all, since Frank and the band are in such a good mood, the musical content of this show rises exponentially. The opening solo (not He Used to Cut the Grass, as it tends to be labeled) is quite good, with Frank taking a laid-back, relaxed approach he would use throughout the evening. City of Tiny Lites has what is one of Denny's best *ever* slide solos, a solo that is so incredible that Frank has no chance of topping it...until he reaches down and starts playing THOSE CHORDS. Yes, Filthy Habits rears its ugly head, with the band following right along behind. For once, CoTL is essential.

Both Easy Meat and Inca Roads contain wonderfully long, expressive FZ solos, Inca's having a middle eastern flavor in it that reminded me of the Sheik Yerbouti tango at times.

We also have a few problems with the audience here, as we have at many of Frank's best concerts. He stops Dead Girls of London to yell at people for throwing beer cans on the stage. But even this cannot ruin the mood of this show. It is a truly happy, bubbly, infectious show to listen to.

The encores are fairly standard, with a solo-less Montana, and some amusing Tommy plays cool riffs while Frank tunes up before Dirty Love. Frank thanks the audience for being on guitar for the evening, and wishes them good night. (Yes, I know Jon's setlist lists 3 more songs, but I don't have the ending solo, if there was one, and the chances of this very non-vocal oriented band doing Love of My Life and Nite Owl are slim. Frank seemed to definitively end the concert with Dirty Love, at least to my ears.)

All this, *and* it's got A- sound! An essential show to have in your collection, and perhaps the funniest of the entire 79 tour.

March 27th, 1979 early

My incomplete tape cuts in during Ain't Got No Heart and enters in the middle of a typical set list for this tour, very tight and not much variance.

But there's always those improvs sections to look out for and late in the tour, City Of Tiny Lites was often a vehicle for those. Tonight offers an 8 minute Outside Now in the center section, and it smokes. Easy Meat also has a terrific solo. Frank intros Jumbo Go Away on Denny's behalf as being dedicated to the "woman with the large head that likes to cram her head between his legs in dark areas".

Andy is really nice as is Inca Roads, my notes simply say incredible. As the tour went on, Frank did stick in a few different tunes. The crowd favorite Titties n Beer features the Bronx accent of Warren as the devil and Vinnie and band get to do the Black Page again.