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1984 Reviews
page eight
When we were doling out the reviews for this third leg of 1984, Jason asked which tapes
we had and then added, "And who's the lucky bastard who gets 11/30?". Well, by
an incredibly fortuitous happenstance, I am that lucky bastard.
This early show is one of the best this tour has to offer. It only has one really
incredible WOW moment, but unlike most other 84 shows it has no dull, dragging points. The
setlist is picked out carefully, all the performers are on tonight, secret words are used
liberally throughout, and FZ's guitar sounds great. Oh yes, and the one fabulous moment
2/3 of the way through. But first things first.
A Black Napins 84 solo that's interesting and well-played. Yes, you heard right. In France
gives you the first sign that FZ is going to let things stretch tonight - our harmonicist
gets twice the solo time to fool around in. Brown Moses, of course, always sounds
wonderful - I wish we'd heard more of this.
By Cocaine Decisions and Nig Biz, we've got our secret word - 'knuckle'. No idea what it
means. Nig Biz sounds the same, but the band make the most of their blues solos. Perhaps
they knew they'd get a better spotlight later...
Outside Now has a very good solo, but even more surprising is Advance Romance, not a
stellar performer in 84, with an excellent solo, long and great. The shaken-up setlist
makes even older songs sound fresh, so my ears listened to Baltimore with a 'ah, a
sentimental classic' feel instead of a 'why isn't this played like it was in 81?' motif.
I've never liked FZ's arrangement of Easy Meat in 1984, and I still don't. But the solo is
enjoyable, if short, with a very sparse, minimalistic feel.
Then...Drowning Witch. Things start off as normal, with lots of banter in the vocal
sections, and a few more knuckles. FZ's first solo is normal, and quite good. They roll
into the second vamp, FZ starts in with a few licks... then madness ensues! A vamp starts
up, and it's really cool! Frank, then Scott, then Ray, then Bobby, all with long,
non-regimented solos! Scott in particular is wonderful! And then, to cap things off, the
band fucks up the final melody! Marvelous, a surprise Monter song, and easily the show's
highlight.
Now to say the show then peters out. We get three more good to great FZ solos, a second
Secret Word, 'broccoli', that will stick around for a few weeks, and a band in a great
mood. And it's only the early show? What will the late show bring...?
--SG
You would expect, looking at the setlist, for this show to be less great than the early
show was. After all, here's Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?, Dinah-Moe Humm, and the
YAWYI medleys all present and accounted for. It even opens with the cliched Zoot Allures.
What can you expect from a show like this?
You can expect Frank and the band to be in a wonderful mood, an audience that's wild and
out there without turning nasty, a band that's totally on tonight, lifting all of Frank's
solos to a higher plane. It has Frank taking those solos and creating sculptures out of
them, masterpieces ranking with anything he did from 82 or 88. It has tons of humor with 4
or 5 secret words, yet the band never lose it enough to totally go off the rails.
To start, Zoot Allures, a song I had totally grown tired of, is wonderful, with Scott,
Chad, and Alan doing so many things behind Frank I almost forgot to listen to him. It
helps that the sound quality of this tape is A/A-, with every instrument sounding clear
and balanced. After that, surprisingly, we get a 1980 flashback by going right into Keep
It Greasey, which benefits from an early placing.
The audience is really starting to get raucous by now, and apparently some girl wanders
by, because Frank starts off Honey with a rambling 4-stanzxa monologue in one breath that
made me laugh out loud. We get 'Glove' as an early secret word, but it's clear that
they're still searching for the magic combo.
We get it in Bamboozled by love, with the name "Sammy!", as in Sammy Davis, Jr.,
shouted out in an approximate imitation of his voice. Bamboozled has really clicked on
this tour, and is peppier than it's ever been. Frank delivers another great solo, and is
even more on here than the previous concert. Tiny Lites, a perennial dull 84 event, was so
good it made me wonder if an 82 solo had been spliced in by mistake.
Back to vocal numbers, but Mudd Club is filled with gloves and Sammys and Speigels and
manages to amuse. After The Meek we head straight into King Kong, perhaps the weakest
guitar track of the night, meaning it's merely really good.
The audience helps to make this concert sound great, too. They welcome songs such as
Tinseltown, and laugh at the dated jokes that were funnier in 84. Frank adds that it's
making fun of Hollywood, California, rather than Florida. He even refs Lunt and Fontanne!
The Trouble/Penguin/Hotel medley contains 2 great and one fucking amazing solo, Hot
Plate's, with loops and feedback-drenched chords and Scott apparently trying to play a
solo of his own when he's not supposed to.
Chana serves as a reminder that no one's perfect, not even Frank - the band go back to the
verse and get about halfway through it before Frank remembers the words. Something visual
must happen at this point, because Frank starts talking about breakdancing, then goes back
in with more Sammy refs - Sammy
comes closest to being the secret word, getting used a lot throughout.
Ah, but whither Cleveland? For once, it actually *is* Let's Move to Cleveland, a choice
that amuses FZ and leads to later Cleveland refs. Alan and Chad both play well tonight,
giving nice solos. Then, to my surprise, Scott solos, giving a fluid, Sleep-Dirty type of
sound similar to what he used on Drowning
Witch earlier. Scott fans will love these shows, he is ON. And then, as if that weren't
enough, we get Frank's solo, familiar to Guitar listeners as Sunrise Redeemer, but in its
full version here. To everyone who says that Zappa's playing lacked any emotional power,
play them this.
Encores come with another request for underpants, more Cleveland and Sammy refs, and the
Doo-Wop Trilogy. During No No Cherry someone attemtps to storm the stage and throw
something on there, but is quickly disarmed. Frank and company find this amusing (another
sign of a good show) and use it to drench
Cosmik Debris and Dinah-Moe Humm in secret words, making the humor building through the
show hit a lovely climax. Then, as an ending, we get a totally un-humored Whipping Post.
Just Frank, the Mannish Boy riff, and Bobby Martin singing his heart out, inciting the
audience into a frenzy.
Have I used enough superlatives yet? One more. This, and the early show, make 11/30/84 the
best night of the 84 tour, bar none. If you listen to no more 84 ever (and you do have
reason not to), listen to these shows and remember what they could do.
--SG
November 1984 was a very fine month, culminating in yesterday's excellent concerts, and
we're now eager to find out if December will be even better. But no, things don't start
out well. I don't know if the guys gave their all yesterday, but they do seem a bit
unfocused tonight. It's not a bad show, though - like so many other so-so concerts, it
does have some really high peaks, and the final 30 minutes are really entertaining. And
while the secret word usage is rather sparse, at least until the encores, there's another
sick theme permeating the performance - more on this below.
My tape starts with I'm The Slime, another song this band shouldn't have touched. None of
the original groove of this song is present, though I will admit that the bass line in the
verse is cool. The solo, like the following two in Baltimore and Truckdriver, is rather
perfunctory - aggressive, but lacking any really interesting content. Then comes the
what-happened-to-this-song-in-November Trouble Every Day, with another quirky and good
solo, consisting of many little funny, disjoint melodies, tied together by a quote I
couldn't identify at first. It sounds like...no it can't be, can it?...Laura Branigan's
Self Control. Bobby Martin plays the same melody in Penguin In Bondage, and it sounds even
more like Self Control. Oh well, Hot Plate Heaven comes with a fine solo, over a vamp
which is more and more becoming a "non-vamp".
Average solos in Drowning Witch, meaning that they're good but nothing spectacular. I do
not like the new Ride My Face To Chicago (wasn't there already enough reggae?), though the
solo ain't too bad. Brown Moses still sounds fresh, and In France shows how much a song
can gain from being relocated in the setlist. Bobby once again plays that little quote
(this time on harmonica), and it sounds more and more like Self Control.
After a rather bland Bamboozled, Let's Move To Cleveland takes the stage, and removes all
doubts. After Alan's and Chad's solos, Scott gets a brief moment in the spotlight, which
ends up in an outright Self Control jam, with some of the members singing the woh-woh-woh
line. Sick!! The contrast as FZ triggers a gloomy, slow loop and starts playing an even
gloomier, slower melody on top, is incredibly cool. But things would get even weirder,
when another loop (similar or even identical to the very successful Ft Lauderdale one)
starts. Scott immediately starts playing Self Control as bass line, and Chad chooses a
happy, jumpy drum comp. Frank seems to love this twisted backdrop, and goes on for a long
time. A very worthy candidate for Guitar or Trance Fusion. For the outchorus, they sing
"ho-ho-ho-hoo-ho", the secret word for tonight.
Advance Romance is the first encore number, and now the band is in great spirits. FZ even
sings "I lose my self control" at one point, and the solo is pretty good. At
this point the "hey hey hey" and "ho ho ho" theme has evolved into
true secret word abuse too. We recognize much of the Closer/Johnny/Cherry medley from
YCDTOSA #4, with the "no, well do it straight...it could be hard though"
comments, showing how deranged (in a positive sense) the show has become. The concluding
Whipping Post has an unusually good FZ solo, and Bobby Martin throwing in a couple of Self
Control woh-woh-wohs.
It's hard to give a definitive opinion on this show. On one hand, many expected musical
highlights turn out disappointing, on the other hand, the second half of Cleveland and the
encores are great. Check it out if you're into twisted '84 humour and/or Laura Branigan,
or try to get Cleveland as filler somewhere.
--JN
This is a show of ups and downs and disappointments and surprises that, in the
end, manages to persevere and deliver a good time.
The "Teenage Truckdriver" combo opens the show, and despite the seeming
awkwardness of this as an opener, it usually manages to inspire some inventive playing
from Frank early, and set the stage for an experimental and satisfying six string show. No
such luck tonight, as Frank's TDD solo goes nowhere, as does his "Carolina Hardcore
Ecstasy" endeavor. "Advance Romance" delivers the first surprise of the
night, with a long and passionate blues workout that finds Frank putting far more thought
into this AR solo than is usual. "Baby Take Marqueson's Chicken" looks to
continue the parade of surprises, but both deliver such ridiculously short solos that
Frank should not have even bothered. But then, in of all things, "City of Tiny
Lites" delivers a wallop- a HUGE solo that leads me to echo the suspicion that
someone spliced an '82 solo in here. HUGE!
But then the YAWYI medley comes along- minus Secret Words- and boredom slowly begins to
creep back. "Bamboozled By Love"- of course!- reestablishes the right vibe (this
is THE most underrated song of Frank's touring career- the "Owner of a Lonely
Heart" version of "Bamboozled"), before "He's So Gay" threatens
to hammer home the final nail. As the song fades away, however, and Ike and Co. get in
their "Do you really want to Smurf me?" (has anyone pointed out that this has
been the final line- smurf instead of hurt- for some time now?), and this sends Frank off
on a Secret Word frenzy.
Smurf goes first, but Frank quickly tires of this (been there, done that). He then
takes up a Secret Theme based on something he said before the show. Apparently, a roadie
nicknamed Jabba asked Frank to ask a woman in the audience to meet him backstage after the
show (or more likely, Frank got wind of their meeting and made a joke out of it). Starting
with "Bobby Brown", this becomes the Secret Theme of the night, with
"loadout" and "Jabba the Hut" becoming the main words of choice.
Things quickly get out of control, and "Chana" details the life of this roadie
(even names him) and becomes "Jabba on the Crew Bus".
Unfortunately, the Secret Word madness stops here, "Cleveland" delivers an
okay Zappa solo, and the odd trio of encores (possibly from another show?) do nothing.
This is not a great show, but it does have its moments. "City of Tiny Lites" is
pretty HUGE though.
--JG
Frank has a pretty good success rate with regards to early/late show
performances. For some reason, the task of putting on two shows in one night usually
brings out the Guitar Maniac and The Setlist Surprise side of Frank. On this night in New
Orleans, however, Frank unfortunately cannot live up to this hype.
The first 30 minutes of the show represents the Setlist Surprise side of Frank, but
with not all that thrilling results. The songs in themselves are not that bad- "In
France", "Baltimore", "Stinkfoot" (in '84), and especially
"Brown Moses". But played back to back so early in the show, they develop no
continuity or flow, and sound like a mix tape put together by someone with no idea about
contrast and relief. While "Camarillo-> Muffin" are the first two songs on
the tape, they are probably the 2nd and 3rd songs actually
performed, being that there are no Band Intro's anywhere in these tunes. But if this is
the Opening Combo, then it is a fucking brilliant choice, for reasons too numerous to
name. (No, really, I am serious…a brilliant fucking opener).
Strangely enough, it is not until the extremely overplayed "Tinseltown Trouble in
Bondage Hotel" sequence that the show picks up some life. Frank is unable to do
anything interesting on guitar until "Hot Plate Heaven", but at least the band
seems to be kicking up their heels a little more. "Lucille" follows and serves
as the perfect breather, before "Cocaine Biz Joe's Pee" ends the show by lulling
us (boring us) to sleep.
The encores are made interesting by some Cajun/Gumbo Secret Word nonsense, and while
there are some truly funny moments, it- once again- amounts to too little too late. A
noble effort, but Frank unfortunately fails this time out.
--JG
The King lives, at least tonight in Memphis. The performance tonight is good, but this
tape is a keeper because of several refs to Mr. Presley that enliven the proceedings.
Not to say that the rest of the show is predictable. It starts off with Dinah-Moe Humm, in
what may be it's only performance as the opening number. We get the start of the secret
words here as well, with Dinah saying she could use a little Graceland, and FZ asking if
she has any souvenirs in there.
Let me risk Jason firing me from the group and say that I have a sneaking like for the 84
Willie the Pimp.[That's it- you're fired!] It's bouncy, it's fun, and tonight at least,
the solo isn't that bad. Speaking of solos, it's surprise number 2. After the first two
verses of Montana, the band seem to stop dead, start up a hesitant vamp, and then Frank,
bless him, starts to solo. For December only, this song once again has it's guitar. It's
not a marvelous solo, but it works OK.
As always, the 84 Easy Meat solo is very nice, while the 84 Easy Meat vocal arrangement is
a crime against man and God. Luckily, Brown Moses reminds you that Frank could write
brilliant vocal arrangements as well. There's a lovely crash in What's New in Blatimore,
where the entire band falls off the melody except for Scott. The secret words pop up
again, with Graceland becoming 'Faceland', and some mention of church furniture.
Perfunctory solo.
Truck Driver Divorce not only has a nice solo, but the first of several musical Elvis
quotes, with Heartbreak Hotel. Penguin in Bondage finds Bobby joining in on Blue Suede
Shoes on his sax, and more refs to giftshops and souvenirs. As per usual, Hot-Plate has
the best solo of the More Penguin Hotel threesome.
The end of He's So Gay has its usual Smurf Me quote, and FZ smurfs again in Bobby Brown.
Clever segue, too. "Watch me now, because the name of this song changes every
night." We know what that means, it's time for Cleveland. And FZ comes through once
again. The start of the solo is very dark and menacing, with a minor key quote of
Heartbreak Hotel. When the loop comes in, things pick up, and those who have copies of
Trance-Fusion will recognise that Good Lobna comes from here. "Sit on My
Faceland" is the title of the evening, by the way.
Standard encore with FZ introducing Marqueson to the audience before going into the 50s
medley. Bamboozled ends the tape, but cuts just seconds into the solo.
Very good tape, worth getting for the Elvis, the Lobna, and the start of the Montana
solos.
--SG
Another good show, with as many secret musical themes as secret words. FZ starts off by
reading out the entire setlist, not even giving the audience a chance to cheer. He also
uses the intro familiar to DHBIM fans, saying there will be no smoke machines, no laser
weapons, etc.
The first 50 minutes of the show are good, but typical of December 84. Good, solid FZ
solos, a setlist that's finally getting interesting, and a wonderful capper in Black Page
#2, which gets a long, emotionally charged solo, the best of the evening.
Nig Biz, though, is where things start to really perk up, as we've finally got our secret
word - "Harold Farb". It's a doozie, too, bringing not only lots of Farbs, but
mentions of condos and real estate. Nig Biz also gets inspiring for another reason - Scott
quotes the theme from The Odd Couple in his bass solo. It looks like a one-off, but wait
till the encore...
By the time of Joe's Garage and WDIHWIP the Farbs are thick and heavy, and we close the
show on a typical note. It's not quite over yet, though... for one thing, a fan in the
audience wants to hear Caravan with a drum sola, and Frank, after checking to see if Alan
can play it, is quick to oblige them, with a 30-second long hyper-Caravan.
The More Penguin Hotel trilogy is an encore this time, so the solos aren't all that long.
But they're made up for by the motifs and themes found within. Frank gives us a quick It
Ain't Necessarily a King Kong Vamp in TED, and Bobby gives the hometown crowd a treat with
the theme from Oklahoma on the sax. Penguin in Bondage is wonderful, With Farbs, condos,
Frank not only quoting Surrey with the Fringe on Top in his solo, but actually basing the
entire solo around its melody. Alan and Bobby quote it as well during their breaks.
Wonderful stuff.
The rest of the show is fairly standard, with "Miltie" popping up as a late
secret word in Dinah-Moe. But the shows highlights are really Black Page (for Guitar) and
Penguin in Bondage (for musical and lyrical mutation). A very good December show.
--SG
My early show tape cuts into the Willie The Pimp solo - it might be that only two songs
(Stick Together & My Guitar) are missing. The following Montana is one of the first
this year to include a guitar solo, though not an extensive one. An even nicer surprise is
the segue into Easy Meat, with a fairly well-explored solo.
The rest of the setlist and performances are fairly mundane. In Nig Biz (nice downward run
from Alan in his solo), there is some hubbub with panties being thrown onstage, and this
sidetracks Ike, who cracks up after the first line of Outside Now and restarts. There's
some other sporadic joking, mostly not intelligible (despite a good-sounding tape) or
comprehensible. FZ gives his best on each solo, as the band does, but nothing makes me sit
up.
Perhaps the nicest thing I can say about this tape is that it reminded me how flexible the
setlists this year are. On most pre-'84 tapes, even those from tours where FZ didn't use
the same list every night, you can tell once you hear one song what the next three or four
will be. Not here. As Fogz mentions on the touring page, though, the problem is that
what's being shuffled here isn't especially memorable.
--PB
Once again, FZ delivers a second show considerably more interesting than the first show.
In fact, it's a bit odd how many of the best items from the '84 repertoire made it into
this show, while only a few substantial songs appear in the first.
As well, FZ delivers the goods on guitar. Zoot Allures and Tiny Lites (where FZ plays a
loose version of the old post-solo melody to end his solo) are two of the better versions
of the year - sort of spacy and lyrical, like the meditative style of some of the more
interesting '88 solos, but with the '84 hard electric tone. Both solos in Drowning Witch
are good as well, while in Black Page the rhythm section falls into an unsually relaxed,
Sharleena-style groove, which makes an interesting contrast with FZ's spiky playing.
In the first few songs there is more Secret Word play left over from the early show about
balloons, but soon "tantrum" becomes the main theme. FZ gets completely lost in
space in his Penguin and Advance Romance solos - the first at least adheres to the usual
two-chorus twelve-bar format, but Advance ends up with several bizarre quotes (including
one I remember from the Stockholm 73 Dupree's). Both of them leave the audience noticeably
bewildered, and FZ cuts off the Green Hotel solo in between those two after something gets
thrown onstage.
Standard Alan and Chad solos in Cleveland, but FZ's is good - the same loop as Sunrise
Redeemer, but in D rather than E. The solo ends up in the same space as other solos in D
around this time (cf. In A Gadda Stravinsky, Fire And Chains), moving between hymn-like
playing, blues, and a quote from the Hawaiian song referenced in Cruising For Burgers. The
title tonight is Let's Throw A Tantrum, and FZ does so on the guitar at the close of the
set. Strangely, all but the last few bars of the first encore (Sharleena) are missing on
my tape, but the second encore closes with Whipping Post, with FZ quoting his own Willie
The Pimp solo from the studio.
Lots of good stuff in here - maybe not in the top 10 for '84, but a good tape to flesh out
a collection.
--PB
"Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?" is the name of the only released
music from this
show. And after listening through the concert, the question is easy to answer: yes you
were safe, Frank - way too safe! The guys take very few risks tonight, deviating only
minimally from the norm, both musically and verbally. The onstage humour is kept to a
minimum - the funniest thing I heard on the tape was a clueless San Antonian (they do
exist, though it's hard to believe when you browse these pages) who keeps yelling for
"It's the Slime".
Musical highlights do exist, but they pop up in unexpected places. The first half of the
show brings disappointing solos in Truckdriver, Drowning Witch, Bamboozled and Black Page,
but really good solos in - who'da thunk? - City Of Tiny Lights and Advance Romance. Having
rambled his way through the Secret Carlos Santana Chord Progression for most of the tour,
Frank has suddenly found inspiration and - like he's done for the past few shows -
delivers a long and varied COTL solo. The rhythmic support is excellent. The Advance
Romance solo starts out typically trying-to-be-as-bluesy-as-in-the-mid-70s, but he soon
gives up and starts moving in new directions. Scott joins him into a new, exciting mode,
while the rest of the band stays in the static AR vamp, and the contrast makes way for a
very intriguing listening experience.
The rest of the solos bring back memories of August/September, with Scott and Chad
(especially the former) drawing attention from the guitar playing. WWERSISA?, the second
Drowning Witch solo, is one of the better, though I've always found it to be one of the
weaker tracks on Guitar.
What about Cleveland then? Well, it's FFWDable up until Frank's solo, which starts out
promising. The loop is unusually "specific" and gives us a very cool vamp, but
FZ fails to deliver anything of interest in his solo. They sing "Kreegah
Bondola" in the out chorus, showing the lack of inspiration they were having
tonight.
The show ends with five straight guitar vehicles, and the solos range from bland all the
way down to bad. As if Frank hadn't butchered Montana badly enough this tour, he's now
added a solo vamp that actually makes things even worse. The vamp is not exactly bad - the
chord progression is rather interesting - but (a) it shouldn't be placed in Montana, and
(b) Frank seems uncomfortable with it.
Oh, and the sound is unusually bad for '84 too. Blearrhg.
--JN
"Seriously, Jason, you generate more bad reviews than the rest of us put
together. You're getting a reputation as the Zappa gourmand. :-D"
I received this little comment in my e-mail today just prior to sitting down and
writing this review. It caused me to hesitate a little, and entertain the notion of going
back and reevaluating this show. You see, another bad (well, not exactly bad) review was
going to result from this show, and I was not sure I was willing to further entrench the
above reputation into the minds of everyone. But then I thought "Fuck it", and
proceeded to write the following:
This is another routine show consisting of routine performances resulting in a routine
listening experience highlighted by Two Standout Guitar Solos that ruin the whole
"this is a bad show" write-off and thus cause the listener to actually thank
themselves that they got this tape though they also wish that there were more than just
Two Standout Guitar Solos in the entire 90 minutes. Typical for an '84 show, though, no?
Cutting straight to the chase, "Let's Move to Cleveland" (how did you know?)
is the obvious highlight of the show. Frank's solo starts off over an oft-played loop
(single chord repeated in rapid succession) that finds Frank in an aggressive mood but not
making any real interesting noise. After approximately a minute of this frantic noodling,
Frank hits a second loop (single but different chord repeated on every fourth chord
mentioned above) that immediately lights the band afire. Frank's solo is instantly
engaging. Thunes' bass is instantly funky. Zavod's sci-fi noises are instantly musical and
no longer distracting. The band goes at it for several minutes, with Frank whipping out
some of his most delicious phrases while Thunes' slowly steers the jam into a Hyperactive
Strut Funk. When the main theme returns and the band eventually concludes with a puzzling
"Je Suis Je Suis" as tonight's title, the listener is left wanting more, but
still quite satisfied.
The other highlight- a surprise!- is Frank's "Stick Together" solo. When it
first begins, you expect a short "Why even bother" workout, but by the time
Frank wraps things about two minutes later, you are thinking "Damn! That may be the
best solo of the night! Easily the biggest surprise!".
Apart from these Two Standout Guitar Solos, the show is rather bland.
"Stinkfoot", "Muffin Man", and "Truckdriver Divorce" do not
live up to their guitar solo potential. "Montana" is outright horrible.
"Marqueson's Chicken" plays "where's the vamp?" and fails to ignite
any fires. "Bamboozled By Love" sounds as good as always, but does not take it
to the next level as it has so frequently. The only other interesting mention is Bobby's
"In France" harmonica solo, which is not exactly like every other solo he has
played so far.
This is in no way a horrible show. Frank gets points for an interesting set list, and
extra credit is given for the effort in "Stick Together." But since we have come
to expect excellence in "Let's Move to Cleveland", and since it really only
occurs in one other song, this show falls to the run-of-the-mill '84 pile.
--JG
Here we find a sunny picture of the band shortly before the tour's end. The tape cuts
in shortly before the Trouble Every Day solo, and each FZ solo in the
Trouble/Penguin/Hotel trilogy is adventurous. Penguin is especially CD-worthy, with some
nice sprawling FZ phrases. This is the first non-blues Penguin solo I've heard, but Chad
plays a straight beat, which makes it seem less divorced from the rest of the song.
Perfunctory solos in Evil Prince and Willie, but FZ sounds inspired in Montana for once,
and deservedly gets a loud round of applause. Before the second Drowning Witch solo, FZ
receives a note asking him to "play some Pomona;" perhaps in response, the solo
is more explicity bluesy than usual. Offering two late '84 anomalies in one, Stick
Together offers another good solo and leads to the keyboard-heavy Marqueson's, with the
"non-vamp" which I (agreeing completely with Fogz for once) find uninspiring,
rather than the My Guitar medley.
Another '84 show, another Song With A Different Name Every Night. Alan and Chad's solos
are a bit different than usual, but nondescript anyway. FZ's solo is perhaps a less
focused statement than the ones that made it to CD, but still testifies to how interesting
a fall '84 Cleveland solo could be. He starts by quoting Let's Make The Water Turn Black,
and I get a hunch that he's trying to make this the foundation of the solo, but it doesn't
pan out. The loop consists of the staccato chord also heard in Sunrise Redeemer with two
strummed chords on top. After floundering for a bit, Scott and Chad fall into a steady 4/4
groove with the two chords on beats 1 and 4. At one point they loss the tempo and the
sequenced chords end up a 16th note off the beat. Chad notices this and starts playing off
it, and for half a minute or so I tune out FZ and listen only to Chad. Eventually FZ also
picks up on what's happening, and he and the rhythm section get entangled in some fun
ways, before resolving the groove and riding it out to the conclusion.
The closing vocal chorus is Watch Harold's Footwork, referring to Harold Farbe
(spelling?), an entertainer/condo salesman (hard to tell from the evidence at hand), who
ends up as a late-blooming Secret Word for the night. Not a lot of joking otherwise, but
this tape shows the '84 crew at the top of its game. Good sound, too, and low gen versions
are common.
--PB
The tour is winding down, and this has a tendency at times to provide unspectacular
shows. Tonight is a good example. However, their is one highlight that makes this tape
interesting.
Starting off in the middle of My Guitar, we get the typical 84-medley that we know and are
beginning to get a little sick of. After reading the reviews of my fellows ripping on the
Montana solos in December, I listened to this one with a keen ear, wondering if I was
being too easy on it? But no, it's still a very good solo for 1984. Just get the seventies
out of your head.
The rest of the show can be summed up easily: "Decent solos, far too short."
Drowning Witch's first solo is wonderfully Middle Eastern, and Black Page gets a really
good showing, but both are cut off before they can go all out.
As usual these days, the band seems to wake up and come alive for Cleveland - or rather
"Don't Use Your Elbow". Frank's solo is very Tango-ish, but again too short -
was there an imposed time limit to this concert?
The encores start off generic, though Dinah-Moe is made amusing with a small secret word -
"Chicken" - and FZ shouting out his own requests. After that, though, we get the
big surprise and highlight of the show - Sleep Dirt! Not heard since 1975, the two-chord
vamp returns in all its glory. Frank's solo is (say it with me, gang) too short, but
manages to impress, and the sheer novelty of this song makes up for it, and for Whipping
Post following it.
Good show, but get some others first. Try to get Sleep Dirt as filler, though.
--SG
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