Please post your reviews here!
Jeroen
vai.com
REVIEWS: 2 JUNE 2006 - Zappa plays Zappa LONDON, UK
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Jim_Jem777
- Newcomer
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2004 3:40 am
Spectacular experience at the Zappa extravaganza in the majestic setting of London's Royal Albert Hall!!!!!
Dweezil and all the band (esp the other guitar player who was very cool) were in sterling good form and convincingly played through some of Frank's best known works. I was slightly disappointed not to hear a few more of those trademark meandering long Zappa guitar solos, but particularly on Inca Roads, Dweezil was awesome and really showed (IMHO) how as a guitar player at least he has eclipsed his father (though Frank is on his own planet as a composer of course!).
One classic funny moment was when the keyboard player climbed up from the stage to the huge Albert Hall pipe organ and played with some gusto!
Then there was a short break before the introduction of Dr Vai for Black Page! Superb! Though the real fireworks began later when Dweezil announced that since they had Vai on stage, 'might as well get him to do a cool guitar solo!!' LOL Vai really blazed an awesome solo on 'Zombee Woof'! Extreme whammy bar abuse even for Dr Vai! - how he stayed in tune after that to finish the song is testament to the man's genius and our beloved Ibanez Jem guitars!!
All in all, a good selection of songs in a show that lasted around 3 hours, though Vai left the stage for about 15 mins in the second half so only played about 30-40 mins in total. But even one Vai solo would have been enough to make the show! Whilst Vai was off the stage, Frank (on the big screen) and Dweezil played Chunga's Revenge together. This was quite a poignant moment before the fireworks began again when Vai returned!!
The genius, charisma and stage presence of Vai really shone through, though it was testament to the integrity and sensitivity of the man that he was careful not to steal the centre stage from Dweezil. Shame they didn't do Stevie's Spanking though! That would have been excellent!!!
After the show I was lucky enough to get a VIP backstage pass (due to being with the A&R person from Line6) and met the band and Dr Vai! My first time to meet him - a total gentleman and amazing intense eyes!
All in all, a great night in a cool venue! Buy your tickets quick for one of the remaining shows if you haven't already!!
BTW: when did Vai cut his hair? Also, shame he didn't take the DNA Jem on the road!! That would have been truly awesome!
Dweezil and all the band (esp the other guitar player who was very cool) were in sterling good form and convincingly played through some of Frank's best known works. I was slightly disappointed not to hear a few more of those trademark meandering long Zappa guitar solos, but particularly on Inca Roads, Dweezil was awesome and really showed (IMHO) how as a guitar player at least he has eclipsed his father (though Frank is on his own planet as a composer of course!).
One classic funny moment was when the keyboard player climbed up from the stage to the huge Albert Hall pipe organ and played with some gusto!
Then there was a short break before the introduction of Dr Vai for Black Page! Superb! Though the real fireworks began later when Dweezil announced that since they had Vai on stage, 'might as well get him to do a cool guitar solo!!' LOL Vai really blazed an awesome solo on 'Zombee Woof'! Extreme whammy bar abuse even for Dr Vai! - how he stayed in tune after that to finish the song is testament to the man's genius and our beloved Ibanez Jem guitars!!
All in all, a good selection of songs in a show that lasted around 3 hours, though Vai left the stage for about 15 mins in the second half so only played about 30-40 mins in total. But even one Vai solo would have been enough to make the show! Whilst Vai was off the stage, Frank (on the big screen) and Dweezil played Chunga's Revenge together. This was quite a poignant moment before the fireworks began again when Vai returned!!
The genius, charisma and stage presence of Vai really shone through, though it was testament to the integrity and sensitivity of the man that he was careful not to steal the centre stage from Dweezil. Shame they didn't do Stevie's Spanking though! That would have been excellent!!!
After the show I was lucky enough to get a VIP backstage pass (due to being with the A&R person from Line6) and met the band and Dr Vai! My first time to meet him - a total gentleman and amazing intense eyes!
All in all, a great night in a cool venue! Buy your tickets quick for one of the remaining shows if you haven't already!!
BTW: when did Vai cut his hair? Also, shame he didn't take the DNA Jem on the road!! That would have been truly awesome!
Oh yeah, I was there at the Royal Albert Hall for the ZPZ! The experience was good, even if me and Tony probably had the worst ticket in the whole venue, circle on the moon extreme left and just to give you the idea, at some point I cannot tell the sax from Dweezil guitar.. 
Considering that 3 months ago, when I went to the box office they told me these seats were the best available for that price, imagine my reaction seeing lots of better seats... empty. I'm sure they were around the same price I payed for mine on the moon and... nevermind. I'm still pissed off I can go like this for 3 pages!!
Anyway look who came out to say HELLO after the soundcheck...
Hey Steve, can we take the 10.000th pic together? LOL
The news that Terry (Bozzio) was not going to play that night broke my heart so Steve's short appearance gave me some sort of relief! He was fresh and positive as usual and... in a hurry!
Right after him Paul and Sally joined us outside:
The show: as I said before, because of the crappy seats, I missed lots of the music during the first part and it's a shame because the band was really playing. Actually the only instrument I can hear clearly was the drum, I was very impressed by Joe Travers
, rock on MAN!!! The set list as far as I can remember is the same you all already posted here for the previous shows.
For the second part of the show, we stole a couple of seats next to Paul and Sally, they were on the moon as well but in the center and the sound was definitely better! Steve came on stage announced by Dweezil and for the Black Page it was just like seeing them in their room playing and having fun, like they did in the past (Dweezil took lessons from Steve):
For one song Dweezil was playing "together" with Frank, as there was a video playing and I cannot even imagine the emotional impact on him. The moment was pretty intense for me too and the guitar solo overwhelming.
Little Stevie Vai played a hell of Zomby Woof, he was also laughing as a teenager guitar player on his first gig LOL and the crowd just freaked out, myself included!
Sorry if the pics are not good as usual this time, please remember I was sitting on the moon! My zoom did his best though
After the show we went down on earth again and truly inspired by the lovely weather we decided to wait outside enjoying the lovely English summer
(I nearly got a cold):
We waited for some time but nobody showed up! Goodbye everybody
PS: if you have the chance to go to see ZPZ, just GO! If you like Frank's music is a good chance to hear it played in the best way ever and maybe you will have better seats than mine so you can fully appreciate a great band with high quality musicians... and since this is the vai.com website, oh well Steve is there!! Do you really want to miss your chance to see him playing Zappa music? It all started with Zappa for him, don't forget that! And it's interesting to see him as a guest in a band instead of leading the show.
Peace and love
MP
Mikey, sorry I missed you
Considering that 3 months ago, when I went to the box office they told me these seats were the best available for that price, imagine my reaction seeing lots of better seats... empty. I'm sure they were around the same price I payed for mine on the moon and... nevermind. I'm still pissed off I can go like this for 3 pages!!
Anyway look who came out to say HELLO after the soundcheck...
Hey Steve, can we take the 10.000th pic together? LOL
The news that Terry (Bozzio) was not going to play that night broke my heart so Steve's short appearance gave me some sort of relief! He was fresh and positive as usual and... in a hurry!
Right after him Paul and Sally joined us outside:
The show: as I said before, because of the crappy seats, I missed lots of the music during the first part and it's a shame because the band was really playing. Actually the only instrument I can hear clearly was the drum, I was very impressed by Joe Travers
, rock on MAN!!! The set list as far as I can remember is the same you all already posted here for the previous shows. For the second part of the show, we stole a couple of seats next to Paul and Sally, they were on the moon as well but in the center and the sound was definitely better!
Steve came on stage announced by Dweezil and for the Black Page it was just like seeing them in their room playing and having fun, like they did in the past (Dweezil took lessons from Steve):For one song Dweezil was playing "together" with Frank, as there was a video playing and I cannot even imagine the emotional impact on him. The moment was pretty intense for me too and the guitar solo overwhelming.
Little Stevie Vai played a hell of Zomby Woof, he was also laughing as a teenager guitar player on his first gig LOL and the crowd just freaked out, myself included!
Sorry if the pics are not good as usual this time, please remember I was sitting on the moon! My zoom did his best though
After the show we went down on earth again and truly inspired by the lovely weather we decided to wait outside enjoying the lovely English summer
(I nearly got a cold):We waited for some time but nobody showed up! Goodbye everybody
PS: if you have the chance to go to see ZPZ, just GO! If you like Frank's music is a good chance to hear it played in the best way ever and maybe you will have better seats than mine so you can fully appreciate a great band with high quality musicians... and since this is the vai.com website, oh well Steve is there!! Do you really want to miss your chance to see him playing Zappa music? It all started with Zappa for him, don't forget that! And it's interesting to see him as a guest in a band instead of leading the show.
Peace and love
MP
Mikey, sorry I missed you
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sisterinlaw
- Member
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:38 am
Considering the pics are taken from he moon: they are pretty cool!! 
Good to hear you had a great night. Nice to see some pics with Sally and Paul in it. Hi Sally & Paul! 
Good to hear you had a great night. Nice to see some pics with Sally and Paul in it. Hi Sally & Paul! Maria that camera is way better than I thought it was, we were miles away!
Glad my pics of Mr Vai & You (again!!!) came out OK.
Great gig although the sound was bloody awful from the side, so bad that I couldn't hear a word Dweezil was saying between songs. The guys at the Royal Albert Hall should've got some advice about rock concerts before going ahead with the sound installation, there are no speakers facing the sides at all. The place may be great for Pavarotti but it's not so good for rock.
Myself & Maria moved to some better seats in front of Paul & Sally facing the stage after the interval and the sound was much better there.
I'm not really up on Zappa's work and it really didn't think it would be my thing but I could appreciate all of it. The musicians were all great especially the keyboard player who played some amazing solo's. There were some parts of the show that really did impress me. The way the band played with Frank on screen was pretty amazing as the drummer would have had to have been playing to a click track to stay in synch but I couldn't see a pair on headphones on his head. There was a similar thing where the keyboard player set an arpeggiator going and the band just stayed rock solid while everyone was going off on different solo's etc.
Dweezil looked so laidback at times I thought he'd fall over, he played some great solo's too although I personally didn't like the tone of his guitar. Whether it was the Cornford amp or the SG guitar he was playing, I found it a little thin sounding. The other guitar player was very good and had a real nice solo tone, I think he was using Bognors with his Les Paul. Steve's tone was well......Steve's tone, Nice!! I noticed an analogman DS-1 on Steve's floor board too, dunno if he used it as the TS9DX was there as well!!
The girl on Sax/Keys looked and sounded great, the drummer was incredible, the vocals were great, percussion/vibe player was good, the whole thing was just spot on and I would definitely go again but probably not at the Albert Hall!
Tony
Glad my pics of Mr Vai & You (again!!!) came out OK.
Great gig although the sound was bloody awful from the side, so bad that I couldn't hear a word Dweezil was saying between songs. The guys at the Royal Albert Hall should've got some advice about rock concerts before going ahead with the sound installation, there are no speakers facing the sides at all. The place may be great for Pavarotti but it's not so good for rock.
Myself & Maria moved to some better seats in front of Paul & Sally facing the stage after the interval and the sound was much better there.
I'm not really up on Zappa's work and it really didn't think it would be my thing but I could appreciate all of it. The musicians were all great especially the keyboard player who played some amazing solo's. There were some parts of the show that really did impress me. The way the band played with Frank on screen was pretty amazing as the drummer would have had to have been playing to a click track to stay in synch but I couldn't see a pair on headphones on his head. There was a similar thing where the keyboard player set an arpeggiator going and the band just stayed rock solid while everyone was going off on different solo's etc.
Dweezil looked so laidback at times I thought he'd fall over, he played some great solo's too although I personally didn't like the tone of his guitar. Whether it was the Cornford amp or the SG guitar he was playing, I found it a little thin sounding. The other guitar player was very good and had a real nice solo tone, I think he was using Bognors with his Les Paul. Steve's tone was well......Steve's tone, Nice!! I noticed an analogman DS-1 on Steve's floor board too, dunno if he used it as the TS9DX was there as well!!
The girl on Sax/Keys looked and sounded great, the drummer was incredible, the vocals were great, percussion/vibe player was good, the whole thing was just spot on and I would definitely go again but probably not at the Albert Hall!
Tony
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Little_Alligator
- Member
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 7:24 am
I'm not good at long winded, in-depth reviews so I'll just pin-point out the gig:
> Band were awesome! Pulled off some great tracks.
> 2 Songs played on the Royal Albert Hall concert pipe organ!
> Duet with Dweezil and Frank on the screen was very moving.
> Napoleon is king!
> I expected Dweezil to do some of the singing but N.M.R did it all (not really up with Dweezil so dont know if he can actually sing or not?)
> Serious Zombie Woof whammy abuse from Steve.
> The end turned into a bit of a Vai shred-fest which I didnt think fitted in with the evenings proceedings.
All in all a great show, go see it if you beg / borrow / steal / buy some tickets!
> Band were awesome! Pulled off some great tracks.
> 2 Songs played on the Royal Albert Hall concert pipe organ!
> Duet with Dweezil and Frank on the screen was very moving.
> Napoleon is king!
> I expected Dweezil to do some of the singing but N.M.R did it all (not really up with Dweezil so dont know if he can actually sing or not?)
> Serious Zombie Woof whammy abuse from Steve.
> The end turned into a bit of a Vai shred-fest which I didnt think fitted in with the evenings proceedings.
All in all a great show, go see it if you beg / borrow / steal / buy some tickets!
Just back up in Scotland having enjoyed the weekend down in London.
The gig was amazing.
Pure genius from Imaginary Diseases right through to Sofa.
Steve Vai's solo on Zomby Woof was somin else eh?
What a guy Napi is!
...and Dweezil, your dad will be proud of you, wherever he is!!
Cant believe some actually gave negative reviews towards these shows.
Hope to see Zappa Plays Zappa again in the future!!
The gig was amazing.
Pure genius from Imaginary Diseases right through to Sofa.
Steve Vai's solo on Zomby Woof was somin else eh?
What a guy Napi is!
...and Dweezil, your dad will be proud of you, wherever he is!!
Cant believe some actually gave negative reviews towards these shows.
Hope to see Zappa Plays Zappa again in the future!!
OUCH...
That have hurted me a lot... Why I have lost the plane??? WHY??????
A good chance to meet ALL of you...
I hope someone placed in my seat, cuz I bet was a good seat...!
Sorry Paul, Sally, Maria and PM (and others maybe) Next time I meet you all there...
At least I got the good memories of Amsterdam gig
That have hurted me a lot... Why I have lost the plane??? WHY??????
A good chance to meet ALL of you...
I hope someone placed in my seat, cuz I bet was a good seat...!
Sorry Paul, Sally, Maria and PM (and others maybe) Next time I meet you all there...
At least I got the good memories of Amsterdam gig
Glad the experience was good sorry I couldn't be there. Photos are good considering where you were. Happy you got to meet Mr Vai again
I would have gone but it would have meant taking an extra day off work and going from home to London to Manchester to Home followed by a trip to Carlisle next weekend followed by my 30th birthday
Mike
I would have gone but it would have meant taking an extra day off work and going from home to London to Manchester to Home followed by a trip to Carlisle next weekend followed by my 30th birthday
Mike
The show was superb. I was lucky enough to get a couple of seats in the fifth row dead centre - stunning view and amazing sound. I have only recently got into Frank's wonderful gifts (as in, just over a year ago) and now have 35 of his albums - I'm addicted to the stuff!
This tour is obviously the closest I'm going to get to seeing the real deal, but it was stunning. It is a very dangerous show to put on, but Dweezil and gang pulled it off perfectly.
It was an emotional roller coaster of a show - I'm not sure I'll be able to listen to Chunga's Revenge without a tear in my eye again - and it was all performed with the upmost sincerity and feeling. You just got the feeling that Frank was watching with a massive grin on his face.
Steve was fantastic as ever, and it was great to see him time travel through Frank's work. Also amazing was Napoleon Murphy Brock. How old is this guy now? He was performing as though he was in his twenties and pulling off the most incredible vocal delights (see "Montana").
I haven't stopped smiling since the show finished. I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed this coming together of brilliant musicians for the same reason that the crowd got together - an undying love for the magic Frank managed to record in his all too short life.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in this show - you've made a young guy very happy.
I sincerely hope that Dweezil feels inspired by the audience reactions to do this again.
Anyone manage to get the full set list for this show?
This tour is obviously the closest I'm going to get to seeing the real deal, but it was stunning. It is a very dangerous show to put on, but Dweezil and gang pulled it off perfectly.
It was an emotional roller coaster of a show - I'm not sure I'll be able to listen to Chunga's Revenge without a tear in my eye again - and it was all performed with the upmost sincerity and feeling. You just got the feeling that Frank was watching with a massive grin on his face.
Steve was fantastic as ever, and it was great to see him time travel through Frank's work. Also amazing was Napoleon Murphy Brock. How old is this guy now? He was performing as though he was in his twenties and pulling off the most incredible vocal delights (see "Montana").
I haven't stopped smiling since the show finished. I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed this coming together of brilliant musicians for the same reason that the crowd got together - an undying love for the magic Frank managed to record in his all too short life.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in this show - you've made a young guy very happy.
I sincerely hope that Dweezil feels inspired by the audience reactions to do this again.
Anyone manage to get the full set list for this show?
From zappa.com: http://www.zappa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23RM wrote:Anyone manage to get the full set list for this show?
