The Trick Is To Keep Going

A friend of mine has asked me several times to write about what I felt was the most disappointing concert I’d ever been to. I’ve already mentioned a couple, Poco at the Shakespearean Theatre in Stratford, CT, mostly because of the horrendous acoustics, and the fourth Cream concert I went to in 1967-68 at the New Haven Arena, not a terrible show but it paled in comparison with the other three.

The most disappointing? I have to pair it with an outstanding one by the same artist, but there’s little doubt that Frank Zappa at the Waterbury Palace on Oct. 29, 1975 is the one. I know the exact date because of meticulous archiving of many of Zappa’s concert dates on the Internet.

Almost one year before on Nov. 28, 1974, I had seen Zappa at the same venue with a large band, which included Ruth Underwood, vibes, xylophone and marimba, George Duke, keyboards, Tom Fowler, bass, Bruce Fowler, trombone, Walt Fowler, trumpet, Ralph Humphrey, drums, Napoleon Murphy Brock, vocals and sax, and Frank on lead guitar and vocals, essentially the Roxy & Elsewhere band. There were a few other band members. I don’t recall who they were, but it was a large ensemble. Obviously expensive to travel with.

I had always been aware of Zappa and really liked some of his material from the ’60s. But when I was living and playing with the Aiardo brothers, Tony and Peter, in New Haven, from about 1973-75, they along with an outstanding drummer from Virginia, Peter Nowlin, whom we were working with, turned me on to Overnight Sensation. That album really turned my head around about Zappa. It was brilliant.

There are still a couple of tracks I might skip over at times when I give it a listen, but on the whole, this was Zappa hitting one of his many peaks. And his guitar playing was stunning. I didn’t realize he was that proficient.

Peter Nowlin and his girlfriend took me to that ‘74 Palace show. We sat in the balcony, which weren’t bad seats at all. The perspective was very high and we were looking almost straight down on to the band, so we could see the depth of the stage and the band members really well.

Zappa’s group was outrageous. The musicality and musicianship was inspiring. His guitar playing was every bit as good as the studio cuts and the precision and execution of his complex arrangements, while keeping a rocking, swinging groove happening impressed me tremendously.

The material included a lot of the Apostrophe album, including Stink-Foot, Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow and the title track, and from Overnight Sensation, Dirty Love, Zomby Woof and the overwhelming finale Montana, among others. A memorable gig.

So, a year later, I signed up for the almost-Halloween show without hesitation. I had orchestra seats about 20-25 rows back, technically closer but not as good as the balcony view. Captain Beefheart was on the show with Zappa, who was supporting the Bongo Fury release that they had collaborated on, and Duke was still in the band along with a young, dynamic drummer, Terry Bozio.

The performance was so different and so inferior to the previous year from start to finish. There are boots of this performance circulating, which I’ve never heard. A couple of the songs were the same from the ‘74 show, Stink-Foot and Dirty Love, in weaker arrangements and performances for the smaller band, about eight pieces including Zappa. Seems odd to have this reaction for a Zappa gig, but that’s how it came across.

The topper to this ridiculous performance came in the sequence of Honey Don’t You Want A Man Like Me, The Illinois Enema Bandit and Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy, during which Zappa and Beefheart took a female audience member, bound her hands, had her lie on the stage floor and basically proceeded to humiliate her. One of the most tasteless things I’ve ever witnessed. The significance of this supposed humorous skit has always been lost on me.

Suffice to say when the show ended, it was a relief and the deflation from having expected a duplication of the Overnight Sensation show and band took the wind right out of me. I’ve talked with friends who were at the show but didn’t sit with me, and they had the same reaction.

I love Zappa and his music. He’s been called a genius and deservedly so. But that night, near Halloween at the Palace, there was no magic.