Friday Frank: Guitar Duel With Steve Vai; Rome, 1982

Ooh, but there are some great guitar solos in this one. I was never fortunate enough to see Frank Zappa in concert before he left our earthly plane--where I lived, he rarely played; where he played, I rarely traveled. *Sigh.*

I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Steve Vai's Tampa Theatre show a few years ago. He looks exactly the same, but his hair is longer and his wardrobe is less...leopardy than it was during his Zappa days. And for those who appreciate his style of playing, Vai is a joy to watch live--if you get the chance, go see him.

Bon Weekend, everyone!

Also at litbrit.

Comments

[Lisa Simeone]

Ah, Deborah! Do you realize his last name is "Go!"? (I dont know what that means, but it must mean something.)

[Sir Charles]

The sleeveless leopard shirt is bold. Very, very bold.

A man's gotta be mighty secure in his guitar playing to don that.

[litbrit]

Lisa, yes! In Spanish, it's pretty close to "go", too--vaya con dios being one example. I think it's his real name. I have no idea if he's Italian, but I seem to remember R saying that he was.

[litbrit]

Sir C, as you will remember, lots of me in the public eye, back in the 1980's, wore leopard print (Flock of Seagulls), frock coats (Bowie) and eye make-up (Duran Duran). And of course, hair mousse (everyone).

[litbrit]

(That should be "lots of MEN", not lots of ME, duh.)

[Lisa Simeone]

Honey, leopard print is always in fashion.

[MR Bill]

I got to see Zappa 4 times in Atlanta (twice in now non-extant venues, once early in the wretched Municipal Auditorium, and then twice in the Omni ,which Zappa called "the Biggest echo chamber in the South"). The Fox theater show, in the "Joe's Garage" tour, was acoustically great, but all the shows were FINE!
And his encore at on of the Omni shows was a smoking cover of the Allman Bros. "Whipping Post".

[litbrit]

OMG, Mr. Bill, I am dying of jealousy here. You saw the Joe's Garage tour? AND Whipping Post live? (I've posted that one before, and must do so again.)

We have a brilliant group of musicians here in St. Pete who devote themselves to playing FZ's work. They are called Bogus Pomp, and they're so good, various former band members (from the real Zappa ensembles) have, over the years, sat in with them at concerts, for example Napoleon Murphy Brock. They even played selections from the Yellow Shark album, performing with the Florida Orchestra with a young visiting conductor (I think he was from Ohio) who was so wonderful--before every piece, he turned to the audience and gave a brief synopsis of what we were about to hear, what FZ was describing with the music (i.e. the Valdez piece), and what unusual flourishes we should listen for. All this was with the rare blessing of Gail Zappa, too.

So there is Bogus Pomp, and I'm grateful for them. But I still wish I'd had the chance to see Maestro himself.

[litbrit]

(And of course, there is Dweezil Zappa's band, whom I have not seen yet. Soon, I hope. Vai, Terry Bozzio, and numerous other FZ alumni have played with him on tour.)