anita@drux3.UUCP (HornAI) (08/08/84)
--
I saw Frank Zappa at the Turn of the Century (a sort of dinner club) here
in Denver last Saturday. I have only two comments on the show. First, I
only heard small bits and peices of his music before the concert, mostly
before 1976 (200 Motels, Yellow Snow, Dental Floss, The Slime ...) and
and also Joe's Garage II (?) about sex with appliances. My
impression was that his music was very complex, tight and interesting,
and his lyrics were bizarre and sometimes obscene. I was really looking
forward to the concert because I thought he would be great live. He was,
but I didn't realize how insulting he can be. Every song he did that had
a woman in it was extremely sexist. He also did a very derogatory song
about gays. I know he's not serious about everything he says, but
some things are offensive, whether their meant as a joke or not, and I
guess I'm not convinced it was all meant as a joke.
It really put a damper on the show in my opinion. I guess I just didn't
realize how offensive he could be if you're a member of a group that he's
making fun of.
Anyway, the other thing I wanted to mention was his
FABULUOS drummer (Wackerman?). He was truly amazing. The show went on
for about 1 hr., 45 min. with not a single moment of rest, since they just
segued from one song to the next. Everyone else got breaks except for the
drummer, and he looked like it was all so easy. The man didn't sweat a
drop! The whole band was very tight, never missing a beat as far as I
could tell, and I think it had a lot to do with that drummer. He really
made the show for me.
Anitadlb@stc70.UUCP (David Black) (08/14/84)
Anita Horne told about Zappa's sexism and homophobia. I have another story about the same sort of thing. The first time (and last time) that I saw Zappa, he got the crowd worked into a frenzy, calling back whatever he shouted out. This went along for a few minutes until he must have gotten bored and shouted out "sieg heil." Of course the crowd shouted it back. I can think of explanations for why Zappa did this but no excuses. Since then I haven't been able to think of him as anything but a manipulator and gross abuser of an audience's trust. I suppose that he must have been trying to say not to trust any performer, but it's easier to remember not to trust Zappa. This happened in 1969, so he's been up to this sort of crap for a long, long time. David Black