I had been waiting since late December when I saw the first dates announced. The return of the Zappa Plays Zappa touring band to Australia is not too far away.
At first, the only dates announced were for appearances at Bluesfest, the annual music festival at Byron Bay and the West Coast Blues And Roots Festival in Perth. I was worried that the show might not include Brisbane on this occasion and fired off an email to the people at Zappa.com to get some clarification. The reply soon came back reassuring me that other dates were not yet confirmed but my patience would, most likely, be rewarded. They didn’t snow me.
All dates and venues for the forthcoming 2009 Australian Tour have now been announced and if they are playing a city near you, I can only urge you to not miss the opportunity. It may well be the best music experience you have all year.
Tickets for the two music festivals which bookend the tour are on sale already, while bookings for all other performances will go on sale at 9 a.m. this Friday, the 6th of February. I’ve heard as well that the band, led by Zappa’s son, Dweezil, have been featuring the lengthy “Billy The Mountain” along with a number of other classics from the extensive Zappa catalogue but, with such a broad palette to choose from, its anyone’s guess as to what might be showcased on any given night.
Last time around, in late 2007, The Dweez had a couple of special guests along for added weight. Both singer and guitarist Ray White, and guitar supremo, Steve Vai, had both been members of Frank Zappa’s bands and delivered performances that were quite simply amazing. Meanwhile, former Zappa drummer, Terry Bozzio, had featured on some of the ZPZ dates during the American leg of the last international tour. This time around, the funny and very gifted Ray White is at least one guest confirmed for a return to Australian stages.
Dweezil himself has spent much of his life mastering the complexities of his late father’s compositions and to suggest that he has mastered it is really bordering on ridiculous understatement. Dweezil first shared the stage with his father when he was just fifteen, playing “Sharleena” in Los Angeles, during the final show of Zappa’s 1984 tour. This year, Dweezil turns 40.
If you didn’t get to see Frank when he was alive, this is the closest you will ever be to getting the complete Zappa concert experience, not to mention witnessing some real musicians playing difficult compositions on real instruments, astonishingly well.
Seriously kids, go see it, the show really is that good.
ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES:
Friday 10th April: ‘Bluesfest’ Byron Bay, NSW
Sat 11th April: ‘Tivoli’ Brisbane, QLD (see you there!)
Sun 12th April: ‘Civic Theatre’ Newcastle, NSW
Tue 14th April: ‘State Theatre’ Sydney, NSW
Thu 16th April ‘Palais’ Melbourne, VIC
Fri 17th April: ‘Thebarton Theatre’ Adelaide, SA
Sat 18th April: ‘West Coast Blues And Roots Festival’ Perth, WA
