Overview:
This is a really fun tour. The whole point of this little jaunt across the eastern US was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Mothers of Invention. They do so with an expanded band of new members and alumni and a fantastic ten-plus song medley of reworked tunes from the 60s (primarily from Freak Out). Ruth unfortunately has to leave at the last minute, but her absence is nearly made up for with the addition of Walt Fowler on trumpet and the return of Don Preston on synthesizers. Don isn’t around long enough to find his place in this band, but the expanded horn section sounds absolutely fantastic. The first half of each show consisted of the Mothers current music, usually some variation of the Pygmy Twylyte-Idiot Bastard Son-Cheepnis medley, Inca Roads, Cosmik Debris, Penguin in Bondage, Cosmik Debris Montana and/or Dupree’s Paradise. After this chunk of tunes the band would transition into the wonderful oldies medley, consisting of It Can’t Happen Here, Hungry Freaks Daddy, You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here, How Could I Be Such A Fool?, Wowie Zowie, Let’s Make The Water Turn Black, Harry You’re A Beast, The Orange County Lumber Truck, Oh No (including Son Of Orange County), and More Trouble Every Day. The best shows on this tour are the longest ones, because they give the band a chance to really stretch out on Dupree’s Paradise and play the entire 60s medley. Frank, the band and the audience are all in fantastic spirits at every show, and they produce some wonderful music. There’s tons of conceptual continuity too, with quotes from Lohengrin and Octandre (more 60s faves), Jeff Simmons imitating Frank’s sayings and style of bandleading, and a handful of mentions of booger bears and John Smothers. Fantastic song selection and an amazing band; All in all this was a great tour which produced some of Frank’s best shows of the 70s.
The Band:
Frank Zappa – Guitar, Vocals, Nostalgia
Napoleon Murphy Brock – Tenor Sax, Flute, Lead Vocals, Dancing
Jeff Simmons – Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Alrights
Tom Fowler – Bass, Non-Horn Brother
George Duke – Multiple Keyboards, Vocals
Don Preston – Synthesizer, Farfisa Organ, Enormous Balloon and Fireworks
Bruce Fowler – Trombone, More Vocals Than You’d Expect
Walt Fowler – Trumpet, Nepotism
Ralph Humphrey – Drum Set, Cowbells, Gong And Small Emergency Replacement Percussion
Chester Thompson – Drum Set, Cowbells, Groove
Recordings Available:
1974 04 20 – Sports Arena, Toledo, OH (Audience B+)
This is a fun little show. It’s very short, only about 75 minutes, but it’s captured on a nice recording and the band’s in a good mood. A cool Inca Roads begins the shows, followed by a fun Pygmy-Idiot-Cheepnis medley where the locals call the monster John Smothers. Dupree’s Paradise is next with a funky intro from George. He shouts “C’mon Simmons! Get Down!” and a vocal jam ensues before eventually morphing into Octandre and finally the theme of the piece. The main section of the piece is nice, but it unfortunately cuts during the drum solo and misses Frank’s solo entirely (if there even is one). After this we get a nice preamble for the earliest known oldies medley. It’s surprisingly tight and has a couple interesting differences. The outro to It Can’t Happen Here is significantly longer and features mumbling and tweaky keyboard noises. The first verse of You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here” slows down and has different, surprisingly nostalgic lyrics (“and so am I… it’s been ten years”). The rest of the medley continues as it always does, until Frank announces the end of the show over the beginning of the Son of Orange County. He says they’ll play one more song and Frank starts singing Trouble Every Day over the same vamp and the band slowly transitions to the second song. Frank plays a nice, though short solo and the show comes to a close. This is a nice show, kind of like this tour in a nutshell.
1974 04 23 – Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI (Audience B/B-/C+)
This show is a real mixed bag. Some parts, mainly instrumental sections sound okay, but the vocals can range from inaudible to painfully distorted. This show’s biggest attraction is that it’s got a handful of rare songs, both for the tour and in general. The show opens with a solid Penguin in Bondage before heading into a very interesting RDNZL sans percussion. After this the band goes directly into the Village suite! The only known take of the whole suite from this tour and without Ruth. Village is really distorted and hard on the ears but the other two are listenable. Nappy namechecks “Brucie-poo” and “grandma-poo”? It’s hard to tell. The latter two songs in the medley are pretty cool though, with the melody entirely on the horns. Frank asks the audience to “watch Linda” in Wash That Thing, not sure who that is, maybe a prostitute or a groupie. Frank cues a drum pattern at the end of the tune, and transitions into a great, too seldom played Babette/Approximate. A very pleasant Camarillo Brillo and Cosmik Debris follow, the latter with a great solo from Walt and (I could be wrong) what sounds like Frank trying to scat along with his solo! Next up is the big oldies medley, but the sound gets really bad and there’s really no reason to listen to anything before Son of Orange County. It luckily improves a little near the end and we get some really excellent versions of Orange County (with the hula lick), Trouble every day and, for an encore, Andy. This is a nice concert on a truly rancid recording. Completionists only.
1974 04 24 – Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN (Audience B/B-)
Another nice show captured on a mediocre tape. It’s thankfully not distorted, just muddled and quiet; overall not a bad listen. Frank’s clearly in a good mood for the intros and starts the night with the always lovely Pygmy Twylyte medley, which features the first known time Frank calls the monster in Cheepnis (or any poodle to my knowledge) “Frenchie”. A fantastic Inca Roads comes next, with great solos from all involved, maybe the best Approximate interlude and a cool moment where you can hear a firework go off during Frank’s solo and people cheer. A fun Cosmik Debris is next, with another great solo from Walt, followed by another great Montana/Dupree’s. In George’s opening improv Frank starts to talk about mad scientists and we end up in a nice jam with solos from Nappy and Don. The rest of Dupree’s is equally great and once it’s over Frank begins a nice introduction to the oldies medley with a cool segue into the first tune. It’s a fun take of the medley, there’s even some Nixon references in It Can’t Happen Here, but Nappy’s sax is messed up for part of it and the sound quality doesn’t help. The main set ends with truly great takes of Orange County and More Trouble and they come back for an awesome encore of Penguin in Bondage>Andy(!)>Camarillo Brillo. This is a really fun show, a lot of booger mentions (for April), and even though it’s not the greatest tape I’m still gonna recommend this one.
1974 05 01 – Broome County Arena, Binghamton, NY (Audience A-)
This is the first truly great show/recording we know from this tour. Frank let us know right off the bat, “Even though there’s only 25 of you here tonight we are going to whip it on you and give you the works”, and he wasn’t lying. The show starts with a fun Cosmik Debris (Simmons shouts “”Hey who been messin’ with my harmonica” during his solo) and the band follows it up with an excellent Pygmy medley. Cheepnis is especially fun: The monster happens to be named Don Preston, and Frank quotes Octandre during the middle improv. Penguin in Bondage is next and full of weird references and lyrical mutations (“apricot in fruit salad”) and it’s followed by a lovely Ruth-less RDNZL. Montana-Dupree’s are always excellent, and the intro to the second tune is especially fun. More references to fruit salad, one of my favorite “ain’t it funky”s (and the answer is no!) And a quick take of Lohengrin. This morphs into a fun booger-based jam. Nappy and George sing something from a cassette the band recently listened to, and a really hot Dupree’s finishes off the set of “new” material. Jeff jams over a fast take of the Can’t Afford No Shoes vamp, and FZ’s solo is over a very quick vamp and ends up really short. The always wonderful Oldies Medley brings the main set to a close. The ending of It Can’t Happen Here goes a little wild, and you can hear Bruce say “Suzy Creamcheese please come to the front of the stage!” Orange County and More Trouble provide fantastic, emotional solos and the night comes to an end with a very pleasant encore Camarillo Brillo. This is a really really fun show captured on a lovely audience tape. Check this one out!
1974 05 04 – D.A.R. Constitution Hall, Washington DC (Two Shows – Audience B/B- with 10 minute Soundboard B+)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
This fun set of shows begins with some amusing comments from the bootleggers (“didn’t Ben say that Zappa’s a perfectionist?” Yeah you can tell that just by listening to his music!”) before Frank begins the first set with Cosmik Debris. The sound quality is far from great, but not too bad for the era. Near the end of the first song, Frank begins to reference disgraced President Richard Milhouse Nixon and this continues as a mini-secret word for the next couple of tunes. This Pygmy medley excels as always, and is even more fun than usual due to the Nixon jabs (especially Cheepnis). Inca is next and even though George has some mic problems at the beginning we still get a fantastic take. A nice Montana follows, and goes right into some excellent, fun, funky improv. Luckily there’s a short soundboard recording of this section of the show. During the improv we can hear a girl say, “that’s some big dude up there… looks like one of those Japanese sumo wrestlers.” Likely talking about John Smothers, Frank’s bodyguard. After a few minutes of the Booger Man (with a quote from Dyna-Moe Humm) the band moves into the “Advanced bebop section”, which is mostly Frank commenting on college jam sessions and commanding the band to play bits of Giant Steps, Little Coquette, Sweet Leilani, and Ornithology on top of each other and over The Velvet Sunrise vamp. An amusing only-possible-on-stage event. This moves directly into another really fun performance of the oldies medley, that FZ sadly has to end for time after Let’s Make The Water Turn Black and the first show comes to an end with a nice encore Camarillo Brillo. The late show’s sound quality is a little worse, but still listenable. It begins with a quick intro before a solid Penguin in Bondage and another wild Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing, where Frank instructs the audience “watch Richard Nixon”. Wash That transitions right into some short, out there and fun conducted improv, where Frank asks everyone in the band “What’s your sign and where do you get your clothes?” This is followed by a fun guitar solo and after about a minute Frank starts singing Cosmik Debris and the band leisurely follows. Another fun Montana-Dupree’s comes next, with lots of Booger talk and a performance of Octandre during George’s intro. Dupree’s proper is great too with excellent solos from the usual suspects. Jeff once again solos over the fast Can’t Afford No Shoes Riff, and FZ concludes the affair with a long tasty solo. The tape sadly ends during the closing theme to Dupree’s leaving the ending of the night lost to time. These are a fun pair of shoes, and a nice addition to one’s collection, despite the less than desirable sound.
1974 05 08 – Edinboro State College, Edinboro, PA (Official Release)
I mean this is one of the best shows FZ put on in his entire career, and it’s now available on the official release Zappa/Erie. Every track on this show displays what a fantastic band this is. Cosmik (with fun lyrical mutations from Jeff), the Pygmy medley (with fun lyrical mutations from Frank), Inca Roads and Montana are all near definitive takes and the following Dupree’s Paradise may be the best of the year. George’s Booger intro is as fun as ever, and it’s over the bassline from Billy Cobham’s Stratus. FZ ques Octandre and then announces “You want cocktail lounge music? We’ll give it to you.” The band moves into a cheesy little vamp and we get a number of fun easy, lounge-esque solos. Frank provides some hilarious commentary throughout, and during Jeff’s be-bop guitar solo Simmons does his best impression of Frank, telling us “Remember, the white zone is for guitar players only!” Eventually Frank cues Lohengrin and that devolves into the opening theme of Dupree’s Paradise. The tune proper is excellent like always; Frank plays one of his longest solos ever and includes the Can’t Afford No Shoes riff. This segues directly into the definitive version of the oldies medley, concluding with the unedited versions of Son of Orange County and More Trouble Every Day later released on Roxy and Elsewhere. Camarillo Brillo is tonight’s encore and brings the fantastic show to a close (Though I’ll note that the released version doesn’t have the true ending to the show, as it wasn’t captured on the master tape. But luckily, it was recorded onto the cassette that leaked to fans many years ago. The real show ending has a few more seconds of jamming and Frank then cues the ending of RDNZL – really an extended, fast Dupree’s lick – instead of the meltdown/crash heard on Zappa/Erie). This entire concert is on Spotify and if you haven’t heard it there’s no excuse. Listen to it today!
1974 05 10 – IMA Auditorium, Flint, MI (Audience B+)
A pretty standard, though still entertaining night from the end of the tour. Frank announces the band, lets us know that Don Preston was “born in this area” and starts the show off with Cosmik Debris. Jeff mentions that he “moved to michigan” and has “the horn section hypnotized” in his spot in Cosmik and the always lovely Pygmy medley follows. A regular Penguin in Bondage, a fantastic Inca Roads and a lively Montana follow (“by myself I wouldn’t have no boss, because I’d be part of 20% unemployed in Flint Michigan”). The biggest disappointment from this show is that there’s no Dupree’s Paradise. Montana has a unique spoken transition to It Can’t Happen Here, which is cool to hear, but I would have preferred another monster Dupree’s. The oldies medley is perfect as always. It ends with another Hot Orange County-More Trouble, but unfortunately the majority of the latter song is missing from the recording. They capture the end of the tune, and the show/tape comes to a close. A solid show, not the first I’d recommend but a nice tape nonetheless.
1974 05 11 – Auditorium Theater, Chicago IL (Partially Officially Released)
Snippets of these two shows on Mother’s Day Eve appear on Roxy and Elsewhere and were available as digital downloads. Parts of Penguin in Bondage from the early show and parts of Son Of Orange County are used on the Roxy album and a full performance of Penguin with an amusing 20 minute lecture on the history of the Mothers was released on zappa.com in the mid 2010s. You can’t buy it anymore, but it’s on YouTube and worth a listen.
1974 05 12 – Convocation Center, Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN (Audience A-)
It’s the final show of the tour, it’s Mother’s Day and the band is in northwest Indiana. Frank’s clearly in a good mood and starts the show off with another Cosmik Debris. He shouts “Yes way back in the alley, Indiana lowlife…” over the start of Nappy’s solo and references the Gipper during the price of meat section. Jeff also solos on guitar in said tune, making me wish that was the regular occurrence. Wonderful takes of the Pygmy medley, Penguin in Bondage, Inca Roads and Montana follow. An excellent Dupree’s is of course next, and includes a delightfully funky intro featuring George, Nappy and Jeff. Jeff plays a hot solo and does another hysterical imitation of Frank. After this event George fucks up the Dupree’s lick and Frank seems legitimately annoyed while George says he’s had “too much wine”. Frank says “Yes it’s just like the tape from Frankfurt” at the start of Dupree’s (no idea why) and they proceed with another excellent jam. Frank even quotes Sweet Leilani and his favorite Hula turnaround lick. The finely honed oldies medley gets its last known complete performance, ending with awesome takes of Orange County and More Trouble Every Day, which eventually morphs right into a short but rockin’ Louie Louie. Frank announces the end of the show, and Camarillo Brillo brings the night to a pleasant end. This is an excellent, high-spirited show captured on a lovely audience recording. An easy highlight of the tour.
The Songs Played:
Andy – This fantastic One Size Fits All tune returns at least twice as an encore early on in the tour. It’s pretty much the same as on the previous tour, but with slightly different instrumentation. The main bulk of the tune is there, but it’s Frank so of course there are a few differences. Napoleon sings the first verse in a weird, very staccato way, before eventually transitioning to the more familiar style. Jeff plays a very cool, majestic guitar riff over the first chunk of the tune and most notably, there’s no mention of the titular Andy Devine. At this point in time the tune was introduced as “Something Anything” or “Is There Anything Good Inside Of You”. Basically any mention of Andy is replaced with other lyrics from the tune. Frank plays a hot solo in the middle of the regular place, and the end of the tune features a scat/guitar battle between Nappy and Frank. These are really cool performances, and I love that there are performances of this tune live from the 74 band, but really every other version of this song (except maybe the 79 takes) are more musically enjoyable than these ones.
Approximate – This weirdo number returns one time on this tour, in Milwaukee. The 1974 versions of this tune were played significantly faster than the Grand Wazoo era takes. Frank lets us know on the previous tour that “the rhythm of what they play is indicated but the pitches are their own choice” which of course leads to some enjoyable madness.The band boogies for a while in the middle and are occasionally interrupted with small “composed” sections of the tune. I think Frank and Don each play a short solo, but it’s hard to tell with the bad sound quality. The fifth and final written chunk of the tune, heard in the 1972 takes, was dropped from this version. This take features an insane blues segue out of Babette, a rare treat. This is one of Frank’s most experimental and “out-there” tunes, and I’m really glad he decided to bring it back in 1974.
Babbette – This simple, FZ-penned, doo-wop tune appears once this tour in Milwaukee, coming directly out of Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing. It sounds pretty much as it does on the You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore series, and is still about man-dog love. Nappy improvises some lyrics that I can’t make out and the ending features an absolutely whacked blues walkdown transition into Approximate.
Camarillo Brillo – This Over-Nite Sensation classic appears as a regular encore on this tour. It’s a nice, funky version of the tune and features some wonderful jamming from George and Frank over the closing chords. Frank slightly rearranged the tune for this tour, adding more instrumental bits between verses, including a partial quote of the Dragnet theme after the first “like a shadow from the tomb” line and a partial quote from The Hook after “laid out naked by the door”. A very nice take of one of FZ’s most pleasant tunes.
Cheepnis – This Roxy classic reappears on this tour, finally (mostly) complete. They still skip the “Here comes that poodle dog!” and “Here Fido…” sections, but the “great big hairy thing” section has been added to the tune. Nappy improvises some monster movie lyrics over this section, and it’s just always so much fun. This song was originally written as part of the musical Hunchentoot in 1972 while Frank was recovering from his attack at the Rainbow Theater. This tune was always played as the final song in a medley with Pygmy Twylyte and The Idiot Bastard Son. These are always really energetic performances and Nappy does a fantastic job with the vocals, another highlight of his time with the Mothers. This tune was frequently the victim of lyrical mutations, especially the name of the monster and what the army’s gonna try to stop them with. In Flint and South Bend, George comments on boogers after the first three ” little more cheepnis please” lines instead of laughing, and this becomes part of the regular arrangement on the following tour.
Cosmik Debris – This tune appears pretty much as it does on Apostrophe, but with more solos. The typical performance features solos from Nappy (on sax), Don, Jeff (on harmonica), George, and finally Frank. Jeff sings the “price of meat” section (he’s my personal favorite singer for this spot), and frequently mutates the lyrics. At the Milwaukee and Indianapolis shows, Walt plays a fantastic solo in the opening spot and Frank actually tries to scat with his playing during his solo! Not great, but really neat to hear. Jeff plays a guitar solo in South Bend, making me wish he always did. I personally prefer when Frank gets the only solo spot in this tune, but these are still some nice, funky, bluesy takes.
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? – This Roxy classic sounds great on this tour, even without Ruth. A regular version features a wonderful solo from Bruce, Frank tells us what someone (Linda in Milwaukee and Richard Nixon in DC) has been thinking in the middle of the tune, Don wows us with a fantastic synth solo and all this is followed by a lively drum duel that may drift into more improv. The guitar solo on Roxy and Elsewhere was, unfortunately, a one-time only performance. The composed outro is seemingly dropped on this tour, as both complete versions end segue out of the drum solo into another event. Frank would make the band members do some kind of timed act during the breaks of silence in the repeat of the theme, like spinning in a circle or pretending to comb their hair. The performances of this tune from this tour are great, but sadly few and far between.
Dupree’s Paradise – Another classic of the 1973 and 1974 bands. This tune would become a true monster improv song by the end of this year, and it grows in strength over every tour. In a regular performance we get a jazzy, funky and/or soulful piano introduction from Mr. George Duke, often with conducted improv from Frank, before George takes us into the beauty that is the theme of Dupree’s Paradise. Following this we get inspired solos from Napoleon (typically on flute), Tom, Jeff (on guitar), Bruce and finally Frank over a spacey, jazzy vamp (A different one compared to the 1973 takes). Jeff’s solos always stand out as a highlight for me, his be-bop guitar tone is really cool and unique in FZ’s output. This is an especially good tour for this tune, with frequent Booger Bear lectures, quotes from Octrande and Lohengrin, cocktail lounge music and/or be-bop jam sessions. In Binghamton, DC and Edinboro, Frank cued the band to play a very early, very fast take of the riff from Can’t Afford No Shoes! Jeff solos over it at the first two shows, and FZ at the third. Frank, like in most songs on this tour, would cue many hand signals in this tune, always leading to a good time. Always played following Montana and connected to it by The Hook. Parts of the introductory keyboard-bass-percussion licks could (and would) be cued by Frank at any time with hand signals. Overall this is an excellent tour for this monster song, and this tune only gets better as time goes on.
Echidna’s Arf – This tune appeared one time in Milwaukee, and it’s the only known take of the song without Ruth. It played after Village of the Sun and before Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing like on the official album. Walt’s trumpet seems to be covering some of the parts Ruth would normally play. This tune never really changed, but I believe it to be one of Frank’s most timeless and perfect compositions, so I don’t think it ever needed to.
Harry You’re A Beast – This tune is part nine of the oldies medley and sung majestically by the majority of the band. That is until the cheesy swinging version of the “you paint your head” section. The lyric American Womanhood has been changed to American Glitter Boy and the namesake dialog has been changed to “David…, Alice…., Iggy,…” followed by a fill-in-the-blank from Jeff. Played between Let’s Make The Water Turn Black and The Orange County Lumber Truck, just like in the 60s.
The Hook – This is a very short section of music culled from the Be-Bop Tango (just 12 notes) and frequently cued by Frank. It’s a regular part of the transition between Montana and Dupree’s Paradise, and a clear favorite of FZ’s. It’s such a dumb, ugly melody and I absolutely love it.
How Could I Be Such A Fool? – This is based on the Cruising With Ruben and the Jets version, with Nappy once again performing the vocal duties. I love the slow ramp up in energy throughout the tune. Frank would always play a tasty solo-ette while Nappy belts out the ending lyrics. This song is part four of the oldies medley, coming between You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here and I Ain’t Got No Heart.
Hungry Freaks Daddy – This tune has a fantastic groove lacking from all the other versions and really the same can be said for all the songs in the oldies medley. Like the 60s live versions, the second verse (“great midwestern hardware store”) on this tour has a swanky, swinging arrangement. Frank plays a shortish, though tasty solo in each performance. Part two in the oldies medley, it emerges from the siren ending of It Cant Happen Here and leads into You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here.
I Ain’t Got No Heart – It’s a little bit faster and funkier, but this is pretty much the freak out version. Nappy sings lead, and FZ plays a short guitar solo at the very end. This tune is part five in the oldies medley coming after How Could I Be Such and Fool and before I’m Not Satisfied.
The Idiot Bastard Son – This 60s tune is beautifully performed on this tour. Napoleon brings a great flair to the vocals and the Fowler’s performances of the melody are lovely. Always played in a medley between Pygmy Twylyte and Cheepnis. Fans always give a big cheer when this song comes up, which kinda surprises me. Who’d think this tune is a crowd pleaser?
I’m Not Satisfied – Nappy belts out this fun song about depression and loneliness, and it’s funkier than ever on this tour. Played pretty much as on Freak Out. Part six of the oldies medley, between I Ain’t Got No Heart and Wowie Zowie.
Improvisations – There is one occurrence of true free improv on this tour, it happens at the DC late show after the drum battle in Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing. Frank begins to conduct some tweaky bass and synth improv that pretty quickly turns into a Q&A where Frank asks each of his musicians what their astrological sign is and where they get their clothes. It morphs into a jam for a little while until Frank begins to sing Cosmik Debris. The tape’s pretty bad so you can’t make out much, but it’s amusing nonetheless. Also, at the DC early show, there are George Duke based improvisations after Montana, but they don’t go into the theme of Dupree’s Paradise (These improvisations are sometimes known as The Booger Man). After this they go into “The Advanced Be Bop Jam Session”, which is Giant Steps, Little Coquette, Sweet Leilani and Ornithology played on top of each other over vamp from The Velvet Sunrise (an unreleased song).
Inca Roads – It’s a little slower than on One Size Fits All but this tune is very nearly complete. The horns carry this tune as much as they possibly can without Ruth and we get some really cool instrumentation because of it (My favorite being how they switch off on the long part after George’s solo). There’s a few more differences though, there’s a cowbell riff that goes along with the intro and continues through Frank’s solo, George takes a little more liberty with the rhythm of the vocals, Bruce and George both share the second solo section, none of the lyrics have mutated yet (ex. No Guacamole Queen) and the ending sting doesn’t have the “On Ruth!” vocals. Frank’s playing isn’t as mind-blowing as it would get later in the year, and the dense cowbell riff doesn’t help that, but these are still really fun performances of one of Frank’s most enduring tunes.
It Can’t Happen Here – This atonal vocal simulated nightmare from Freak Out reappears arranged for the full band. Everyone sings, and there’s a musical sting and crash between the Minnesota and DC lines, simulating the album. They do the rest of the “tune” and then Frank simulates the beginning of Monster Magnet by asking Suzie Creamcheese (played by George) “What’s got into you?”. We then hear a synth siren and some screams a la Monster Magnet and they transition into Hungry Freaks Daddy. Frank would frequently ad lib a bit at this end section, asking George other questions. The earliest performance was slightly different; The outro was significantly longer and featured more mumbling and tweaky keyboard noises. Usually preceded by Dupree’s Paradise and a great start to the oldies medley.
Let’s Make The Water Turn Black – Like the rest of the old tunes on this tour, this is a fun and funky version of the We’re Only In It For The Money song. Napoleon sings the majority of the tune, but Frank recites the “we saw them after school” verse. Part eight in the big oldies medley, between Wowie Zowie and Harry You’re A Beast.
Louie Louie – This seminal tune appears on time, on Mother’s Day, emerging out of the end of Frank’s More Trouble Every Day solo. He jams over the tune for a little, says goodnight, and jams a little more. A fun end to a great show.
Montana – This classic about a dental floss farmer is in top form on this tour. It’s played pretty much as on Overnite Sensation, with Napoleon and George in place of the Ikettes. Frank’s solos are always hot, delectable and funky. Jeff provides excellent rhythm guitar during the written parts. Always followed by The Hook and Dupree’s Paradise.
More Trouble Every Day – Played as on Roxy and Elsewhere, as that song was recorded on this tour. This is one of Frank’s all time best rearrangements, the final part of the oldies medley, and would usually end the show. A deliciously funky reworking of the timeless Freak Out tune. Each performance contains a wonderful long guitar jam from Frank. After the fade out heard on the album version, Frank would usually jam for a little more and then bring the show to a close.
Oh No – This Weasels classic re-appears as part eleven in the oldies medley, beautifully sung by Napoleon. They play the main body of the tune and then transition into Son of Orange County, a reworking of the “in your dreams” section and The Orange County Lumber Truck. Always played following the first performance of The Orange County Lumber Truck, just like in the 60s.
Penguin In Bondage – This classic Roxy tune has finally reached a state of completion at the end of 1973, and we get what appears on the album, but with a small exception. The Roxy and Elsewhere version is edited and is missing the minute long instrumental takes of the “little penguin, dirty little bird” section heard before the solo on the releases of this song from the 84 and 88 tours. This section was played with the tune on every known live performance, and I assume it was removed from the Roxy and Elsewhere version to make the transition between two sources sound better. I think it adds to the song, and I’m glad Frank kept it for future performances. This tune always features a hot and tasty solo from Frank, and is usually played on its own, unlike most other tours.
Pygmy Twylyte (incl. Dummy Up) – This wonderful little Roxy and Elsewhere tune is always excellent and this tour is no exception. In every performance Nappy would sing some improvised anti-drug lyrics between the written verses in a segment known as Dummy Up. Pygmy Twylyte (with Dummy Up) was always played as the start of a medley featuring The Idiot Bastard Son and Cheepnis. The Dummy Up section always features music later used as part of the intro to the song/skit Room Service. This is a really fun tune, and a highlight of Nappy’s tenure in the Mothers.
RDNZL – This tune appears twice on this tour, but in a pretty different state compared to what appears on Studio Tan. Ruth’s beautiful composed solo hadn’t been written yet, and we get three shorter improvised solos interspersed throughout the song, from Bruce, Frank, and George. The little doo-wop section to the piece, coming right before George’s solo, has lyrics to it when played live. Nappy and George both sing “we can share a love” a few times over that swinging bridge. The Dupree’s Paradise lick ending, as heard on Studio Tan, joined the arrangement (along with the “we can share a love” section) on the previous tour. Though I prefer the finished RDNZL, I have a soft spot for the early versions. These performances are always energetic and fun, and rarely skipped when listening to a show. This tune feels notably emptier without a percussionist, and while Walt, Bruce, Jeff, George and Frank do what they can (which is really cool), there are still spots, like the intro, that are left without a melody line.
Son of Orange County – This reworking of The Orange County Lumber Truck and the end of Oh No debuts as part twelve of the oldies medley. It sounds just as it does on Roxy and Elsewhere as that performance is from this tour. Each take contains a fantastic guitar solo, and often some Nixon references. This is another one of Frank’s all time best rearrangements, wonderfully sung by George and Nappy. Always played after Oh No and before More Trouble Every Day.
Village Of The Sun – This is a very interesting tour for this tune. It’s easy to tell it’s midway between the Roxy version and The You Can’t Do That on Stage Any More Vol #2 take. Here the song is a little faster and features a unique, fun, bouncy intro, that’s nothing more than a really slow take of the latter 74 performances (like what’s heard on YCDTOSA Vol 2, including Approximate quotes). After the line about the stumbler, there’s a really fun little back and forth solo jam featuring Frank and George, before a return to the intro theme. Nappy sings the rest of the tune and he asks “Brucey-poo” what he’s gonna do before a fun transition into Echidna’s Arf with a mini-meltdown kind of noise.
Wowie Zowie – Basically played as on Freak Out, but much quicker, until the last verse where they musically crash and slow way down to a cocktail kinda vibe. Nappy does a great job with vocals, and the last line (before Sherry) is stretched out to I don’t even care if your dad’s the heat, I don’t even care if your dad’s the hurt, I don’t even care if your dad’s the shirt. They also they throw in a few “Yo Mama”s between the two “dream” verses (unrelated to the later Sheik Yerbouti tune). Part seven in the oldies medley, after I’m Not Satisfied and before Let’s Make The Water Turn Black
You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here – A quicker, poppier take of the classic freak out tune. Nappy once again excels with the vocals, especially the line: “mom I tore a big hole in the convertible”. At the earliest performance, the first verse slows down and has different, surprisingly nostalgic lyrics (“and so am I… it’s been ten years”). Part three of the oldies medley, coming between Hungry Freaks Daddy (With a cool, foot tapping transition) and How Could I Be Such A Fool.
Solo Table:
Life On The Road 