Overview:
The final tour of this fantastic line-up has just as many highpoints as the last two. Absolutely excellent music fusing Jazz, Rock, Funk and everything in between combined with the unique weirdo hysterical thing that is Zappa humor. Setlists regularly include compositional masterpieces, fantastic instrumental jams, comedy songs, rock and roll and everything in between. The setlists don’t have the most variation, for example every show starts with Stink-Foot and RDNZL or Inca Roads always follow (also, Frank would frequently group songs into chunks like the Village Of The Sun-Echidna’s Arf -Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? medley and the Penguin in Bondage-T’Mershi Duween-Dog/Meat-Building A Girl medley), but all these tunes are some of the most memorable and listenable songs in Frank’s catalog, and so many of them contain fantastic unique, ever changing improv. The Yellow Snow Suite even makes a reappearance, because after they return from Europe they find they have a hit single on the charts! All these tunes, and many more, are excellently performed by this amazing group of musicians. It’s hard to argue Frank put together a more impressive band than this one, and on top of that they’re all so damn funny. Frank frequently introduces himself as Rondo Hatton, and is always making exclamations, like arf or oink. FZ, George and Nappy are an amazing trio, constantly improvising around insane stories of their time on the road with Booger Bears (“a girl who looks like she came from your nose”) and/or their road manager Marty Perellis (“The continuing stories of man and his beast” or ”smell my beard”; Frank even permanently changed RDNZL to reference Marty’s kennel escapades). And of course, all three of them were always messing with Ruth, teasing her and trying to get her to laugh and mess up (she never does). Her brother Charlie followed the band around for the first couple weeks of the tour, leading to the mutation in Inca Roads “On Charlie!” and Indianan superfan Craig Eldon Pinkus follows the band for a few weeks at the end of the tour, getting a few shout outs himself. This is such an amazing, creative band, every Mother just complements the other five so well, leading to a wonderful end to nearly two years of fantastic, fantastic music. Ruth had planned to stop touring at the end of the year, and Chester ended up joining Weather Report when Frank canceled his early 1975 tour to play around with some new film equipment. When they regrouped for the Bongo Fury tour, there was still a large remnant of this band, but the feeling was different. With Captain Beefheart, Denny Walley, Terry Bozzio in the band and no Ruth Underwood, I find the two periods similar (and both great) but hard to lump together. I’ve absolutely loved listening to all the tapes from this tour, and I’m sad that I’ve heard all there is to offer. I read an interview with Chester Thompson from 2021 about his career and he had this to say about his time with Frank, and I think his other four bandmates would agree: “I was fortunate. I worked with him during a really happy period in his life. He hung out with the band after the shows and stuff. We laughed a lot. Basically, he tried to come up with stuff the band couldn’t play, and we always managed to pull it off. He was happy.”
The Band:
Frank Zappa – Guitar, Vocals, Sickness
Napoleon Murphy Brock – Tenor Sax, Flute, Lead Vocals, Beard Sniffing
George Duke – Keyboards, Vocals, Boogers
“Larger Than Life Itself” Ruth Underwood – Insane Percussion (With Added Chimes), Professionally Terminal
Chester Thompson – Drums, The Trunk Of The Tree
Tom Fowler – Bass, Mystery Pointer (Broken finger from Nov 20 to Dec 3)
Mike Urso – Bass Substitute, Trying His Best (Nov 23)
James “Bird Legs” Youmans – Bass Substitute, Sleep Dirt (Nov 26 to Dec 3)
Recordings Available:
1974 10 28 – Palace Theatre, Waterbury, CT (Audience B/B-)
All that exists from this date is a fragment of the Yellow Snow Suite. It’s really shaky, Frank notes that they haven’t played it in a year and a half, but the mistakes are kinda charming. He nearly forgets part of the titular tune and accidentally does the ending of Nanook Rubs It in a weird order (I think he misses a part too). We get a “slower tempo, funkier St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” and at the end of the lyrics Frank starts to sing Mar-Jah-Rene briefly and says “It’s very risky to go on with the rest of the song but we’re gonna do it… How’s the rest of it go? Oh yeah! Watch this!” Surprisingly, the end of St. Alphonzo’s is the solidest part of the suite. Ruth plays her broken lick from the album and Frank ends the show. This recording is listenable but pretty crummy, there’s a few drop outs and a short cut at the start of Alphonzo. Overall, mildly interesting, but nothing I’d recommend to anyone besides a hardcore fan.
1974 10 29 – State Farm Show Arena, Harrisburg, PA (Soundboard A-)
This mixed bag of a recording starts off with a Tush Tush Tush that includes some Ruth teasing right off the bat (“Don’t she look good tonight?”). It’s a really nice soundboard recording; we begin Stink-Foot and… oh no…Frank’s guitar is ridiculously low in the mix once again. And on top of that, once Frank starts his solo the recording cuts out in less than a minute. We resume at the beginning of a very nice Inca Roads, but again with unfortunately low guitar. The tune ends with the first “On Charlie!” and up next is the timeless Penguin in Bondage medley. Frank points out that the conceptual continuity event of Penguins in Bondage first occurred in Harrisburg, PA three years earlier (as partially heard on The Mothers 1971) and proceeds with another nice guitar solo that we can barely hear. The rest of the medley is solid, except there’s a nasty cut in the middle of Dog/Meat and Frank takes us into “a love song”, so of course Florentine Pogen comes next. A nice performance, but Frank doesn’t solo for very long (and you can’t really hear him). Next up is a very fun Montana with some lyrical mutations all relating to one of the girls in the band (“Whoopie-ti-yo-ti-Ruth!”). Frank plays a nice solo (you can actually kind of hear guitar by this point in the show) and The Hook brings us to George Duke. We get some especially amusing improv, George starts off on the finger cymbals, begins telling the Mothers which parts of “the tree” they are, then eventually morphs into some alien talk and finally a fun, tweaky, funky jam. Frank brings the tree metaphor back, then says “hit the chimes Ruth”, which leads to a hysterical take of Straight No Chaser played on the unique instrument. This leads into a really laid back Dupree’s; Frank quotes the very opening of Blessed Relief in his solo and plays excellently for a long while until something happens and we hear FZ say “I get the drift somebody turned the power off on stage, hey ladies and gentlemen that must mean it’s time to go”. They return for an encore of Camarillo Brillo and More Trouble Everyday. Nice versions of both tunes, and a pleasant end to the show. Despite the apparent pluses this recording might seem to have, it’s actually a pretty frustrating listen due to the strange mix. I’d recommend checking out Montana and Dupree’s Paradise from this show, they’re two really excellent takes (and it’s where the mix sounds the best), but the rest of the recording can be skipped.
1974 10 31 – Halloween – Felt Forum, New York, NY (Two Shows – Audience A-)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
Another year, another set of fantastic Halloween shows. This is Frank’s third year performing on Halloween, and his first in New York, where the tradition would stay for the better part of ten years. The early show starts with the nearly unbeatable Stink-Foot/Inca Roads combo. Frank namechecks famed New York promoter Ron Delsner in the former tune and once again mentions Ruth’s brother at the end of Inca Roads (“On Charlie!”). He mentions Charlie some more in the Penguin medley, then moves into an excellent Florentine Pogen. Montana is always enjoyable, and this version leads into a wildly excellent Dupree’s Paradise. Frank sings “arf, arf” over the Hook, and George comes in with another alien story, does some percussive scatting (“We don’t need no rhythm section”) and moves into another classic funky jam. The solos in the main tune are excellent, especially Frank’s, who starts his long jam with the chords to Zoot Allures. The tune concludes and Frank ends the early main set with a fun Camarillo Brillo. They return for a lovely Halloween encore of Oh No/Orange County/Trouble Every Day, and since Nixon had surgery on a blood clot the day prior, we get the hysterical lyrical mutation “I just can’t believe, his condition is critical”. The late show opens up with another great Stink-Foot, and moves into a jaw-dropping RDNZL. This goes into a wonderful Village Of The Sun medley (“ Ruth has been thinking… Jesus! It’s Halloween again…. What am I going to do about [can’t make out the last word]”) which leads into a quality performance of Babbette, dedicated to Marty of course (“Not exactly about a werewolf but it’s as close as we can get”) . It features a wonderful blues walkdown into Approximate, which then transitions into I’m Not Satisfied (with a short cut at the start). Someone asks for “Brown Sugar”, The Rolling Stones tune, and Frank responds “No we don’t do that one. We don’t do Whipping Post either” and afterwards they go into a special, rare Halloween performance of the still developing Po-Jama People. We’re treated to an excellent take of the tune with some very passionate jamming from Frank, followed by another early Yellow Snow Suite. Frank tells the story of how the tune became a hit (without the Mothers knowing) and proceeds with a fun but still slightly shaky performance of the tune. They trudge through the tundra and finish the main set with Cosmik Debris (with the same transition heard on Apostrophe). It’s time for the special Halloween encores, and Frank brings out Lance Loud again (The “An American Family” star who previously guested with the Mother’s earlier this year in St. Petersburg). He “sings” a goofy little take of Nite Owl one more time, and Frank announces “we have another special guest… the foremost exponent of the trombone as a way of life… none other than Bruce Fowler!” They rip into a fantastic version of Big Swifty and Bruce takes a very nice Halloween trombone solo. Frank finishes off the tune with a fiery jam, and makes a hot segue into Apostrophe! We’re treated to a great version of the too rarely played tune, but the show’s not quite over yet! They return to the stage a final time for another excellent Pygmy Twylyte-Room Service event. These are a really fun set of special concerts. They’re not the most out there FZ Halloween shows, but they’re a very good time and well worth a listen.
1974 11 01 – Capital Centre, Landover, MD (Audience B)
This recording starts right at the end of The Dog Breath Variations, and based on some audience comments, we can tell the tapers came late to tonight’s concert and missed the first 45-ish minutes of the show. Well after this, Frank announces that (their road manager) Marty Perellis had invited his parents to this show, and lets them know “they’ve raised a fine son, just keep him away from the kennel”. They quickly move into Montana, and we get another George Duke solo in this tune! Its funky and fun and George propels Frank’s following solo to new heights. FZ changes the ending to “Movin’ to Arbutus soon” (A Baltimore-area community) and The Hook takes us into George’s territory. He tells the continuing stories of “Moon Trek”, teases Ruth and then brings us to a great blues jam. Frank’s monitor system gives out in the middle of the event and talks to the crowd/mixer until things get sorted out. They make a quick segue into The Yellow Snow Suite, the crowd goes wild, and “Just like the record”, they go into Cosmik Debris (with the mutation “you could make more money as a bus driver”). Frank ends the main set with an always fun Camarillo Brillo and for an encore pumps out another great Pygmy Twylyte-Room Service combo. Frank won’t stop soloing in the former tune (playing over the Mozart bit) and he orders some booze in Room Service. There are some very nice moments on this tape, but the sound quality is a solid “meh” and the fact that the first portion of this night wasn’t captured make this show hard to recommend.
1974 11 06 – Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA (Soundboard A)
We’re in Pittsburgh, FZ and the band are in high spirits, and we have a very nice, well-mixed soundboard recording. FZ says they’ll start this show the same as the last one (meaning this is actually the late show from this date) and begins the program with another rockin’ Stink-Foot. He shouts “Good God I’m not in tune!” mid-lyrics, but gets his guitar together in time for a really nice solo, and finishes the tune by morphing into Lohengrin briefly. They start Inca Roads, mess with Ruth a little (“It’s too fast for Ruth….It’s too slow for Ruth”) and proceed with another wonderful take of the song. Ruth’s percussion was too quiet, which was noticeable in Inca Roads, and Frank spends the next couple minutes tuning and waiting for them to fix the marimba (“We’re not gonna play this music unless all the instruments are working right”). Ruth does her big Inca lick again (“just to let you know what you missed”) and Frank tells the “sad but true story” of how Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow ended up on the radio (with Dennis the radio DJ who edited the single version of the song). They play the entire “pseudo-bonus hit single” and make a smooth segue into Cosmik Debris (I love the “now watch Ruth drop her sticks” transition they recreate from the studio). Frank ends the rune with “You could make more money as a disk jockey”, sings “She’s 200 Years Old” during tuning and announces the next song is “Chester’s Gorilla”. Another great performance of the tune, and it leads right into a really fun I’m Not Satisfied (I love Ruth on this song). Frank announces Big Swifty, but unfortunately the tape cuts out a few seconds later. But despite this major bummer and the sound problems early in the show, this is a really fun, great sounding performance. Check this one out.
1974 11 08 – Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ (Two Shows – Audience B+)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
Frank starts off this fun set of shows by announcing he’s just changed his strings and while tuning tells the crowd “I’m only doing this tonight because I heard in New York that you because you people could tell the difference”. He talks about the new strings “stretching” and “learning how to coexist with this piece of wood with little magnets in it” and starts the early show off with another fantastic Stink-Foot/RDNZL combo (the latter a “song that features the delightful sister of Charles Komminoff”). The village medley comes next, Ruth’s been thinking about Charlie in Wash That Thing and the ending drum solo segues into the opening chords of Florentine Pogen (skipping the drum intro). This segues into I’m Not Satisfied which goes into very mutated Cosmik Debris (“with the whistle of Aphrodite, and a slew of booger bears too”). A rabid fan asks for Louie Louie, Frank asks the audience what they want and they agree. He has Ruth start the tune on the chimes (something that could only happen at a Zappa show) and then Nappy sings “Ruthie Ruthie”, as heard on the first You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore. After the on-the-spot rewrite, Frank says “we have another song [that’s] so advanced it takes us all the way from 1955 directly to approximately 1957” and cues Babette (again like on YCDTOSA#1). This leads into a great Approximate (with a duck call solo in place of George’s normal jam). Frank tells the funny “Freak Me Out Frank” story (once again heard on YCDTOSA#1, but this time in its real placement well after Ruthie Ruthie instead of before) and plays a really mutated Montana. He says “moving to Bulgaria” and later stops his solo to say “of course I’ll freak you out, How bout this!” plays a second of Louie Louie” and then complains about he “has to stand in front of this amplifier that goes squeak squeak squeak whenever I think it’s just getting good in the back”. He plays some more, says “I told you I was moving to Bulgaria and I wasn’t kidding”, and shows off the Bulgarian bagpipe technique he’d use. The rest of the tune is infected with references to Nixon, boogers, Marty and George’s room. We hear The Hook and they go into some very fun Duke improvisations (Frank yet again release sections of this jam, this time on YCDTOSA#4, as The Booger Man and Smell My Beard). George tells “the continuing stories of the boogers of Marty Perellis” and then tells the tale of how and why Marty told them to smell his beard. They jam for a while, then Frank tries to get Marty to come out and dance. Frank says “that he can only do this dance if we play this one special number” and they play a very rare pseudo-tune fan’s have dubbed Marty’s Dance Song. It’s basically just a mellow vamp that Nappy improvises some vocals over (often about Marty) and Frank plays some hot licks. Frank ends the show, thanking the audience (“that was a very nice reception you gave us”) and they return for an encore of the Yellow Snow suite. It’s infected with booger references and “smell my beards” like the rest of this show after montana. Frank skips the last verse of Nanook, but plays the rest of the tune normally (except for all the boogers). Ruth plays her “dropped sticks” ending lick and they play Tush Tush Tush. The late show starts with a great Tush (“Help me Rondo!”) and another great Stink-Foot (“Where the shark bubbles freak me out! “). Inca Roads come next and is absolutely incredible like always; Frank lets Ruth pick her own tempo because “we’ve been playing it so fast that by the time we get to the ending Ruth’s whole body becomes a blur” and Charlie needs to see “the graceful way she moves”. There’s a little bit of full band improv during Frank’s solo while he tunes his guitar, and after the tune he make’s Ruth redo the ending for Charlie (“She must be punished for playing the end of that song like that”). A standard but fun take of the Penguin medley follows this up and after Building a Girl there’s some weirdo Dragnet-esque improv while Frank says “she belongs to the ages”. Frank announces Big Swifty, but decides not to play two instrumentals in a row and that they’ll play Po-Jama People instead. He tells the crowd to “tighten their headbands for this one”, George plays an excellent, funky first solo on this tune, and Frank ends the jam with some fiery passion. They segue right into Big Swifty, they never have before but they have to “because this is New Jersey”. It’s an awesome take of the tune, over 20 minutes long with quotes from, For Love (I Come Your Friend), Sweet Leilani, and the I Come From Nowhere riff and it brings the show to a close. They return for a very fun encore of Camarillo Brillo and the Oh No/Orange County/Trouble Every Day medley. Both tunes wildly mutate to become about the exploits of Marty Perellis (“Right past his fuming incense stencher to where his beard was getting wet” and “I can’t just believe you won’t wash it off” being my favorites respectively) and feature some great jams. These are really a fantastic set of shows on a really nice audience recording, and since Joe Travers said they’re the best sounding 4-track masters he’s heard in the vault, I think they’d make a great release.
1974 11 09 – Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA (Two Shows – Soundboard A with Audience B+/B Patches)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
Shows in Boston are always a riot and these two are no exception. Both shows are captured on an excellent soundboard recording, likely mixed by Brian Krokus (The Mother’s live engineer and the recorder of all the soundboards from June-December 1974). Frank starts off the early show by saying “I feel shitty tonight” and that he might not always be on stage (as far as I can tell this never happens) and George and Nappy sing “It’s just a token” over Tush Tush Tush. Stink-Foot is fun as always and an awesome, mellow, reflective RDNZL comes next. The Village suite is mesmerizing. “Ruth has been thinking… Jesus…. Isn’t this fun… The soundcheck in the afternoon and then, later” in Wash That Thing, Nappy yells “sounds like chicken n’ dumplings to me” during Chester’s solo, and Po-jama People emerges from said solo. Frank whops out a long and tasty guitar jam, sings the end with Nappy and slams into I’m Not Satisfied. This goes right into a great Penguin medley (the first tune ends with “and leave ya dried up dog biscuit while she smells your beard”) and the Yellow Snow suite closes the show (“First get Nannook to smell your beard”) with St. Alphonzo’s nearly at a normal speed. A short but sweet Camarillo Brillo encore closes out the early show. The “evening extravaganza” starts with some more token lyrics (“Don’t you be modified”) and a nice little guitar solo-ette over Tush Tush Tush. The first 45 minutes of so of the second show aren’t captured on the available soundboard, but there’s an alright sounding audience recording to fill its place. Stink-Foot of course starts the show off with more “smell my beard”s and another “bob the chef” reference (whoever that is) and Inca Roads follows. It’s an amazing take, one of the best of the year, and ends with Frank saying “That’s Ruth and Charlie at the same time”. After this is the last known Florentine Pogen of the year and Pygmy Twylyte, “complete with pseudo Blue Oyster Cult choreography”. Unfortunately, the tape cuts out during Frank’s solo, and resumes in The Idiot Bastard Son, possibly missing all of Room Service. The Idiot Bastard Son is mildly cool to hear since it’s so rarely played by this point and it goes straight into Cosmik Debris. George scats a bit in his solo and the soundboard recording starts around the same time. A great Montana follows, and George’s improv is really fun too, though a little basic compared to some other jams. He kind of introduces pseudo-song The Booger Man (“We gonna sing a little song about [Marty]”) and after a little bit Frank says “Where’s that wino man” and brings Tom Waits on stage as the band start Ol’ 55 (apparently the only song of his they know). Tom frequently opened for the Mothers in June and July and guested once before in San Diego. Here Frank brings him on stage to tell a joke about June Carter and then one about “the 12 inch man”. Both are mildly amusing, but made more enjoyable by a drunken Tom Waits delivery. It goes into a fun, loose Dupree’s (with another Zoot Allures quote) and after that into another performance of Marty’s Dance Song. This one’s even less interesting than the Passaic take; Nappy just sings over the vamp for a bit and Frank tries to get Ruth to solo, to no avail, before ending the show (“have a good night, drive safely and may the good lord bless and keep you”). For an encore we get another quality Oh No/Orange County/Trouble Every Day medley, with a repeat mutation of “I just can’t believe you won’t wash it off”. Frank also starts the final tune with “I’m about to get sick (In fact I am sick)” which I find amusing. These are really a great set of shows, some of the best of the tour, with a lot of fantastic music and even a special guest, check these ones out.
1974 11 12 – Gannon Auditorium, Gannon College, Erie, PA (Official Release)
This is a really amusing show first released officially on Zappa/Erie. Right off the bat Frank is very sick, much sicker than in Boston (he sounds terrible) and he is having problems with the rowdy Pennsylvanian crowd not sitting down. Stink-Foot starts the show and RDNZL follows, both excellent takes. Frank’s guitar playing seems a little laid back tonight, probably because of his bad flu (and endless problems with the crowd). The Village medley is fun and “Ruth has been thinking “Oh, I hope that Frank doesn’t make me play Inca Roads tonight because I’ve been chumping it so bad” in Wash That Thing. Frank tells them to sit down once again before the penguin medley, and in the first tune Ruth has lost the duck call! (“What? What? Where’s the duck call? We can’t go on until we find that duck call”). They eventually carry on with a goose call, and I think they find the real, authentic duck call before the tune ends. They play a fun Dinah-Moe Humm, and they make a smooth segue into I’m Not Satisfied (“for those of you in the audience who are nostalgia oriented”). The tune slows to a stop after about a minute when the riotous mob forces the band into crowd control. Nappy and George sing “sit on down” and an exhausted Frank talks with the most unresponsive mass of people imaginable. Eventually he begins really slowly playing the opening chords to Montana, in a pseudo-successful attempt to calm the crowd. It’s another excellent, slower solo and Frank can’t even make it through the end of the tune without having to stop to yell at the crowd again. Eventually (thankfully) they finish the song and go into a really great Dupree’s Paradise, George’s intro is pretty whacked, he talks about camels, seems to even surprise Frank a little by how much he gets into it and eventually he and Nappy start the hilarious chant “squattin’ on the hump”. Dupree’s Paradise is laidback, jazzy and wonderful and Frank wraps up the affair with another tremendous solo, including the chords from Zoot Allures, a Big Swifty quote and a really heavy performance of Any Downers. They segue into a quick and sickly Yellow Snow Suite, Frank mumbles his way through the Nanook speech, tells us to watch Ruth before St. Alphonzo’s (“It’s always good to watch Ruth just out of general purpose”) and wraps up the show after the suite. They return for another great Oh No/Orange County/More Trouble event. Nappy sings “I just can’t believe you’re ready for trial”, which refers to some part of the Watergate scandal (email me if you know more), Frank says he’s sick again in Trouble and outros himself as “the human snot wad” on guitar. This is a really fun show despite/partially because of Frank’s illness (not to mention the insane crowd). Check this one out for sure (along with the whole Erie box).
1974 11 14 – War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY (Soundboard A/A-)
This is a very nice sounding recording, unfortunately it’s really fragmented. The tape starts with the last 44 seconds of Village in The Sun, and continues with the Village medley like normal. All through our show “Ruth has been standing over there going [silence], just watch her…” and George plays a bit of Who Needs The Peace Corps in his solo in Wash That Thing. The recording fades out in the middle of George’s jam and returns for the last 15 seconds of Camarillo Brillo. They “dwindle off” into Montana, and we get a solid version of the tune (including a horse named Ronald Reagan). Frank plays a nice little secondary solo in Montana over the closing chords, and ends the show with The Hook. They return for an encore, Frank says “I just got stabbed in the chest with some tweezers” (maybe someone threw them at him?) and they perform the Yellow Snow Suite. It’s a really amusing version, with many references to upstate New York and the idea that St. Alphonzo sells sub sandwiches. That brings the night, and this weird recording, to an end. This is not a great listen, but it’s got a good version of Montana and a great take of the Yellow Snow suite. If that enough entices you, check this one out, but I’d recommend like 50 other tapes first.
1974 11 15 – Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY (Soundboard A/A-)
Another night in the northeastern US, and another excellent soundboard from this wonderful band. There’s apparently a terrible blizzard outside, and Nappy, George and Frank reference the conditions in the intro Tush Tush Tush, They move into another rocking Stink-Foot and another mind-blowing RDNZL, with George trying out some new cool synth sounds. This of course leads into the Village medley, and we get wonderful takes of all those tunes. The first tune ends with “What’s you gonna do Georgie-poo”, Ruth has been thinking “I wonder If George is going to do it again tonight” and Mr. Duke quotes another bit of Who Needs The Peace Corps in Wash That Thing. Something happens on stage with Ruth during Chester’s drum solo, there’s some stock monster music on the keyboard, lots of laughing and then Frank says “The classic chump out!”. Frank plays a sec of Hearts and Flowers and brings the band right into a fun Penguin in Bondage medley. Frank says “kung fu fighting” in the cowbell section of T’Mershi Duween and there’s an unfortunate cut soon after, missing a good chunk between the end of T’Mershi and the end of the Dog Breath Variations. The joyous medley ends with a long, goofy, strained-sounding Building A Girl. Someone in the crowd asks “Hey Frankie, where’s Nanook?”, FZ responds “Nanook is coming right up” and the band begins the Yellow Snow suite. It’s a fun, fairly standard take and Frank brings the main set to a close with a quick explanation of the origin of “good morning your highness”. The band return for a nice encore consisting of Camarillo Brillo and More Trouble Every Day, with some more references to the nasty weather (I watched them throwin’ snowballs and stuff, and chokin’ in the heat… That doesn’t make any sense at all does it? Oh well”). This is a really pleasant show and recording. Not the most exciting concert from this line-up, but a very enjoyable one nonetheless. Check this one out after you’ve heard some of the bigger, crazier shows.
1974 11 17 – Spectrum Theater, Philadelphia, PA (Soundboard A+/A-)
Here we go with the longest show of the year. It’s a crazy fantastic show from Philly captured on a wonderful soundboard (though it can get crackly at points). The good recording doesn’t start until two minutes into Stink-Foot, but thankfully the beginning of the show was captured on an audience recording. Another mind-blowing RDNZL follows (truly one of Frank’s best solo spots) and it predictably leads into the Village medley. We get one of my all time favorite Wash That Thing speeches (“Ladies and Gentleman, Watch Ruth, All through our show, Ruth has been thinking… Ruth has been thinking? All through our show? Ruth has been thinking all through our show!”), Frank takes us right into another hot Penguin medley (with a bunch of “spotting” jokes thrown in) and even announces “And here we go T’Mershi Duween!” after the first tune. The rest of the lovely medley plays out and Dinah-Moe Humm comes next. It’s a fun take, with a nice little jam in the audience participation pretend orgasm section. Some guy claims to actually be currently cumming, so Frank points him out and calls him “Wild Man Fisher’s brother” before making a smooth segue into another charming Camarillo Brillo. Frank decides to play something from their new album and we get a fantastic Oh No/Orange County/More Trouble combo, surprisingly free on any lyrical mutations. Frank goes nuts in both tunes, doesn’t even finish the last one and instead transitions into a wild, early, instrumental Any Downers! Some seriously funky, fiery riffs right here. FZ begins to introduce the next song, and as soon as I hear Marty’s name I know it’s gonna be Babbette. Nappy sings the dog song, it goes into a wonderfully weird Approximate, and then they play a very nice, slightly booger-fueled Montana. Frank again singles out a fan, this time one singing “whoppie-ti-yo-ti-yea!”, then he asks the crowd what they want to hear next, says “this might be the nicest audience we’ve had so far on the tour” and we get a very solid performance of the Yellow Snow suite. Frank says “good morning your highness, good evening to the audience” and the main set comes to an end. They return for a great encore “dedicated to Cal Schenkel… and also to his nine cousins from Willow Grove who are here tonight”. They play a great Pygmy Twylyte (with a cool, unique post-Mozart ending riff) and a very amusing, light-man focused Room Service (“What would I like? I’d like a different hotel”). This is an excellent, excellent show. Frank is on fire and he’s feeding off the crazed energy of the audience, leading to a very very entertaining listen. Check this one out for sure (Do it now!)
1974 11 19 – Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH (Audience B)
This is a fine show; the sound is alright (though there’s a fair amount of dropouts and Frank’s voice can be hard to make out) and we have a pretty average setlist. Stink-Foot starts us off nicely, and Frank absolutely blows us away with RDNZL (one of the best takes of the tour). It moves into a solid performance of the Village medley, where Ruth has been thinking “Craig Pinkus has been watching me, Does Craig know that I’m really nothing more than a…?” (referring to the Mothers superfan from Indianapolis). The Penguin medley immediately follows, and there’s an unfortunate cut in Frank solo, missing the end of the first tune and the beginning of T’Mershi Duween. After the medley, it’s time for Dinah-Moe Humm and a warning for upcoming audience participation. It’s a really amusing take, with Frank telling the audience to “use a finger” and to “squirt all over Ohio”, and it glides right into Camarillo Brillo, which in turn becomes a hot Montana. We hear The Hook and George hits his finger cymbal, jams, scats, and then starts playing this weird kinda robotic synth music. After a minute or so he says really slowly “It was the night before Christmasssssssss” and Frank replies “yes indeed and all through the house!” George talks a little bit more (about “little creatures”) before the tape cuts, and the recording unfortunately ends. Ultimately, while this show does have a top-tier RDNZL, a really fun Dinah-Moe Humm, and the beginning of some great Duke improv, the sound is too mediocre, the recording isn’t complete and there aren’t enough other highlights to make this a must-have show.
1974 11 20 – Hara Arena, Dayton, OH (Official Release)
[This show has recently been officially released on the Apostrophe 50th Anniversary set! – This review is of the audience tape – A review of the newly complete show to come eventually!]
This midwestern night starts with a fan right by the taper shouting “Hey Ruth! Where’s Ian!”, to no response. Tush Tush Tush is very brief and Stink-Foot is the nice little blues jam you can always expect. Another truly excellent RDNZL follows, Frank’s solo’s just get more amazing with every performance. The Village medley follows this up, but sadly Echidna’s cuts out in the middle and the tape doesn’t resume until the very end of Chester’s solo in Wash That Thing. It goes right in Penguin in Bondage (with a very nice long solo), and the rest of its corresponding chunk of tunes. Frank responds to the mob’s requests and says “alright we’ll play Dinah-Moe Humm then!” It’s another fun take of the dumb tune, and after getting a lukewarm response from the crowd for audience participation, FZ says “maybe it’d be different if I were David Bowie…arf arf arf….” he then sings “ground control to Uncle Tom” before realizing his hilarious mistake (if it was one). Everybody cums, somebody “cums twice so they get the golden napkin award” and Frank brings us directly into Camarillo Brillo, but it unfortunately cuts after 15 seconds. We return right at the end of Frank’s Pygmy Twylyte solo, but he starts playing the Hippie riff while Nappy screams and Frank jams even more. They begin to play Room Service, but Frank decides to end the show without the skit. This show has some highlights and the recording quality is really nice, but it’s really short and has two long, unfortunate cuts. I’d say it’s worth a listen, but don’t put it at the top of the list. This night’s notable for being the last show (until New Years) with Tom Fowler on bass, because at some point after this show some of the band members were playing football and Tom ended up breaking a finger. They didn’t want to cancel the last two weeks of the tour, so they decided to attempt to play what they could with a substitute bass player. The following five recordings feature these emergency substitutes, at first Mike Urso and James “Bird Legs” Youmans for the remainder.
1974 11 23 – Jenison Fieldhouse, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (Soundboard A/A-)
This is a really interesting show, mostly because it’s the only known show with Mike Urso on replacement bass, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s a really nice soundboard (with Mike’s bass way upfront). Frank announces Mike on bass and Tom on “mystery pointer” which will get explained a little later. The show opens with Nappy talking about vegetables in Tush Tush Tush and Frank rips out another fiery Stink-Foot. RDNZL comes next, and it’s another wonderful take (though not quite as great as the last few days). The Village medley comes next and there’s a short cut at the end of Frank’s solo in Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing. Ruth has been thinking “Good lord, we’re playing this song without a bass, I wonder what’ll happen to me now” and Frank transitions out of Chester’s solo right into a slow, but red hot Apostrophe. Mike’s solo is barely audible (despite being easy to hear the rest of the show) but Frank’s is another masterclass in guitar. The tune goes right into a solid Penguin medley, with another nice solo from FZ. After the barrage of tunes, Frank finally decides to explain what’s going on on stage. Since Tom broke his hand mid-our they didn’t have enough time to rehearse any of the music, so Tom has to point to a series of notes/letters on a board to indicate to Mike what to play (“Anybody wants to pick up some of the arrangements, just watch where Tom points and you’ll find out what key we’re in at any given moment.”) It’s absolutely insane that they’re attempting this, but the rest of the band is so in sync that they can actually manage this somehow. Anyway, they go into a fun Dinah-Moe Humm (including mock orgasms), followed by Camarillo Brillo. From there it’s straight into another rockin’ Montana, where Frank says “Do that to Unity (the mother’s lightman) one more time and he’ll cum”. Next we hear The Hook and George goes into some really spacey improv (Frank dubs it “The Adventures of Space Booger”). He starts jamming, Frank tells a little story about a flying saucer and smoothly transitions into Marty talk. George immediately goes into “Smell my beard” territory and starts asking “Nappy why’d you do it? Nappy why’d you do it? Nappy why’d you do it!?”. Frank sings a little bit of the old tune “My Little Red Book”, Nappy then sings “Marty Had A Little Lamb”, and then there’s some tweaky guitar improv that leads into the I Come From Nowhere riff! He quotes Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing and immediately starts playing the opening to Chunga’s Revenge! It’s a really loose version (it’s clearly an alternative to Dupree’s Paradise, since they can’t play that now). Frank delivers an excellent, tasteful long jam, occasionally without a bass player like the 60s Little House solos. After about 13 minutes Nappy comes in and plays some, and Frank eventually returns to bring the main set to a close. They return for an encore, FZ has to announce “Henry Riley, you have an emergency at home” and they go into a lovely Oh No/Orange County/More Trouble. Frank jokingly asks “What’s the next chord?” in the middle of Orange County and the tune mutates to “I just can’t believe you don’t know this song”. It’s a nice take and leads into More Trouble which unfortunately cuts out after about 10 seconds, bringin the night to a slightly early end. Now that it’s all out, let me talk about Mike for a little; he’s doing the best he can, but it is not great. I mean, this is an insane, hellish task to show up and play a bunch of tunes you’ve never heard before, but his playing is distractingly wrong for most of this show. He does better on the more normal, bluesy songs like Penguin in Bondage or Son of Orange County, but stuff like RDNZL of Wash That Thing are clearly out of his wheelhouse. But even with this in mind, Frank is on fire tonight, and the added factor of having what amounts to a bass player winging the entire show makes this a very entertaining concert, even if it’s not the single most musically impressive event. Check this one out, especially the hardcore fans.
1974 11 26 – Pershing Municipal Auditorium, Lincoln, NE (Audience B+/B)
This is, for the most part, a fairly average show captured on a pretty average audience recording. This is the first known show with James “Birdlegs” Youmans on bass, and maybe he’s just had more time to rehearse or is more familiar with the music, but to my ears he’s a much better fit. Frank talks to “the bohemian audience of Lincoln, Nebraska” and brings us into yet another fiery Stink-Foot. Frank introduces “a wholesome number” one “that has a tendency to feature large Ruth on the marimba” and we get another stupendous RDNZL. Village of the Sun comes next (with an ending sting for “Leggy-poo”), but instead of continuing into Echidna’s Arf, Frank moves us directly into Cosmik Debris. It’s another fun take, and it leads right into Camarillo Brillo (with a small cut at the start of the tune). Another classic Montana comes next, and it leads into a long, excellent, loose George jam. He talks about Ruth (She’s taking a trip to Paris in January, with no Ian!) and then just plays his heart out for a while. Eventually Frank yells “Ladies and gentleman the dynamic bird legs on bass” and we get a nice little solo from our emergency replacement Mother. After this, Nappy gets to play for a little while and eventually starts singing about “flies” and other odd things. After another little while, Frank starts to play guitar and says “I was sitting in a breakfast nook in Allentown, Pennsylvania”, just like the beginning of 200 Years Old! He tells a story similar to what’s heard on the Bongo Fury tune, and talks about how he had to write a song for the rapidly approaching American bicentennial. He says the tune has only a few words written, that they’ll have to “make up the music to it” and that no one has ever heard it before. He sings “She’s a Booger, She’s a bitch, She’s 200 years old, So mean she couldn’t grow no lips” once or twice and then just goes insane on his guitar. Some of the best, most passionate playing of the tour is on this one proto-song. It’s mainly just Frank, Chester and Birdlegs, but eventually the latter two drop out leaving the maestro to solo unaccompanied. Eventually he returns to earth to sing the one written line a few more times, and then brings the main set to an end. They return for an encore and Frank plays the Whipping Post riff a few times! He stops, not going into the full song, and delivers an amusing Dinah-Moe Humm, with a guitar solo over the end! This is a very nice concert, The ending 200 Years Old extravaganza is the only must-hear thing on this recording but the rest of the show shouldn’t disappoint.
1974 11 27 – Civic Center Arena, St Paul, MN (Soundboard A)
Here we have one of the best sounding shows on the tour, and a very nice performance showing how this band continued to delight thanks in no small part to “the dynamic and partially imported Birdlegs”. George messes with Ruth right off the bat, saying “She’s been poured into those jeans boy” in Tush Tush Tush, before Frank brings us into another hot Stink-Foot. At the end of the head he says “Here Fido, bring the slipper, take it right over to Marty. Feed it to Marty” and then whips out a hot solo that features a quote from Big Swifty and another one of the Whipping Post riff! They then go into another fantastic RDNZL, Featuring “Larger-than-life-itself Ruth Underwood”. Frank can’t play a bad note in this wonderful tune, and it leads into another riotous Village medley where Ruth has been thinking “Boy is my back sore, I wonder what’s gonna happen to me next”. It segues into the Penguin medley, where Frank yells “embolism, keep that embolism away from me!” I think in reference to Nixon being riddled with phlebitis. He plays a fantastic solo, and yells “look out Birdlegs here it comes!” before T’Mershi Duween. He goes on to claim it’s “the cheapest light show in rock and roll!” before finishing off the medley. Dinah-Moe Humm is up next and FZ namechecks Studebaker Hawk from Billy The Mountain before telling a story about trying to find the real Dinah-Moe (or her relatives). Frank eventually says she’s likely from St Paul. They cum on demand, “right in the middle of our rock n roll show” and Frank segues into Camarillo Brillo. Frank talks about “gluing” songs together “so you can’t talk between them”, hurries Ruth and goes into another great Montana, with a long, tasty solo. After his jam he yells “Good god Birdlegs get that part right!” I think referring to the crazy hard pygmy pony section, that he’s had at the most three, maybe four days to practice. Frank says “Arf Arf” over The Hook once again and we begin half an hour of non-stop fantastic improv. George hits his finger cymbal, scats for a little, and then Frank comes in to talk about the shortage of the anticoagulant heparin, recently used by our former President Richard M Nixon (The meds come from pig intestines, and “the hog butchers” realized they could make more money from chitlins than making medications). Frank finishes his public service announcement, George and Nappy jam about Marty and the dog, and George eventually find his way to the Star Trek theme and starts playing/singing that while Frank tells a story of an event in a motel in Memphis “a very religious man, a girl of dubious nasal value and a great dane… The dog’s name was Beau”. George plays a little more, Nappy gets a spot to stretch out and Chester follows shortly after. Ruth solos a bit, ranging all over her percussion set, Frank says “it’s an ABA!” and Ruth, perhaps the most audible she ever was, replies “Ugh!” Frank then comes in with the proto-Zoot Allures chords and whips out a wonderful 10 minute, show ending solo. They leave the stage, they return, and FZ gives a nice intro to their emergency replacement pass player, he says “this is Birdlegs’ second time on stage with us and I think he’s doing pretty good trying to follow along” He hints that he may have stayed in the group had this band continued playing into 1975, and then performances another great Oh No/Orange County/MoreTrouble Every Day event. Nappy sings “I just can’t believe you go arf, arf, arf” in the middle tune and Frank quotes Rikki Don’t Lose That Number a bunch in the final tune (Frank liked Steely Dan, and Ruth apparently adored them). This is a fantastic concert, showing a band that can seriously do just about anything. Wonderful music captured on an excellent recording. Check this one out for sure.
1974 11 29 – Field House, North Central College, Naperville, IL (Soundboard A-)
This is a very solid bootleg all around. It’s a nice, though strangely mixed recording (Birdlegs is really high in your right ear) of a nice performance of a band finding their groove with a very new bass player. It’s a pretty average setlist, but every song played this year is so fun I could listen to them forever, and unfortunately only the first half if the show is currently available. Frank comes on and says “Welcome to the Mothers of Invention, ain’t it funky now, good god feet on fire, get down Frank, Rock n Roll program”. He jams on a nice Stink-Foot and afterward says “Boy I can’t remember when I’ve played a hall that sounds shittier than this place”. A fan who goes by “Chauncey And Cumley’s Dad” on tumblr attended this show (and the next night’s) and had this to say “We arrived and found a gym that was covered with a tarpaulin to protect the floor. And no seats… so everyone simply sat on the floor for the show. The acoustics were bad and it was hot inside the building.” Well it doesn’t affect the music (on the soundboard at least), and they perform another jaw dropping RDNZL (Birdlegs seems to take to this tune quickly, and Frank must’ve agreed because he plays bass on the studio take released on Studio Tan/Lather). The play Cosmik Debris next, it’s surprisingly hot, and Birdlegs plays a neat, unique riff over the “wrapped a newspaper round my head” section. Interestingly, Frank decides to go into the Village medley now, after skipping it’s usual place post-RDNZL. It’s a fun take, they do large chunks without any bass and because of thar “Ruth has been thinking, where is the beat? Just keep your eye on her cause in moments Ruth is gonna find the beat!” After Chester’s solo Frank goes right into the Penguin medley, with another red hot jam from FZ. There’s a really long pause at the end of T’Mershi Duween, probably just making sure everyone (meaning Birdlegs) is on the same page. They continue, and the tape ends mid-Uncle Meat. This is a really fun, solid tape, there’s no surprises to be found here, just great music and more evidence that Birdlegs Youmans saved this tour. Check this one once you’ve heard some of the more exciting, complete shows.
1974 11 30 – Field House, North Central College, Naperville, IL (Audience B+)
Here we have another fantastic show from the end of the tour captured on a very nice, but quiet, audience recording. A short Tush Tush Tush and a hot Stink-Foot start the show followed by “a special song with dancing, not DNZL but Re-DNZL!” It’s a wonderful take and afterwards comes another fun Village medley. Frank fucks up the intro to Wash That Thing, Ruth has been thinking “Wow how did we ever play that?” and a rare I’m The Slime emerges out of Chester’s solo. It’s a good take (this tune should have been played more) but it moves pretty quickly into the Penguin medley, this time with a long, spacey, surprisingly good Building A Girl. At this point everyone in the audience is standing, so Frank gives a long, funny speech about “moving back” and then plays a relatively quick Dinah-Moe Humm (“everyone’s cumming!”). From this they go into a long, crazy, monster Po-Jama People of all things! Everyone gets a chance to improvise, except Frank oddly enough, but he does bring a fan on stage and they end up reciting a part of Progress? (I explain the event in a little more detail in the song entry). They move right into a joyous Camarillo Brillo, followed by Montana, with a quote in FZ’s solo from the George Duke penned tune, For Love (I Come Your Friend). Frank doesn’t stop jamming, and eventually starts playing the Any Downers riff again! He plays some more deliciously hot music over this dark vamp, and eventually has to bring the show to a close. For an encore we get another great Oh No/Orange County/More Trouble with an awkward, though funny “I just can’t believe that you won’t wash up”, again of course referring to Marty’s beard. Frank plays a lot of the same licks in Orange County that he does on the Roxy and Elsewhere take and the night ends with a great, nearly 10 minute More Trouble Every Day. Like I said at the top of this review, this is a really great show from the waning days of the tour captured in excellent sound and the rare tunes and monster jams present make this a recording worth listening to.
1974 12 03 – Public Hall, Cleveland, OH (Audience B-/C+)
Here’s a show with almost nothing to make it stand out, captured on an awful, distorted recording. Frank introduces the “Mothers of Invention snowmobile special” and starts us off with yet another great Stink-Foot. “Larger-than-life-itself” Ruth takes us through her penultimate live RDNZL, and her, Frank, and George all deliver. Afterwards we get another take of the Village medley, Where Ruth has been thinking “‘Good lord! We’re really here in Cleveland….’ Now watch Ruth droop(?) it!”. There’s a micro-jam at the end of Wash That Thing and FZ segues into the Penguin medley. It’s a pretty standard take, Frank says “good god ain’t it funky when the battery goes out on the vibrator” in the first tune and the recording cuts right after solo ends, missing 90% of the closing music. There’s more keyboard in the T’Mershi Duween cowbell/drum solo section than usual, improving the part I think. Afterwards, Frank tells the crowd to stop whistling so he can tune and play Dinah-Moe Humm. They play the racy tune, FZ brings “Dianne” onstage, and gives her toilet paper to “express herself”. They jam, they finish the tune and go right into Camarillo Brillo. Next is another Montana, with an especially long, hot solo and Nappy names the pygmy pony “little Marty”. The play The Hook, George jams and scats, Chester hits his drums, Ruth solos on the bass drum and eventually goes into Eat That Question on marimba! But the major bummer is that the recording cuts out before they can even finish the head, leaving what was probably an amazing monster version of the song lost to the ages. This is a pretty nice show, the final show of their 1974 tour, but this is not a recording worth listening to.
1974 12 31 – Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA (Audience B+ with Soundcheck)
After three weeks of recording in Colorado (leading to what would become large parts of One Size Fits All, Studio Tan and Sleep Dirt), Tom Fowler’s hand has fully healed and the band has returned to the stage for New Year’s Eve. The show is captured on a very solid recording, but there’s a short, slightly worse sounding 15 minute rehearsal consisting of a short fragment of Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?, and two takes each of a proto San Ber’dino-Can’t Afford No Shoes medley (which I’ll talk about more when it comes up in the show.) Frank and the gang start about a quarter before midnight with a really weird Tush Tush Tush where Nappy tells us to “rub the donkey’s stomach” and at the end of Stink-Foot Frank asks “How many more minutes have we got?”, attempts to ready a snow machine (that doesn’t end up going off) and then bursts into a riotous version of Auld Lang Syne, kicking 1975 off right. He claims “That’s enough of that sentimental dogshit” and they go into a fantastic Inca Roads, despite the “professionally terminal” Ruth asking if she really has to. They follow it with an excellent mid-show Pygmy Twylyte-Room Service (unfortunately missing the last minute or two) and segue into The Idiot Bastard Son with Nixon lyrics, aka That Arrogant Dick Nixon! It’s another amusing take and afterwards some insane fan shouts request for Opus #5, a weirdo orchestral piece Frank composed in 1963. Frank then brings out special guest guitarist Birdlegs, direct from Mableton, Georgia, to play on two new tunes: San Ber’dino and Can’t Afford No Shoes. They’re really fun, though noticeably different takes of the rarely performed songs (see song entries for more info). They take a short set break and return to play Dinah-Moe Humm, well actually Frank decides they should play RDNZL first, then Dinah-Moe. RDNZL surprisingly starts without the hyper intro, instead beginning right with Ruth’s solo and then unfortunately cutting to right after Frank’s jam, missing nearly the whole tune (Though we do get to hear a “smell my beard” in the we can share a love section). Next is a fun Dinah-Moe Humm, though the audience doesn’t want to participate much, and it transitions into Camarillo Brillo (“the name of this song, well I won’t tell you the name of it I’ll just play the intro!”) We get another hot Montana, followed by more fun George Duke improv. He doesn’t have his finger cymbal for some reason and plays tambourine instead, while Frank moans “he’s going to play JAZZZZZ”. They make a few references to Craig Eldon Pinkus, and Ruth, and then go into a sick Dupree’s Paradise, that last performance until 1988 (or 84 if you count the orchestral version). Frank has a hot guitar solo that brings an end to the main set, and they close off this New Year’s Show with an encore of Oh No/Orange County/Trouble Every Day where Nappy sings “I just can’t believe that you ate four dogs” in some kind of strange reference to Craig Pinkus. Wonderful takes of these tunes, More Trouble is over ten minutes long, and Frank ends the night with another apology for the snow machine. This is an excellent, entertaining holiday show, well worth a listen for the musical content and the historical significance of being the final show of the “Roxy Era”
The Songs Played:
200 Years Old – This Bongo Fury tune premiers on this tour, and is really just barely enough of a tune to count as its own song. Frank says the title phrase in Pittsburgh, and only actually plays the tune one time in Lincoln. Frank begins the song at the end of some Duke improv with a slightly modified version of the intro story heard on the studio recording. Frank says that he’s only written a few words, that they’ll have to “make up the music to it” and that no one has ever heard it before. He sings “She’s a booger, She’s a bitch, She’s 200 years old, So mean she couldn’t grow no lips” two times and then whips it out on his guitar for about five delicious minutes. It’s really a fantastic solo, one of the best of the tour. Frank plays acapella for a while, then eventually sings the one line a few more times to end the tune. A very amusing version of one of Frank’s deeper cuts.
Any Downers? – This future You Are What You Is tune makes its instrumental debut on this tour. It was played at least three times, each time consisting just of the heavy riff/bass line. Frank first whips out the song in Erie during his Dupree’s solo; A few days later in Philadelphia the tune segues out of a performance of More Trouble Every Day and finally in Naperville the song ends a take of Montana. He jams over the riff for a good while (in Philly George gets a funky chance too), and deliciously mangles his guitar with killer heavy licks until we can’t take it anymore. A very nice, surprising, rare treat from this tour.
Apostrophe – This fantastic instrumental appears twice on this tour, in New York and East Lansing, always to my delight. Nappy plays along on sax with some of the more prominent guitar parts of the tune, sometimes repeating them while Frank solos. Tom (or Mike Urso) plays a cool bass solo and Frank follows it with pure fire. I love this tune, it’s a highlight of the titular album and I wish Frank played it more than he did.
Approximate – This weirdo number returns as a regular item on this tour. The 1974 versions of this tune were played significantly faster than the Grand Wazoo era takes and Frank lets us know on a 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. Frank ditches the singing and dancing extravaganza from the European tour and instead offers a more compact Approximate experience. The band plays the tune to the best of their ability, George, Frank and Chester boogie for a while in the middle and are occasionally interrupted with additional small “composed” sections of the piece. In New York, Ruth plays a duck call solo in place of George’s spot on the keyboards. The fifth and final written chunk of the tune, heard in the 1972 takes, was dropped from this version. Frank always ends every full-blown performance by playing the One Shot Deal riff over the closing madness. This tune was always played following Babbette, with an insane blues walkdown transition connecting the two tunes. 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.
Auld Lang Syne – On New Years in Long Beach, Frank and the gang burst out of Stink-Foot and into this traditional tune at the stroke of midnight. Ruth plays the theme on Marimba, Nappy dramatically sings the song and Frank plays some hot lick on top of it all. A fun way to “send 1974 out the window.”
Babbette – This simple, FZ-penned, doo-wop tune appears a couple times on this tour. It sounds pretty much as it does on the You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore series (that take is from Passaic!), and is still about man-dog love. Every performance gives Nappy an opportunity to riff some lyrics (usually about Marty and his adult adventures with Great Danes) and features an absolutely whacked blues walkdown transition into Approximate.
Big Swifty – This tune was played at least three times on this tour, with a fun jam following each time. Frank rearranged the tune slightly, really slowing down theme 2.1 of the tune (the part at roughly 40 seconds into the Waka/Jawaka version) and playing some fun guitar licks over it. The solo vamp is the same as (or very similar to) the 1973 performances. The first performance occurs on Halloween, with a fantastic trombone solo from special guest Bruce Fowler and a wonderful concluding solo from Frank. The next confirmed take is from Pittsburgh, but sadly the entire event is missing from the recording (we can only hear FZ announce it). The final Big Swifty of the 70s comes from Passaic New Jersey. It’s a true monster performance, with every Mother (even Ruth!) getting a chance to improvise (In order: George, Tom, Nappy (sax), Chester/Ruth, Frank). It’s a lovely take, and I wish they played this tune more regularly throughout the year.
Building A Girl – This is a short, one to two minute chunk of weirdo improvisations played as a coda to Dog/Meat. Frank would draw the shape of a woman with his hands, and the band would compose music along to the shape. Often the music is filled with strange ratchet noises and long flute decrescendos. Honestly I often find these performances really boring, some of the lamest improv Frank ever put to tape, but they’re always just short enough to not bother me too much.
Camarillo Brillo – This Over-Nite Sensation classic appears frequently on this tour, often as an encore. It’s a nice, funky version of the tune and features some wonderful jamming from George and, if we’re lucky, Frank over the closing chords. Frank slightly rearranged the tune in the middle of the year, 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.
Can’t Afford No Shoes – This tune re-premiers in a nearly complete form on New Years Eve in Long Beach. Birdlegs makes a guest appearance on guitar to help them out with this song (and San Ber’dino) and the lyrics are very close to the One Size Fits All take, with only a couple variations (click here to read a transcription). The tune starts off with only a heavy bass drum beat and Nappy singing the titular lyrics, until after a repetition or two when the rest of the band comes in. There’s an additional section between the first verse and the “cheap detergent” line (about rubber and leather) and Frank takes a fiery hot guitar solo right near the end of the tune, in the same spot as on OSFA. This is a really fun take, possibly even better than what ended up on the seminal album.
Chunga’s Revenge – This tune shows up one time in East Lansing. Frank begins playing a very bare bones version of the tune out of the remnant’s of George’s improv, and then proceeds to whip out a mind-blowing 10+ minute solo. After this Nappy finishes off the tune with a less-exciting-but-still-enjoyable sax solo, they play the main theme again and Frank brings the show to an end. Not the tightest performance of this tune, but a very enjoyable one nonetheless
Cosmik Debris – This tune appears pretty much as it does on Apostrophe, but with more solos. A regular performance features solos from Nappy (on sax), George and Frank. I personally prefer when Frank gets the only solo spot in this tune, but these are still some nice, funky, bluesy takes. George would occasionally get moved to sing during his solo (usually just about boogers or other road happenings) and Frank would often play around with the lyrics, especially the closing profession (Ex. “you could make more money as a” bus driver, disk jockey, hooker or my favorite, in honor of Marty, “you could get more boogers in the hosiery industry”).
Dinah-Moe Humm – The (in)famous Over-Nite Sensation tune returns for this North American tour. It’s looser and funkier live and Frank includes an audience participation section in the middle where the crowd is commanded to “cum” and all make sex noises. Nappy and/or George sing the Ike-ettes’ parts from the record, and the “I can’t get into it unless I get out of it” section is way, way slower, giving it a totally different vibe. These are really amusing performances, Frank doesn’t hate playing the tune yet and it makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
Dog/Meat – This amazing medley of The Dog Breath Variations and Uncle Meat is one of the best pieces from this ensemble. It’s beautifully arranged for this unique orchestration, and always comes out fantastic. These performances are instrumental and lack all the studio madness from the album versions, that is until August when Frank has Nappy sing lyric-less vocals over part of Uncle Meat. Frank clearly loved these songs, bringing them back here and 18 years later for his final tour with the Yellow Shark. Always played as the penultimate segment in the “Penguin medley” after Penguin in Bondage and T’Mershi Duween and before Building A Girl.
Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow Suite (including Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow, Nanook Rubs It, St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast, and Father O’Blivion) – “We’re now going to play our hit single for you arf arf arf… and I never thought I’d be able to say that to anyone.” The Mothers Of Invention, against all odds, finally have a record on the charts! Frank explains in New York and Pittsburgh the story of how they had returned from Europe to find a radio DJ had edited the 10 minute suite down to the first two and a half minutes and for some reason people were listening to it. He says, “We had to learn our hit single”, so the first couple performances are kinda shaky and feature a significantly slower St. Alphonzo’s, but they quickly perfect the performances (and The Pancake Breakfast increases in speed with every show). The tunes are all played like on Apostrophe, with the minor exception of the titular tune, which Frank embellished with a number of additional little musical stings and licks (pretty much the same arrangement as on YCDTOSA#1, but without the vocal additions). Frank would ad lib a bit in the second half of Nanook Rubs It (except when he’s dying from the flu) and until Boston the suite would end with the same “Ruth drops her sticks” lick and segue into Cosmik Debris like what’s heard on the studio take. In Boston they still use the “dropped sticks” riff, but as a transition to Tush Tush Tush, and in the following shows they lose the riff entirely. I get why Frank eventually moved the tune to a show closer but I loved the original “now watch Ruth” transition into Cosmik Debris they recreated from the album. This is a very fun version (one of the best really) of one of Frank’s most enduring songs, for better or for worse.
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? – This Roxy classic sounds great on yet another tour. It’s played faster than on Roxy and Elsewhere, and Frank takes a hot little solo in Bruce’s spot. FZ then tells us what Ruth has been thinking in the middle of the tune (Ex. “Oh, I hope that Frank doesn’t make me play Inca Roads tonight because I’ve been chumping it so bad”), George plays a wonderful solo like always in the second improv spot (and occasionally scats or sneaks in another Zappa tune, like Dog Breath or Who Needs The Peace Corps), and Chester plays a drum solo at the end. The ending guitar solo on Roxy and Elsewhere was, unfortunately, a one-time only performance. The composed outro was dropped a couple tours ago, and here the song segues into another tune after the drum solo. On the Fall ’73 tour, 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 and it’s possible he still had them do that here. Always played after Village of the Sun and Echidna’s Arf at the end of the Village medley. I love this tune, and like a number of songs on this tour, is a favorite of mine in FZ’s catalog.
Dupree’s Paradise – Another classic of the 1973 and 1974 bands. This tune has become a true monster improv song with nearly every member of the band performing an excellent solo and pushing the tune to its limits. Every performance begins with Frank cueing The Hook, announcing George on the finger cymbal, describing how he plays the cymbal and eventually hits his finger and hurts himself. George would usually tell a strange story about aliens, road manager Marty Perellis, tush, boogers and/or, of course, Ruth. After this he’ll usually go into an awesome jamming, rocking, funky, jazzy and/or tweaky keyboard solo before gracefully sliding into the intro theme of Dupree’s Paradise. Following this we get inspired solos from Napoleon (on flute), Tom, Chester and finally Frank over a spacey, jazzy vamp (A different one compared to the 1973 takes). They often divert from this vamp and go into some of the best free jams of Frank’s career. Everyone delivers a very nice solo, truly amazing stuff, and Frank’s jams just continuously get longer as the tour goes on. The main body of the tune was usually reserved for instrumental playing, but true madness could happen in George’s intro with his stories and quotes from Louie Louie, Straight No Chaser, Hearts and Flowers and the Star Trek Theme among others. They would often play George’s intro but not actually go into the theme of Dupree’s Paradise and instead segue into another song. I’m counting these as a half performance of Dupree’s and not a solo George improv for simplicity’s sake. Dupree’s became unplayable when Tom broke his hand, so the late November shows either go into another tune or we get about half an hour of fantastic free improv. Frank would play around near what would become the Zoot Allures chords in his solos, but he only truly landed on them in New York, Boston, Erie and St. Paul (in improv, not Dupree’s). Frank, like in many places on this tour, would cue hand signals in this song, 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 times with hand signals. George’s intro, when especially booger-fueled, can sometimes be known as The Booger Man. It’s hard to tell if that’s an actual song or not, his jams can sound similar, and he introduces “The Booger Man” in Boston but I’m gonna lump it all in with George’s intros because the “song” is always played following his finger cymbal madness. Overall this is another excellent tour for Dupree’s Paradise and monster songs in general, one of the best there is.
Eat That Question – Played one time, on the last day of the tour, in Cleveland. Ruth starts the theme at the end of George’s improv and the rest of the band join in shortly after. They play through the tune once and, because this song is cursed or something, it cuts off before they can finish. I imagine it was a fantastic Dupree’s-esque jam tune because of its placement in the show, but we may never know for sure.
Echidna’s Arf – This song is always welcome to my ears. It’s typically faster than the Roxy take on this tour and it has a cold start with the opening guitar riff, unlike on the album. This tune never really changed much, but I believe it to be one of Frank’s most timeless and perfect compositions, so I don’t think it ever needed to. Always leads into Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing and always preceded by Village of the Sun.
Florentine Pogen – “a special sort of a love song”. This tune re-appears fully complete in late August, it’s played a handful of times during the first two weeks of this tour and is played like on One Size Fits All. The album version is shortened though; every live performance features a fantastic guitar jam right after the official release fades out. It ends with a cool unique riff, more jamming and finally Ruth blows the “Chester’s Gorilla” phrase on the kazoo (duck call?). Frank would introduce the song as “Chester’s Gorilla” or “Florentine Pogen”, or occasionally with both titles. Nappy would frequently mess with the “Perellis might court her” line and mention other road manager Dick Barber instead. The tune emerges out of a jam in Passaic, and Frank skips the intro drum fill for this performance. This is always a fun tune and the long tasty guitar solo really adds to the event.
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. It’s arguable that after a certain point Frank considered George’s improv as a part of The Hook and not an intro to Dupree’s, but I’m going to continue including it as such for simplicity’s sake.
The Idiot Bastard Son – This 60s tune was a staple of the early ‘74 tours, but only appears twice on this tour, in Boston and Long Beach. It used to come between Pygmy Twylyte and Cheepnis, but after the former song was reworked and Room Service was introduced, this tune and Cheepnis were rarely played. Despite this, the ending of Room Service always features the tease of the Idiot Bastard Son heard as the ending of the previous version of Pygmy Twylyte. Anyway, Napoleon brings a great flair to the vocals and Ruth’s performance of the melody is always lovely. Fans always give a big cheer when this song comes up, which kinda surprises me. Who’d think this tune is a crowd pleaser? At the Long Beach New Years Eve show, Nappy once again sings a rewritten version of the tune titled That Arrogant Dick Nixon. This is a total riot, my favorite line having to be “Try and imagine his office recording machine”.
Inca Roads – The tune that may be Frank’s rock magnum opus appears fully complete on this tour. Everything is there: George’s fantastic vocals, the iconic intro, the lyrical mutations, the beautifully spacey and free solo vamp and even the “On Ruth!” closing sting. This tune is played pretty much as on One Size Fits All and every performance is its own masterpiece. A highlight of this tour, this band and Frank’s work in general. For this tour, Frank often changed the ending sting to some variant “On Charlie!” a reference to Ruth’s brother and friend of the band, Charles Komanoff and Nappy would change “just to land on Perellis” to “land on Dick Barber”.
Improvisations/Jams/Blues – There isn’t much complete “make something up” free improv from this tour, but there are regular fantastic loose jams in Dupree’s Paradise, both the intro and the main tune, with the intro sometimes referred to as “Improvisations” “Duke Improvisations” or “The Booger Man” if there are enough booger references. The St. Paul performance is an example of something on the line where they jam for nearly half an hour after George first hits his finger cymbal but never go into Dupree’s Paradise. It’s basically free improv (and it’s absolutely fantastic), but I’m gonna count it as an expanded George intro. It could also count as The Hook but that’s another topic.
I’m The Slime – Played one time in Naperville, The tune emerges when Frank plays the intro chords at the end of the a Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing. It’s a nice, rehearsed take of the tune and Frank plays a small, tasty solo at the end. Not worth seeking out on its own, but a nice addition to the second Naperville outing.
I’m Not Satisfied – This fun song about depression and loneliness is funkier than ever on this tour. Played pretty much as on Freak Out. Nappy really belts out the tune, and occasionally addresses FZ mid-tune (ex. “Frank, I just wish that someone cared”). I also adore Ruth’s crazy percussion riff through the song.
Lohengrin – FZ starts playing the prelude to Act III of this Wagner opera at the end of his Stink-Foot solo in Pittsburgh. The band join in as well as they can to Frank’s weird permutation of the theme and the whole event lasts about 45 seconds.
Louie Louie (Ruthie Ruthie) – In Passaic, after some fan requests for Louie Louie, Frank polls the audience and they’re all for it. Ruth starts the tune on the chimes and they play the song, but Nappy rewrites the lyrics on the spot. It’s a really amusing performance about Ruth’s adventures in her hotel last night, and most of the take can be heard on You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol #1.
Marty’s Dance Song – This unreleased song is really more of a slow trudging blues vamp that Nappy sings “whooo” over occasionally. It was played two times, in Passaic and Boston, and its title comes from the former show when Frank says “[Marty] says that he can only do the dance if we play this one special number”. In Passaic, Marty does the “pants-sticking-to-his-leg dance” while Nappy sings to him and Frank plays a short solo. In Boston Frank plays some hot licks in the first couple minutes, but the majority of the 7+ minute performance is just this vamp. Frank plays the Hippie riff a couple times and tries to get Ruth to play a solo (to no avail), but that’s about it.
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 and delectable. One time, in Landover, Frank lets George solo first in the tune, and we get a nice, rare and funky Duke jam in Montana. Nappy would frequently change the name of the tiny horse from Mighty Little to Richard Nixon, or even Ronald Regan a couple times. Almost always followed by The Hook and George’s improvisations.
More Trouble Every Day – Played as on Roxy and Elsewhere, but with fewer horns and more percussion. Always played in a medley following Oh No/Son of Orange County, a holdover from the “ten-years” tour’s oldies medley. A deliciously funky reworking of the timeless Freak Out tune, one of Frank’s best. Each performance contains a wonderful long guitar jam from FZ. 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. In Boston and Erie, Frank had the flu, so he started the tune off “Well I’m about to get sick (I am sick)”, to my (and Napoleon’s) amusement.
Nite Owl – On Halloween Frank brings proto-reality TV star and early gay icon Lance Loud to once again croon/scream out the classic doo-wop tune. Frank tells him he can sing anything he wants, and he immediately starts hooting. Oh No – This Weasels classic re-appears as a holdover from the “ten-years” tour’s oldies medley, and is 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 a little bit of The Orange County Lumber Truck. Always nice to hear.
Ol’ 55 – In Boston, Frank brings on “wino man” Tom Waits, a friend and former opener of the band, to tell a joke. They play his song Ol’ 55 during the event because it’s the only one they know. He tells a joke about June Carter and then one about “the 12 inch man”. Both are dumb, but Tom’s clearly boozed which is pretty amusing. He tells the groaner, they vamp for a little and Frank cues the next tune.
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. Frank on the last tour, for some reason, started having George say “Achoo!” before the first post-”oh yeah oh yeah oh…” riff. This tune always features a hot and tasty solo from Frank, and is almost always played at the beginning of a medley with T’Mershi Duween and Dog/Meat.
Po-Jama People – This One Size Fits All classic is played a handful of times, and each take is a joy. The tune is played a little slower live than on the album, but it generally increases in speed with every performance. The lyrics are all there, and Frank and Nappy both yawn the ”boy they make me sleepy” line. Frank plays a long, hot solo in each performance (except in Naperville oddly); In Passaic and Boston, George takes a funky solo before FZ and the final live performance of the tune in Naperville is a true monster song. It emerges from George’s improvisations, they sing the song once and they play through it instrumentally another time before George comes back in for another slick solo. Nappy’s up next, then Frank starts to make some weird duck noises and Ruth takes a short vibes solo (“Get down Ruth!”). Chester jams with her a bit, Nappy honks his horn and there’s a cut. The tape resumes and a girl is on stage (I’m pretty certain it’s not Ruth). She rants a bit about our musical “roots”, the blues and other things until she eventually says “we must progress!” which triggers Frank to quote his weirdo proto-200 Motels opera Progress? (He says “We must evolve! There must be growth! Macrobiotic foods and tie dye shirts!”). After this there’s a Birdlegs bass solo, then a massive crash noise with a bit of the official song of the Air Force, Into The Wild Blue Yonder, and a repeat of the theme ends the extravaganza. These (and the one rough take from Europe) are the only live performances of this cool tune, and they’re each a very enjoyable listen, especially the crazy monster take from Naperville.
Pygmy Twylyte – This wonderful little Roxy and Elsewhere tune is always excellent and this tour is no exception. Frank totally rearranged the song in August, drastically slowing it down, adding new segments for Nappy to improv over, giving it a long, majestic guitar solo and a new ending. Frank’s guitar work on this version of the tune is really fantastic; we’re lucky it was a regular number because it’s an easy highlight of the tour. Starting in Europe, FZ has George play Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C, K. 545 at the end of the tune, between the closing riffs. Starting in November, Frank added a short closing jam on to the very end of the tune. It’s a fun little vamp, and FZ always plays the Hippie riff/Needles and Pins over it (except the first performance in Landover, but George plays his Mozart piece over it while Frank continues to jam). This version of Pygmy Twylyte is always followed (Except in Dayton, when Frank decides to end the show instead) by Room Service, a routine-type song with improvised dialog from Frank and Nappy, like the successor to Dummy Up. There’s an argument to be made that Dummy Up is still included as a part of Pygmy Twylyte and/or Room Service. There are bits of music shared by both tunes, and Nappy improvs lyrics in both tunes, but he’ll talk about anything, not specifically drug culture, and because of this I think it’s easier to think of Room Service as a reworked version of the Dummy Up section of Pygmy Twylyte. Anyway, This is a really fun tune, no matter the version, and a highlight of Nappy’s tenure in the Mothers.
RDNZL – “Big Ruth has got a solo in this”. This wonderful Studio Tan tune is finally complete and performed like on said album (except without the keyboard breaks between the lines in the big opening marimba event). Ruth’s beautiful composed solo is at the right tempo and perfectly performed. Frank and George each play an amazing solo, like on the studio take, and the section before George’s has him and Nappy singing! On the previous tours they would sing “We can share a love” a few times over that doo-wop-ish bridge, but in October Frank changed the lyrics to reflect Marty’s exploits. George and Nappy sing “We could share some dog/Marty could share some too.” While Frank quickly sings “Every Holiday Inn has a kennel in the back of them”. After Tom breaks his hand, this becomes the doable post-Stink-Foot show opener (compared to Inca Roads) and it gets played as such until the end of the tour. Birdlegs seems to take to this tune quickly, and Frank must’ve thought so too cause he plays bass on the studio take released on Studio Tan/Lather. At the New Years Eve show, Frank decides to leave out the intro entirely, starting at Ruth’s solo. The tune always ends with a musical quote from Dupree’s Paradise. I think this is one of Frank’s all time great compositions and another highlight of this band. Any concert with this song is likely to be a good time.
Room Service – This tune emerges in August and is kind of like the evolution of Dummy Up. It’s always preceded by the slowed-down, reworked Pygmy Twylyte and features a lot of the same musical cues as Dummy Up. Nappy improvises some lyrics based on Pygmy Twylyte, there’s some unique music and then Frank and him improvise a comedy skit about Room Service at a hotel. Frank plays himself (or a generic American tourist, possibly from Texas) and Nappy plays a chef sending orders to Frank. FZ gives an order (typically “a green hocker in a greyhound locker”) and Nappy chants the name of the waiter who will send him his food. First order never gets there and Nappy chants another, better waiter’s name. The names of the waiters were frequently a band or crew member and changed from night to night. The tune ends after the second waiter chant with the Pygmy Twylyte-Idiot Bastard Son transitional ending from the last few tours, despite The Idiot Bastard Son rarely appearing. Room Service, when performed, was usually played as the final tune of the show or as an encore, and is a comic highpoint of the tour.
San Ber’dino – This One Size Fits All tune premiers on New Years Eve in Long Beach. They bring special guest Birdlegs back from the deep south to play guitar on this song. The music for this tune is complete, but the lyrics are pretty wildly different (read them here). The biggest factor being that the song is written in first person about “I’m the world’s greatest dirt-biker Romeo” instead of the now world famous Potato-Headed Bobby. Also the ending Johnny “Guitar” Watson rant hasn’t been written yet and the event concludes with Nappy and George chanting “Got thirty days in San Ber’dino” and a smooth transition into Can’t Afford No Shoes. This is a fun, raucous, energetic performance, it’s cool to hear these early unreleased lyrics and Frank plays a sick solo near the end of the tune. What more could you want?
Son of Orange County – This reworking of The Orange County Lumber Truck and the end of Oh No returns as a remnant of the “ten-years” tour’s oldies medley. It sounds just as it does on Roxy and Elsewhere except with fewer horns and more percussion. Each take contains a fantastic guitar solo, and often some Nixon or tush 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. The line “I just can’t believe you are such a fool” frequently mutated to the show’s theme, some favorites being “I just can’t believe you won’t wash it off” (referring to Marty’s beard) and “I just can’t believe you don’t know this song” (referring to Mike Urso).
Stink-Foot – Frank reworked this Apostrophe classic for the stage last August and used it as an opening song for the next two or so years. The live arrangement consists of the studio portion of the tune up to the guitar solo, over the new riff Frank thought up on the spot last July in San Carlos. Like I said, this arrangement is chiefly used as a show opener and Frank would introduce the band and/or the next song over the end of this tune, and leave out all the post-solo lyrics. Frank would really stretch out on his guitar in this song, providing some truly awesome solos. FZ would also often change the location following “right around the corner” from show to show (Like “Ron Delsner’s House” in New York or “Down in Marty’s Room” in Passaic). The 1974 performances of this song are always fantastic and a highlight of the latter half of the year.
T’Mershi Duween – This fantastic “bongo number” is in top form on this tour. The Mothers execute the tune perfectly and the percussion is absolutely mesmerizing. It’s just a short little weirdo melody, but it’s one of my favorite pieces from this period in Frank’s career. Frank began to experiment with lengthening the cowbell break at the beginning of the tune in late July, and he continues to do so throughout the following months. That cowbell break just gets longer as time goes on and by this point Chester (possibly conducted by Frank) has a sort of a drum solo in that spot. Always played between Penguin in Bondage and Dog/Meat.
Tush Tush Tush (A Token Of My Extreme) – This Joe’s Garage tune was originally performed pseudo-instrumentally and used as the opening and closing themes each night for this tour and for the rest of the year. During the opening performances, George and Nappy would talk to each other about recent events on the road (typically boogers, Marty and/or Ruth) and sing “tush tush tush” between the instrumental verses. Starting mid-november, Nappy and George would sing bits of the complete tune (“it’s just a token” or “don’t you be modified” being the big ones). The closing performances were typically shorter, featured less dialog and may include Frank ending the show or Nappy singing. A really catchy little song, a very fun start to these wonderfully joyous shows, and an overall underappreciated piece in Frank’s catalog.
Village Of The Sun – This tune is now nearly unrecognizable compared to the Roxy performance. It’s way way faster, has a unique chugging intro, a bunch of quotes from Approximate, lyrical mutations (the second “even Johnny Franklin too”’ permanently becomes “In your thermal underwear” and Napoleon frequently fills in the first one with Ruth, Brian, George and/or Unity), Nappy gets a little sax solo in the middle of the song and there’s a different, hyper ending where they usually say “what’s you gonna do… Brian-poo” or “Ruthy-poo”, or “Unity-poo” or “Leggy-poo” or some other variation. It’s a very different experience from the 1973 versions and portrays a totally different emotion. I probably wouldn’t say this is my favorite version of this tune, but it’s still highly enjoyable and fills a different niche. Always played following RDNZL and before Echidna’s Arf and Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?, though when I say the “Village suite”, I’m referring to Village of the Sun and the two songs that follow, like heard on Roxy And Elsewhere.
Dupree’s Paradise Solo Table:
Life On The Road 