After missing out on Les Claypool, Pat Metheny and Mozart's Requiem live because of a broken ankle, AND DAAU because I checked their website two weeks too late, Dweezil looked like the only concert left that I liked to go to.

But how to get there? Train is costly, and the public transport in Amsterdam have switched to a nasty system described in another thread (See Chit-Chat), not helping much. I don't drive.
So I tried to look for a ride, through Zappa.com.

I was successful at getting a ride to Brussels through the site. But a lot has changed there. Since admin has decided to ban a good friend, several of the old-time members left, and what remains now is three infantile members who call names and make the place unpleasant.
So I also posted on the Dweezil website, but that place is not visited too well by Dutchmen.

So, PROBLEM. Eventually I settled on a train trip with bicycle. It would be a late evening and I had to work, ergo get up at 5AM,so I went to bed extra early on Thursday and crawled back to bed on Friday for a few hours.

Armed with a Tour de France cap, Zappa T-shirt, sunglasses, a bottle of water and a home-knitted little pig with a white tie called Greggery Peccary, I took off to Melkweg. And I was there around 3.

A nice fellow near the emergency exit comments on my nice T-shirt. He is Pete, techie. He has to get back in to work a few times, but we chat nicely. He tells me to come up to the front after the show, then he'll give me a set list.

Later on, my sister phones. She's coming over to take me out to dinner, and she'll be there in an hour.

I find a nice place to sit in front of Melkweg. It's a little path running along the front, it's nice and quiet. And it has a step, which is great for sitting! While waiting and solving Swedish crosswords, I do a little spotting.
Dweezil, accompanied by an unknown fellow, enters near the ticket booth, carrying an apparently heavy guitar case. The two want to open a glass door, the path behind it runs at a few feet past where I'm sitting! But the door is closed, and I get a good look at Dweezil's back while he's waiting. Later he walks by. But he didn't spot me. Not yet at least.
I also see Ben Thomas enter.

Pete comes out, and I chat with him again. He invites me to come have a drink with the band members! Although I initially decline, I accept it later!
(cue fan girl squee)

After my sister and I chat with Pete some more, we go out to have dinner at a nice nearby restaurant. We then return, and get to stand near the front right. What IS it with me and front right? (see Tilburg and Effenaar)

It's a bit of a wait, but at quarter past eight, the concert starts...


[Edited on 10-7-10 by BBP]

Fortunately, with a new keyboard player and the discovery that Ben Thomas plays trumpet, there's much new material to enjoy! And the concert begins delightfully oddball with the glorious Canarsie.

The song immediately shows Dweezil is not just physically fitter (while he'd sorta looked like a middle-aged man in Effenaar, he had developed an adonis body, taking years off him and making all the girls dribble), his playing seemed to be a lot sharper! Canarsie offered his first show-off.
It segued nicely into another old favourite (oh how I want Adrian Belew to sing it...): City of Tiny Lights. Beautiful as ever, a special song to me.

More setlist surprises came throughout the evening, starting with 200 Motels's Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Hint Dweezil: Many Dutchmen know this, on account of the fact that Volkswagen used it in a commercial. But they only used the line "do you like my new car?" Thatline was skipped for unknown reason in this performance, I'd preferred it if it had stayed in.
It was followed by some hilarious Scheila Gonzales and Ben Thomas dialogue during What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
Followed by T'Mershi Duween, which was lovely...


Dweezil had another BB favourite, off TTR this time: Easy Meat. Rocking hard as ever, and a cool DZ solo to boot.
It was followed by a smooth, jazzy moment: Blessed Relief. While such alternation of styles is nice, the problem is it makes you remember you've had a day of activity already. Both my sister and I felt exhausted.

"How about one we know?" some guy asks in the audience. "You should have done your homework!" Dweezil replies. It's followed by another 200 Motels moment:Mystery Roach.

It is indeed followed by something we know better: it was also sung in the 2006 sets: Florentine Pogen. Dweezil's soloing grows stronger throughout the evening, and this one was another rocker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQhV_Gls2Ig
After that a fun version of Advance Romance.

It was followed by another new song, off TTR: The Blue Light. An early Sprechgesang, Blue Light is definitely my favourite of the scatted songs. Well, that and Ship/Witch. And, as I did with most of the songs anyway, I sang along from start to finish.
When Ben Thomas mentioned the World Cup, he got a great applause from the audience.
I had a nice place on the front right, near the stairs, so I was a little higher than the people in front of me. And, although it's often in your head, I had the feeling Dweezil looked at me a few times throughout the show.
And even though I still can't be sure, when he said: "It's an obscure song, but I noticed some of you were singing along with all the words, which is special, especially you there..."and pointed at me. WHOA! WHoa! whoa!

After that, a fun cheery version of another TTR gem that is often overlooked: Pick Me I'm Clean. Since my copy of Tinsel Town Rebellion has considerate scratching damage from a tumble, I was glad I could hear this song again.

I'd only heard the next song at the VIP concert with Steve Vai soloing in 2006 in Amsterdam, and back then I hurt my neck while headbanging to it. Eat That Question started off with one of Chris's keyboards failing. The techie ran up, while Dweeze played four descending chords as in "/FAIL", and later played a fun riff I failed to recognize, when the misbehaving was treated and that oh so familiar keyboard intro started!
ETQ ROCKS HARD as ever. It had an amazing sax solo by Scheila Gonzales, who harvested a huge ovation, and the low guitar playing at the resuming of the main riff really made my guts rumble. Ooh... wow...

More Sheik along the way, with Wild Love andYo Mama. With latter cut off on the tape I made off Sheik, I was happy to hear that one in full. Plus great soloing!

Some more Fillmore came up, with The Little House I Used To Live In (great song and I love the theme, but I prefer the BWS one) and Latex Solar Beef with the Willie the Pimp theme incorporated, and some great Joe Travers soloing.

After that, another favourite: Apostrophe. It had a fantastic Pete Griffin solo and generated a great response!

Then came another opportunity for Ben to play trumpet: Big Swifty. Beautiful, beautiful. And my sister loved it, she's rather familiar with the Grand Wazoo and Waka Jawaka albums.
Unfortunately, during it, Ben's trumpet seemed to break down. While Pete, Jamie, Joe and Chris and possibly Billy who I couldn't see at all, were playing Swifty flawlessly, Dweez seemed more preoccupied with the trumpet Ben was tinkering with at the side, during the song.

The band played a cute, sizzly, danceable tune. Dweezil invited audience members to do a little dance participation onstage. When several young ladies (Dweezil's grin said a lot) had gotten up there, Dweezil announced he was going to play a rhythmically more challenging song: Keep It Greasey.
Well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z43znpCqO70

After the ladies were ushered off the stage by the same Pete I was talking to earlier, the band played a little more Keep It Greasey, then left the stage.

And came back for an encore.
Peaches en Regalia, fourth time I've heard it live but it's gorgeous as ever.
I'm the Slime with Dweezil sounding deliciously like a light non-smoking version of his father singing, and Billy Hulting coming finally out of the little corner on stage so I could see him, to sing a section.



[Edited on 10-7-10 by BBP]

The Aftermath

Dweezil has gotten to the floor in front of the stage and is signing away!
My sister takes my bag for me and walks to the bar. I get squished and go overboard with taking Dweezil pictures
I go up to get my puzzle booklet signed.


I draw Pete's attention. He gives me a set list.


I go out to find my sister. She's got my bag, which has my wallet and train tickets. I can't find her! Drat!
I get out the hall, but she's not there either.

I keep on searching and searching... Eventually I find her holding a bottle of chocolate milk for me, standing where we were earlier, and surprisingly close to Dweezil.


I snap a photo of Dweeze and Zappa forumer Unica and grab all my courage together for another meeting with Dweezil! I give him the little pig called Greggery Peccary I knitted.
"Is that for me? "
"If you want it."
"Oh I want it!"

I ask him for a photo of him and me, which my sister shoots! He has his arms around me... squee!


---
Unfortunately I couldn't go to have a drink with Pete and the band, much to my regret. I got home at 2AM eventually, and needed to get up at 5. Shame... wish I could talk to Dweezil some time without slamming shut.

But I can't help wondering what will happen to Greggery Peccary. What will be his next adventure? Will he discover the Amsterdam trash recycling system? Will he end up in a Zappa grandchild's nursery? Will he get pinned on the door of the band member with the ugliest groupie? Only Dweezil knows.

[Edited on 10-7-10 by BBP]

Excellent review. I wasn't going to go if they came to Omaha again, but I think I will.

List of videos:
Canarsie Reinbo
City Of Tiny Lights
Daddy Daddy Daddy Unica
What Kind Of Girl Unica
T'Mershi Duween Unica
Easy Meat Unica
Blessed Relief Unica
Blessed Relief Reinbo11
Mystery Roach
Florentine Pogen BBP
Advance Romance
The Blue Light Unica
Pick Me I'm Clean Unica
Eat That Question Unica
Wild Love Unica
Yo Mama
The Little House I Used To Live In
Latex Solar Beef
Apostrophe
Keep It Greasey Reinbo11
Peaches En Regalia
I'm The Slime Reinbo11

Yay! I saw your post on DZW. Funny Billy The Mountin'nin just started playing on my iTunes.