Does Humor Belong in Music?

Whether or not you're a fan of Zappa's music, philosophy, or looks, you'll like this live performance of his 1984 band captured live in NYC. The video quality is superb, since Zappa got his hands on some of the first digital video recording equipment available at that time.

Performance-wise, this was arguably the best ensemble of artists he'd ever assembled, and both the performance and the music are superb. Really great concert footage from a band that knows how to give it their all. If you've listened to some of Zappa's live recordings before (such as the 'You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore' series), this video allows you to really see the band in action. For Zappa fans, this is a must. For fans of rock concert videos, you can't go wrong here.

this is criminal.i love zappa, but i just don't get this.is it some kinda big joke.if so,who's in on it?the whole band? Just him(i think this'd make the most sense)?. Whatever. Does humor belong in music? Yes. Is there humor on this film past 30somethin guys acting like school boys?No. Trust me. it's terrible. im a fan of the mothers stuff, and i thought there'd be at least 1 mother on this disk, but i was disappointed. i guarantee that by the end of this DVD you will hate every single member of this band bar frank and one of the afro-whateverspoliticallycorrect guys.if u don't, i suggest you set up camp between Chick korea and roy chubby brown, and then hit an A-bomb with a sledgehammer a couplea times. you'll be doin us all a favor.

The only thing tighter than the band Zappa had on stage for this concert doc is its runtime. This is a guy that was known for his epic, exhausting live shows -- he even tells the crowd in this one that it will be a long one so they should get comfortable -- yet we get less than an hour of music here! This thing could've easily been 3 hours and I would've been thrilled because that's how fun, energetic and incredible this particular band is. If you've seen "Roxy" you saw a totally different type of Zappa band because this one is much more of a rock outfit that can zip through entire medleys at top tempo, never once missing a note and with each member displaying a ton of personality. In fact, I'd say Frank actually has the most boring stage presence of anyone in this film, and that's saying something! I found the interview segments to be distracting and they made Zappa even less endearing. The audio mix isn't as clear for every instrument as "Roxy" is (some of the drum parts get lost) but the guitars sound incredible and are way in your face. If this one had been a little more focused on the music and documenting an entire show it would easily be a 10/10 but it's still a must watch for any Zappa fan as it is.

Considering what has been on the pop charts over the past fifty years, it's such a disappointment to realise that Frank Zappa was indeed one of the most under-appreciated artists in the history of music. Fortunately, video artifacts like this one can show the uninitiated what a terrific composer, guitarist and bandleader FZ really was.

There are some flaws here -- this NYC concert was from his 1984 tour, probably his weakest ever, and the selection of songs favours the raunchy crowd-pleasers over the wildly inventive complicated instrumentals -- but overall it's a fantastic representation of Frank's fabulous guitar playing, his band's instrumental capabilities, the great humour and FZ's penchant for just not caring about what people think.

If you want a better FZ band and performance, try and find a copy of the May 1988 Barcelona concert. In the meantime, get yourself a copy of DHBIM and witness rock's only true genius in action.