Dweezil greeted the crowd stating that they would be playing quite a few songs of my father's. "Caroline" featured Ben Thomas and the multi-instrumentalist Scheila Gonzalez sharing vocal responsibilities incorporating some strange singing inflections into the mix. Rhythm was a big part of the music with one drummer playing a traditional rock kit and the other bongos and various percussion instruments. A lot of sounds, a few rather zany ones were melding together and led into a solid guitar solo from Dweezil.

Lead vocalist Ben Thomas delivered with intensity while navigating the intricate Zappa works.

"Purple Lagoon" started off with Ben dancing to dense drum sequences before settling down to sing like Frank. The song traveled a musical maze that melded into a montage of Zappa tunes including "Montana" and "Village of the Sun". The blending of tracks with all the colorful changes and innovations was seamless as one song bled into another.

The foray went from feisty and funky to more subtle, spacious changes before traveling into other tenacious musical paths. At some point, Dweezil was talking about a girl with an oral fixation leading to a jubilant jam. An engaging exchange between the drummers flowed into a fiery solo from Zappa and more twists, turns and transitions ended the meandering montage with a kazoo.

"Magic Fingers" was a racy rocker with interesting scale structures, a sizzling Zappa solo and Scheila playing a flirting flute. "Bamboozled By Love" allowed Zappa's talented band mates to shine with solos from Jamie Kime (guitar) and Pete Griffin (bass). Musicianship was key in articulating the complexity and cunning of Frank's compositions.

ZPZ closed their set with "Willie The Pimp" with its winsome pulsing jamming and varied vocals. Zappa Plays Zappa brought zeal and zing to the experimental legacy of Frank Zappa.

The headliners Dream Theater were polished and powerful. Dream Theater played three new songs from their most recent record Black Clouds and Silver Linings and gems from their progressive past.

Multi-instrumentalist Scheila Gonzalez handled saxophone, flute, keyboards & vocals.

Bigelf had a big set-up and a big sound. They blended psychedelic with progressive along with elements of hard rock and even pop. On stage, they were a wild, willful group of potent pixies. This fearsome foursome played pieces that were hallucinatory, haunting and harrowing exploring various speeds, styles and scale sequences.

Houston's Scale The Summit were an engaging, energetic young band. The quartet played an enticing set of instrumentals that had lots of chord changes and colorful couplings. Their set was fast paced yet clearly demonstrated their potential and why Mike Portnoy thought they were a good fit for Progressive Nation 2009.

Zappa Plays Zappa Line-up:
Dweezil Zappa - Guitar
Scheila Gonzalez - Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals
Pete Griffin - Bass
Billy Hulting - Marimba, Mallets & Percussion
Jamie Kime - Guitar
Ben Thomas - Vocals
Joe Travers - Drums & Vocals

Zappa Plays Zappa's Setlist 08/07/09
1. Carolina
2. Purple Lagoon/Rhythmic Gymnastics
3. Montana
4. Village of the Sun
5. Echinda's Arf
6. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
7. Magic Fingers
8. Inca Road 12
9. Bamboozled By Love
10. Pound For a Brown
11. Willie The Pimp

Dweezil Zappa is bringing the music of his father Frank to a whole new audience.

Related Links: For more information on ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- Zappa Plays Zappa | Progressive Nation 2009 | Buy Zappa Plays Zappa | Convention Hall

Originally Published: 08/10/2009 on Kweevak.com