Second Time Around
Fourteen months have passed since I last saw the Grandmothers of Invention. When I saw this show announced, I knew I had to go. After meeting the band last time, I feel like the members of the band are old friends.
The lineup
The membership of the Grandmothers has changed. The most noticeable departure being Tom Fowler, who is now playing with another Zappa Tribute band, the Band from Utopia. The current lineup consists of:
- Napoleon Murphy Brock - Lead Vocals, Tenor Sax, and Flute. An original Mother
- Don Preston - Keyboards. The other original Mother
- Chris Garcia - Drums and backup vocals
- Max Kutner - Electric Guitar
- Dave Johnson - Bass
Set-list
The band played two sets that were approximately 70 minutes in length. Unfortunately, I did not keep track of the set-list. The 2013 tour was being billed as the One Size Fits All tour, and they did in fact play every song from that album. The highlights for me were the Sofa No. 1 and No. 2, and San Ber'dino
for the encore.
I do now that they also played selections like Village of the Sun from Roxy and Elsewhere, and Burnt Weenie Sandwich.
Prior to the show, Napoleon circled through the crowd, shaking the hand of anyone and thanking them for coming. My respect for this great artist grew exponentially. As always, his vocals and playing were amazing. In fact, the entire band was tighter than a whale's asshole.
Even though there was no VIP access this time, I got to speak to the drummer, Chris Garcia, between the sets. I was happy that he remembered me, from the previous show.
All in all, it was fantastic night of music.
