FZ live performances available on video (1966-1974)

The aim of this page is to list in chronological order all FZ performances available in video (with professional shot images and live audio). Until 1974 I've listed every material I know of, including small fragments.

1966

• 1966 unknown date and location - from Sex In Today's World a documentary about sex and youth:
  • Jam (fragments)

1967

• 1967 unknown date - from The Bitter End - New York City, NY:
  • In Memoriam Hieronymus Bosch (3:17)

1968 September - October / 2nd European tour

• 1968 09 28 - Internationale Essener Songtage 1968 - Essen, Germany
  three different sources for this date, that don't seem to match each other:
  • King Kong (fragments - 0:45)
    this can be seen in the 1988's video documentary "Schöne Poesie Is Krampf... " - Internationale Essener Songtage;
  • Oh In The Sky (2:18)
    this is available in a short video called "Essener Songtage Outtakes" (maybe part of longer documentary, note that it comes from a different performance that the above listed King Kong excerpts;
  • Brown Shoes Don't Make It (0:15)
  • ??? (0:15)
    these snippets are include in a German Tv documentary about rock in Germany Roboter esse kein Sauerkraut. Die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik, they are for third different performance!
• 1968 10 08 - Beat Club, Radio Bremen TV - Bremen, Germany:
  • Improvisation (3:13)
  • King Kong (2:22)
  • A Pound For A Brown (3:35)
  • Sleeping In A Jar (12:30)
  • Uncle Meat (4:13)
  • Gas Mask (2:45)
  • Lohengrin (2:23)
  • Let's Make The Water Turn Black (2:32)
  • Octandre (1:17)
• 1968 10 10 (?) - Forum Musiques, TV studio - Paris, France:
  • A Pound For A Brown (2:47)
  • Sleeping In A Jar (4:33)
  • Octandre (1:15)
• 1968 10 23 - Colour Me Pop, BBC2 TV - London, UK:
  • FZ spoken intro and Improvisation (3:00)
  • King Kong (20:30)
  • Oh In The Sky (2:13)
• 1968 10 25 - Royal Festival Hall - London, UK:
  • Progress (the play - approx. 20min)
    see Uncle Meat and The True Story Of 200 Motels, soundtrack appears on Ahead Of Their Time and Mystery Disc.
• late 1968 (or 1969) - Unidentified MOI live footage - unknown date and location:
  • Gas Mask / Help I'm A Rock (fragments)
    appears on The Late Show.

1970 / 1971 Flo & Eddie tours

• 1970 11 06 - Fillmore West - San Francisco, CA:
  • Call Any Vegetable (fragments - 1:50 + 2:35)
  • The Sanzini Brothers - The Pyramid Trick (1:02)
  • The Duke (fragments, incl. Would You Like A Snack - 0:25)
  • Penis Dimension (4:55)
  • Do You Like my New Car (4:18)
  • Happy Together (1:04)
    all of these appear in Frank Zappa (VPRO 71), but see also The True Story Of 200 Motels.
• 1970 12 15 - Palais Gaumont - Paris, Fr:
  • Call Any Vegetables (3 fragments - 2:50)
  • Improvisation (1:00)
  • The Air (3:54)
  • Dog Breath (2:00)
  • Mother People (2:27)
  • You Didn't Try To Call Me (3:32)
  • King Kong (fragments - 14:00)
  • Who Are The Brain Police (5:30)
    last two songs feature Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. Most of the known available performance is contained in the Jan 16, 1971 emission of Pop 2, the Call Any Vegetables fragments were only broadcasted as a preview in the Jan 9, 1971 emission of Pop 2. Some of the material also appears in Spotlight (Swedish Tv 1971). A six minutes fragment of the King Kong performance appears also in the May 8, 1971 emission of Pop 2 dedicated to Jean-Luc Ponty. Parts of the show (including the complete King Kong) are available in Disconnected Synapses.
• 1971 06 05 - Fillmore East - New York City, NY - The Mothers with John & Joko:
  • Intro (2:28)
  • Well (8:02)
  • King Kong / Scum-Bag (13:34)
    heavily edited and/or remixed audio versions of this unique performance are available in Plastic Ono Band's Some Time In New York City and Playground Psychotics.

1973 The Mothers of Invention with Jean-Luc Ponty

• 1973 06 2? - Hordern Pavilion Rehearsal - Sydney, Australia
  two different sources that don't match each other but probably are from the same location:
  • Fifty Fifty (1:30)
  • Be-Bop Tango (2:30)
  • Cucamonga (1:20)
    appear in this pro-shot b/w footage;
  • St Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast (fragments - 1:30)
    appears in Payola (a documentary by Australian ABC-TV, July 1973).
• 1973 06 29 - Festival Hall Rehearsal - Melbourne, Australia:
  • RDNZL (5:00)
    appears in Monday Conference (Australian Tv, July 1973).
• 1973 08 21 - Soliden, Skansen - Stockholm, Sweden:
  • Cosmik Debris (8:17)
  • Kung Fu (2:08)
  • Penguin In Bondage (4:08)
  • RDNZL (4:42)
  • Montana (8:36)
  • Dupree's Paradise (23:56)
  • Farther Oblivion (22:04)
    appeared in two tv programs called Oppåpoppa and Oppåpoppa Special (Svedish Tv, 1973).
• 1973 - Unknown date and location - Europe (August or September):
  • Penguin In Bonfage (fragment - 1:30)
  • Farther Oblivion (fragment - 0:30)
    appear in Sounds (Australian Tv, June 1983).

1973 / 1974 Roxy and elsewhere

• 1973 12 08-10 - The Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
  while waiting for the Roxy dvd (a trailer is contained in the Baby Snakes DVD), this is what is available at now:
  • Intro (3:50)
  • Montana (7:00)
  • The Hook - The Booger Man - Dupree's Paradise (20:30)
    this video was showed as intro at some of the 2006 ZPZ shows, later was made available for streaming at Zappa.Com, Montana is available in the DVD Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe(')/Over-Nite Sensation (none of the above is available in Roxy & Elsewhere album);
  • Dummy Up (partial - 3:00)
    this fragment is contained in The True Story Of 200 Motels.
• 1974 08 27 - Sound Stage B, KCET Channel 28 - Los Angeles, CA:
  • Dog Meat (4:00)
  • Montana (6:00 - only 4:00 e no guitar solo in TDRS)
  • The Hook - The Booger Man (5:50 - the usual intro for Dupree's Paradise, not included)
  • Florentine Pogen (10:00)
  • Stinkfoot (4:10)
  • Approximate (partial - 4:50)
  • Cosmik Debris (7:50)
  • Pygmy Twylyte - Honey Honey - Room Sevices (17:20)
  • Inca Roads (10:00)
  • Oh No (7:00)
  • Trouble Every Day (7:20)
  • Tush Tush Tush (1:20)
    this is the complete list of the songs available in the two main video sources for this show: the 1974's Zappa compiled tv special A Token Of His Extreme (that has all the above listed songs except Approximate and Cosmik Debris) and the 1982's official released The Dub Room Special!. Video takes for the songs available on both sources are often different and in the A Token Of His Extreme special are not present the audio overdubs included in The Dub Room Special!. No overdubs also for The Dub Room Special! cd, compiled by Zappa probably in 1982 but only released in 2007, that has a different (from the DVD) material selection and sequencing.

• list of Frank Zappa's live performances available on FZ's official videos
• Román García Albertos's FZ Videography
• what do they mean those acronyms?
• check the general Zappa tours overview: The clickable multi-purpose FZ calendar
• the big St. Alfonzo pancake table: every song played in each tour...

This page created on August 2006 and latest revised on December 28, 2008

Touring Can Make You Crazy