Saturday Matinee – Les Claypool & Buckethead, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Frank Zappa and the Ensemble Modern & Spike Jones

I could do without the silly mask gimmicks, but Les Claypool and Buckethead jam it down your throat. Sounds like it was partially derived from an old Zappa groove.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones are nothing less than amazing. “Sinister Minister” was performed at Mountain Jam VII on 3 June 2011.

This is reported to have been Frank Zappa’s last public performance, directing the Ensemble Modern, Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany, 17 September 1992. Zappa died less than two years later, days shy of his 53rd birthday. From the UToob link:

It was his last professional public appearance, as the cancer was spreading to such an extent that he was in too much pain to enjoy an event that he otherwise found “exhilarating”. Recordings from the concerts appeared on The Yellow Shark, Zappa’s last release during his lifetime.

And now for something completely different.

Have  a great weekend, folks, see you back here tomorrow.

 

The Saturday Matinee – ANIJAM, Tommy Pederson & Frank Leightner, John Prine & Iris Dement

Anijam” was a 1984 animation experiment created by Marv Newland, and appeared in the movie/video series “Animation Celebration.” No plot, just an exercise in surreal animation focused on an odd character named “Foska.” (Watch for some early computer animation sequences.)

ANIJAM was created by 22 animators, each doing a different sequence. The first drawing of each sequence is the last drawing of the previous sequence. The animators did not know what action came before, or went after their own sequence. The animators were free to create any animation that they wished. They were required to begin and end their sequence with Foska.”

So where do we go after that level of bizarre? How ’bout this:

The Flight of The Bumble Bee” [ca. 1900] on trombone is VERY tough to do. I could barely double-tongue on trumpet (dugga-dugga), or triple-tongue (dugga-ta-dugga-ta-dugga) but that guy was quadruple tonguing (dugga-dugga-dugga-dugga) on a trombone at high speed. Spike Jones’ band was awesome.

John Prine & Iris Dement at Sessions at West 54th (full concert) February 2014 [via]. The only thing I have against John Prine is/are his forced rhymes, but his voice and songwriting makes up for it. After all, it’s a Big ‘Ol Goofy World.

Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more fun.

Saturday Matinee: Black & Blue Danube Waltz, Jambalaya, Boil That Cabbage Down & an awful day.

Spike Jones & His City Slickers were amazingly talented but very corny.

Homer & Jethro grew up on corn, and were musically talented as well.

The Smothers Brothers sing Boil That Cabbage Down” that includes the history of the Trans-Continental Railroad.

Rodney Carrington‘s song about an awful day (and it’s worse than finding pumas in the crevasse).