Zappa was legendary for being a perfectionist and very hands-on regarding all aspects of his Music. Apparently, this attitude extended right down to the way the stagehands did their job.
In the early 70's I attended a Concert at Long Island NY's, Nassau Coliseum. Zappa & The Mothers' were Performing on a Double-Bill with John McLaughlin & the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Anyway, early on in the Mothers Performance, Zappa became annoyed with the job that the Lighting Crew was doing. Apparently, they weren't properly Spotlighting Ruth Underwood, during one of her solos. Truthfully, with the Frenzied pace of the show...none in the audience would've known. But that didn't matter to Frank...he knew; and that was all that mattered. In fact it mattered to the point of distraction. He just couldn't let it slide.
In the middle of the solo he started to verbally blast the crew for their error, telling them to get their act together. Annoyance soon begot anger, which morphed into bewildered rage over their incompetence. The harried lighting crew was getting more and more flustered as the needling/badgering continued. Apparently, totally bewildered, they started to guess with the lighting, which really ticked off Frank, pushing him over the edge.
...put the XXXX spotlight where it belongs...put the light on Underwood....put the XXXX on Ruth... Ruth... Ruth Underwood, you know, Ruth...finally he said: Ruth, the one with the XXXX T-ts !
The audience was momentarily stunned, it fell into this eerie shocked silence. Then, a buzz started to swell, and finally the place erupted. It was carnival time ! It was Zappa being Zappa, and we were there.
The crew eventually figured out where to place the light, and the concert continued without further incident. He was One of a kind. It was always his singular vision.
So, yeah, I can see how it was his way or the highway, when it came to his Music. Deal with it or leave. I guess Jeff left.
In the early 70's I attended a Concert at Long Island NY's, Nassau Coliseum. Zappa & The Mothers' were Performing on a Double-Bill with John McLaughlin & the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Anyway, early on in the Mothers Performance, Zappa became annoyed with the job that the Lighting Crew was doing. Apparently, they weren't properly Spotlighting Ruth Underwood, during one of her solos. Truthfully, with the Frenzied pace of the show...none in the audience would've known. But that didn't matter to Frank...he knew; and that was all that mattered. In fact it mattered to the point of distraction. He just couldn't let it slide.
In the middle of the solo he started to verbally blast the crew for their error, telling them to get their act together. Annoyance soon begot anger, which morphed into bewildered rage over their incompetence. The harried lighting crew was getting more and more flustered as the needling/badgering continued. Apparently, totally bewildered, they started to guess with the lighting, which really ticked off Frank, pushing him over the edge.
...put the XXXX spotlight where it belongs...put the light on Underwood....put the XXXX on Ruth... Ruth... Ruth Underwood, you know, Ruth...finally he said: Ruth, the one with the XXXX T-ts !
The audience was momentarily stunned, it fell into this eerie shocked silence. Then, a buzz started to swell, and finally the place erupted. It was carnival time ! It was Zappa being Zappa, and we were there.
The crew eventually figured out where to place the light, and the concert continued without further incident. He was One of a kind. It was always his singular vision.
So, yeah, I can see how it was his way or the highway, when it came to his Music. Deal with it or leave. I guess Jeff left.
