Dweezil Zappa Kicks Off 1st Tour Since 2020 In Phoenix

Last night, guitarist Dweezil Zappa took the stage at Phoenix’s Celebrity Theatre to begin his first tour in over four years. The son of Frank Zappa launched his Rox-Postrophy Tour 2024 backed by a band that included a mix of newcomers and veterans of Dweezil’s Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa ensembles.

As the name implies, the tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of Roxy & Elsewhere and Apostrophe (‘), a pair of records released by Frank Zappa in 1974. While the setlist for the 21-song performance featured songs from both albums, Dweezil also played material from other periods of his late father’s career.

Young musicians guitarist Zach Tabori and keyboardist Bobby Victor made their debuts performing with Dweezil Zappa on Thursday in Phoenix. Former Zappa Plays Zappa members Scheila Gonzalez (saxophone, flute, keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Kurt Morgan (bass, vocals) and Ryan Brown (drums, percussion, vocals) rounded out the band. Dweezil utilized a second drummer for portions of the show with Victor and Tabori taking turns hopping behind the additional kit.

Zappa opened with “Heavy Duty Judy,” a song his dad never released on a studio album but was played several times during FZ’s last tours from 1980 – 1988. Dweezil then turned to Apostrophe (‘) for “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” into “Nanook Rubs It” and “St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast.” Plenty of Roxy & Elsewhere material was fit into the show including “Pygmy Twylyte,” “Echinda’s Arf (Of You),” “Son Of Orange County” and “More Trouble Every Day.”

Tabori was showcased on Dweezil Zappa’s first “Punky’s Whips” in over 18 years. Zach initially became a Zappaphile at the young age of 12 after watching Dweezil’s 2006 performance of the Baby Snakes track.

Dweezil went with alternate versions of certain songs last night including an early rendition of “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” and an “Inca Roads” similar to the take played by FZ in Erie during a concert found on the 2022 Frank Zappa Zappa/Erie live archival box set.

The band ended the night with an encore of “Sharleena” and “Zomby Woof.” Watch Dweezil and his band perform “200 Motels” and “Inca Roads” in Phoenix thanks to the fan-captured videos below:

Dweezil Zappa brings the Rox-Postrophy Tour 2024 to California next for shows in El Cajon tonight, Los Angeles tomorrow and San Francisco on Sunday. The trek rolls across North America through September 11.