Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Celebrity Theatre (https://celebritytheatre.com/ )
Date: Thursday October 22nd, 2026
Tour: DZ20: Like Father Like Son
I grew up in the 60s. Being a nerd, I was drawn to the non-pop styles of music. I fell in love with progressive rock, acid rock and the beginnings of metal. The one style I really liked was the avant-garde music or as my parents called it, “Just Damn Weird”. I am not able to read sheet music, and I having zero rhythm and no ability to play an instrument. But I really appreciated the talent of these musicians.
This is when I was introduced to the music of Frank Zappa. Frank was multiple things, song writer, musician, composer, band leader, musical innovator and visionary. Some of his music is the most technically challenging of anything I have ever heard. I first saw Frank Zappa in 1980 at the Celebrity Theatre. It was an amazing concert. Little did I know at the time, that the new young 18-year-old guitarist that joined the band for the first time would become one of the greatest guitarists performing today, Steve Vai.
For a number of years, Frank’s son, Dweezil attempted to perform Frank’s music. But for a long time, there were disputes between Dweezil and Frank’s estate. It got so bad, the estate told Dweezil he couldn’t use his last name. It looks like whatever was going on is finally settled.
This is the fourth time I have seen Dweezil. Each time his band was different. One time there were about 8 people in the band. Tonight, Dweezil went with the core 5-piece part of past bands. All of these members have been performing with Dweezil for a number of years. It was funny that Dweezil pointed out that all of the band members could read sheet music except him. Frank demanded that anyone in his band was required to read sheet music. However, Dweezil said he learned by listening to the song and then replaying it.
They started the evening with one of Dweezil’s songs, “Purple Guitar”. Frank told Dweezil that he should open his shows with this song. Later in the show, Dweezil and the band performed another song Dweezil wrote when he was 14 and Frank helped produce, “Electric Hoedown”. Dweezil said he had to modify how the song is played because his hands can’t do the stuff his 14-year-old body could do. He also told us they might have to restart the song if he messed it up. After the third attempt, they finally completed the song. You got to remember that the music these artists are attempting to perform is extremely complicated and challenging.
There were 2 songs that I missed them playing this tour. The first was an “Interruptive Dance” that each member of the band came out and did a weird dance on stage. The other was Frank’s classic “(Moving To) Montana”. Otherwise, it was a great mix of Frank’s classic songs. A lot were from Franks performance at Carniege Hall. A number of the songs were from Frank’s days with The Mothers Of Invention.
Overall, it was a fantastic evening of great music. I can very highly recommend seeing Dweezil and his band. This was their opening night of this tour cycle, so it will only get better. Check out his website to see when he will be coming to a city and venue near you.
Dweezil Zappa Social Media sites:
Website: https://www.dweezilzappa.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DweezilZappaOfficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DweezilZappa/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thedweezilzappa
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2026, All Rights Reserved
Dweezil Zappa setlist:
Purple Guitar
Stink‐Foot
Bitch Bitch Bitch
Ralphy Stuffs His Shoes
Something Anything/Andy
Cruising for Burgers
Wowie Zowie
I Don’t Even Care
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Join The March
Any Way the Wind Blows
Peaches en Regalia
Status Back Baby
Stuff Up the Cracks
Wild Love
Eat That Question
Electric Hoedown
City Of Tiny Lights/Join The March
Encore:
I’m the Slime
Cosmik Debris
Muffin Man
