Frank Zappa's rainbow incident - recollections

No, it dropped only a third - three diatonic degrees. I think two octaves would place his range below Captain Beefheart's lowest growls ever!

 

I've been able to find one report from an audience member.

User fpp on the Zappa.com forum wrote:

"My recollections of the show are pretty hazy. At one point he said "we were planning to delete that from the repertoire but if you really wanna hear it..." and played either King Kong or Peaches (!?) [note - it was "King Kong"]. After playing "i want to hold your hand", I think, as an encore, the band withdrew and he remained at stage right removing his guitar. Just at the point where his arm was taking the strap over his head, the attacker, who had jumped quite casually across the pit onto the stage, gave quite a violent push from behind jerking (not the U.S. meaning) FZ down into the pit. The attacker ran off stage left and I think was apprehended as soon as he got off the stage. I've got a newspaper clipping somewhere headlined "man with black eyes accused of harming Zappa" so someone must have given him a slap or two for his trouble. After a short while some of the band returned to the stage and the larger one of Flo & Eddie was on his knees at the edge of the stage repeatedly calling to get a response from FZ"

 

Resurrecting this topic hoping that more people post on it and talk about their recollections!

Ticket of the show:




His brother Bob talking about the incident:

 

Is that the same brother who, in the movie "Uncle Meat", is playing pool and says, "I'm using the chicken to measure it!"? It sure sounds like him!

 

Nope, that one is Carl Zappa. He had two brothers (Bob and Carl) and one sister (Patrice)!

 

Ah......

 

I was there on that night - seat AA43 in the stalls. I still have the ticket stub. I don't remember much about the performance apart from there being quite a lot of banter onstage, with Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman being quite annoying sometimes! There was certainly a stunned silence when Frank was pushed off the stage - I remember wondering if it was a part of the show. No information was given out and the audience left in a state of shock. It was in the papers the next day and it was mentioned that the perpetrator appeared at the local magistrates court sporting two black eyes, from which we assumed that members of the crew had beaten him up.

 

Shocking incident ... especially the way it's described earlier, which I've never heard before. I've known about this for many years but this makes it more real then legend.

 

When I saw the Petit Wazoo in September of 1972 in Syracuse, NY, Frank walked onstage and didn't sit at all thru the show. I distinctly remember his limp and he was dressed in a black t-shirt and pants. Looked just like the pix we had seen of him.

 

This site has the Syracuse show happening on October 28, so that would have given Frank a month more to heal after the Grand Wazoo tour.

 

Could be correct. It was a l-o-o-o-o-ong time ago

 

Wow. I've never heard this story before, but it helps explain the two huge bodyguards he had with him when he played Dallas on the "Them or Us" tour.

 

I was there, with my girlfriend. We were stunned when we realised what had happened and we stayed behind a while. Unlike someone else's recollection of this forum, I think I remember someone coming on stage to say that Frank was hurt and was going to hospital but that he was alive (he would not have said those exact words but something to give us that impression). This may be a memory from somewhere else but I cannot recall ever being in any similar situation.