Just Another Band From SA: Läther Play The Music Of Frank Zappa ~ Adelaide Fringe 2023 Review

[MUSIC ~ SA] Main Room at The Gov, Sun 26 Feb, 2023. Läther presented the music of Frank Zappa at what looked to be a full room at the Gov and from the faces in the crowd – there was the joy of music shared all around! While Frank might have left the planet quite some time ago now, his son Dweezil has been keeping the legacy alive. And the keyboard player on board for this gig, Chris Norton, had played with Dweezil for 10 years or so – adding a certain authenticity and a very cool collection of keys and synths! The kit percussionist, local Craig Lauritsen was also new to Tim Hogan’s Läther collection of musos and did an excellent job from his seat on the throne. With two solid sets of music and a couple of songs in the encore – the audience was treated to what was a significant treat of Zappa music. However, there are 70 and more Frank Zappa albums and a couple of hours of music hardly scratched the surface. That being said, the band was tight, and I mean tight. Most of them had sheet music on stage and I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a modern band, even a jazzed-up rock band, with the percussionists both having music charts for each and every song (not that that they were slavish on this, just keeping track). Frank Zappa wrote some complex music to some complex rhythms, and it is such a delight to see just a little of it performed in Adelaide. And performed so well! Song selection came from across the spectrum of Frank’s career, some even preceding the “Mothers”. For mine there were a considerable number of highlights – RDNZL has always been something of a favourite and Cosmik Debris was a wonderful place to finish. And, of course, there was a smattering of Frank’s cheeky songs, like “Why does it hurt when I pee” and “Uncle Remus”. Läther is a pretty damn good Frank Zappa experience! The voices, delivery and musicality, the tight band and the offbeat nature of excellent musicians both working very hard and having a lot of fun – you can’t really call this a tribute band experience – it’s something much more. 4.5 stars Clayton Werner #Clothesline_Mag #ADLfringe