Catching a Few Z's

Could there be a better venue than Toronto's famed concert theater the Hummingbird Centre ( that's Canadian for center!) for acoustics and ambiance? Probably not.

And could there be a better audience than the several thousand aficionados that started arriving hours early to share stories of Frank as they awaited the opening of the venue's doors? Again, not likely.

Could there have been a better selection of Rockware awaiting them featuring the newest styles and designs memorializing the tour and the legend in all sizes and colors (colours if north of the border)? Of this, there is no doubt.

But what made the entire affair so noteworthy was the sensational group of musicians accompanying Dweezil Zappa in the 2007 version of the Zappa plays Zappa world tour. Collectively they performed a cross section of Frank's best music including several show stoppers like Suzy Creamcheese, and selections from Hot Rats and Joe's Garage. Dweezil has perfected the reproduction of the original recordings and "would have made his father proud" according to show promoter Riley O'Connor. And on a couple songs, with the aid of technology, the video screen above the band featured historical live concert footage of Frank himself performing with the ZPZ band actually playing alongside . Gotta love modern science!

With just a handful of shows under their belt and months of shows on the global itinerary on the horizon, anybody who calls themselves a lover of music has got to set aside 3 hours for this very special show. But don't go eating no yellow snow. Concert reviews welcome and postings on the Anthill blog assured.

And it didn't Rain

No trip to the west should be limited to Southern California despite the great assortment of clients, managers, licensees and great friends based there.

Especially if you get to see a glimpse of Neil Young’s next archive release lovingly being assembled at Lookout Management, or get to do a Santa Monica drive by to visit the friendliest dogs and their minder, Junkfood’s creative whiz Blaine Halvorson.

Or a viewing of the rough cut of the inaugural Zappa Plays Zappa concert DVD and having Dweezil himself offer up highlights of the upcoming tour’s musical focus. Bonus track? How about sifting through Frank’s personal collection of rare Zappa t-shirts so well archived by Gail and re creator of all things ancient, Steve Coe from Worn Free.

An update of the Police tour’s plans for treks to other time zones, gigs by Josh Groban and John Legend and a planning session for Drake Bell’s biggest tour yet, which starts early July, meant that all things LA were accomplished.

The next 24 hours were gorgeous, nostalgic, and lo and behold sunny!

Dinner with 10 Club’s about to no longer be a bachelor Tim Bierman was complete with sushi, sake and smiles.

Lunch the following day with Alice in Chains’ lovely co manager, Susan Silver, featured over sized salads, an even larger pizza and the long forgotten art form – no shop talk!

Besides the customary run along one of the world’s most scenic waterfronts was the highly anticipated visit to Pearl Jam world headquarters. The warehouse, the dogs, the band gear, the rehearsal space, the poster filled walls and most importantly, their key staff, the fan club folks and of course the Curtis Management team who were all putting finishing touches to the logistics for the band’s upcoming Euro tour which is starting in early June, made this long overdue visit perfect.

This year Anthill celebrates its 10th year working with Pearl Jam. At this time, thanks, respect, and best wishes to everyone in the band’s world. Cheers.