The bulk of the concert is given over to an idiom that I would define as part world music, part post-tonal pseudo-classical, with occasional nods to jazz (especially in the Jaco Pastorius-inspired bass work) and rock (due to Bozzio's love of bangin' those drums). While it's hard to really sum up the music you'll hear, most of it is based on short motivic ideas, frequently with Bartok-esque contributions from the all female string quartet, The Tosca Strings. In fact there's more sul ponticello (the dry sounding bowing technique performed up on the bridge) that I personally would have liked to hear, but it shows Bozzio and his pianist/composer/arranger compadre Stephen Barber once again doing that good old boundary pushing thing. Most of the songs feature Bozzio doing amazing work on his highly tuned drumset (which combines both chromatic and diatonic notes), Barber on piano, Chris Maresh on electric and acoustic bass, and the Tosca Strings. There are also some nice guest turns by oboist Rebecca Henderson, pianist Michele Schumann and, as incredible as it may sound, accordionist Mike Maddux.

Long time Zappa fans will probably take to this material more readily than those who know Bozzio from Missing Persons. That said, even Zappa's most challenging works frequently had more lyrical spark than a lot of what is heard on this concert. By the time the haunting "Silent Movie" and "Bulgarianish Folk Tune" show up late in the concert, they're like a breath of fresh, melodic air in an otherwise arid, if unfailingly rhythmic, desert. I think the concert would have had more drive, frankly, if one or two more "accessible" pieces had been interspersed with the less readily approachable pieces that make up the bulk of this offering. All of this said, there is always something intriguing to listen to throughout the hour-plus main event, not the least of which is Bozzio's amazing virtuosity on his out of this world drumset.

The DVD

Video:
This shot on video, 1.33:1 concert does not sport the best quality image, with softness and darkness throughout (the darkness due to the stage lighting). Everything can be seen fine, but don't expect a "wow" image on this one.

Sound:
The DD 2.0 soundtrack is amazing, with top-notch separation and fidelity. You can clearly hear Bozzio's drums move from channel to channel as he navigates across the vast area of his semi-circle.

Extras:
Two sets of extras are included: four bonus videos from the same concert as well as, perhaps more interestingly, a brief time-lapse segment showing the drum set being assembled, with Bozzio's voiceover. This DVD defaulted to playing the extras upon it being placed in several players, so you may need to press Menu to get to the Title screen. Don't be confused--the title screen is a picture of a house and if you navigate around, various windows will light up giving you the options.

Final Thoughts:
This DVD is a highly recommended for any drummers, percussionists or "third stream" jazz fans. Others would probably do best to rent it first to see if its more modern musical palette is acceptable enough to make it part of a permanent collection.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet