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Zappa Band at the Baked Potato Oct. 28-31

October 21, 2021 Mike Keneally Live, News

When Beer For Dolphins played at the Potato in July, Joe Travers and club-owner Justin Randi struck up a conversation right away to discuss getting The Zappa Band back into the club. The results were pretty much immediate and now we’ve got four nights there next week. Two sets per night, 8 and 10 pm.

We are ready to play. The band definitely got its act together over the bunch of dates we did a few weeks ago opening for King Crimson. For that tour we played pretty much the same set every night (the safest way to comply with the stringent scheduling requirements common to opening acts – and we STILL ran overtime when Jakko and Gavin sat in with us in NYC), but we’re adding a bunch of additional material for this Potato run. The early and late set each night will be radically different from one another, and there will be distinctions from night to night as well, plus special guest(s) (I’m waffling on the plural because some things still need confirming).

Maybe you can make it to one of the gigs! As of this very typing, there are still tickets available for both sets on Halloween, and for the late sets on the 29^th and the 30^th. We’ll do all we can to make it a memorable experience for you.

Hurricane moves Crimson/Zappa Band concert

August 23, 2021 Mike Keneally Live, News

Blame the weather! Our show this Tuesday has been relocated from the Pines Theater in Northampton to Symphony Hall in Springfield, MA. This post you see here, which I took from the Crimson page, says that it’s a hurricane that’s responsible, but now actually been downgraded to a severe storm. No matter, the show has been moved no matter what you want to call it. Basically the sky is doing weird things and we have to go inside.

Of course now that it’s inside, with even less open space for virus bugs to fly away to a non-harmful zone, there’s even more reason for you to wear your dang mask to the gig. It even says here that you have to wear one to hang out in there, unless you’re actively eating or drinking. I personally have gotten pretty good at eating with the mask on. If we end up eating together I’ll show you how. That’s not likely though because I am going to be one anti-social mofo on this tour. If anyone on this tour comes down with the Covard (as my mother-in-law likes to call Covid, charmingly), the tour is OVER. Just like lots of tours are right now.

I sort of can’t believe we’re doing this at all, but as long as we are, I’m going to have a good time playing. We just had a couple of days rehearsal in Albany and the band is sounding really freaking good. We had a great gig at the Greek Theatre in LA a couple of weeks ago, and I look forward to at least equalling it over the next few weeks.

Is that the proper spelling? “Equalling”? Looks really weird.

Anyway! Don’t go to Northampton on Tuesday if you intend to see the Zappa Band and King Crimson that day! IT WON’T DO YOU ANY GOOD!

THE ZAPPA BAND OPENING FOR KING CRIMSON IN THE U.S….AND A NEW 1988 ZAPPA CONCERT RELEASE

June 11, 2021 Mike Keneally News

Yeah, The Zappa Band are going to play seventeen shows with King Crimson in the U.S. in a couple of months from now. Yes I wish we were playing outside the U.S. too! But I’m highly grateful for every gig we’re getting. I’m starting to feel severely excited to get out and do some playing. Some aspects of coming out of hiding are unnerving. But getting onstage and playing some music isn’t one of those things.

The Zappa Band consists of Scott Thunes, Ray White, Robert Martin, Joe Travers, Jamie Kime, and me.

The Crimson band is the same three-drummer, four-non-drummer lineup that’s been making glowingly beautiful music live for a few years now. A truly wonderful ensemble.

Together it’s going to be a really, really good night of music (yes I treated myself to two “really”s there).