The Furious Bongos bring their Get on the Bus Tour, featuring the music of Frank Zappa, to London’s Wolf Performance Hall on Tuesday. September 8.
Join them for an evening of musical plooking, rhythmic gymnastics, and musical mischief. No prior knowledge of Frank’s catalog is required. Ponchos are optional.
The Furious Bongos are a bunch of professional musicians with pretty diverse backgrounds who decided to take on a pretty big challenge and have some fun in the process.
Now, you might ask, “Oh yeah? ‘Professional’ musicians, eh? What makes you think they can play Frank’s music as well as Terry Bozio?”
Well, maybe you haven’t heard of them individually, but they’re pretty good musicians and you probably have heard of the folks on their resumes.
People like BB King, Mick Fleetwood, Jacob Collier, James Taylor, Yo Yo Ma, Barbara Streisand, Arthur Barrow, Munich Philharmonic, Bryan Beller, Andy Summers, and others. Well, you get the idea.
As for Frank’s music, he was constantly changing things, both for his own creative choices and to adapt to the different musicians he had over the years. He also understood that his live performances were entertainment. It’s supposed to be a rock show, not a piano recital.
With all that in mind, The Furious Bongos don’t think playing Song X from Album Y note-for-note while staring at their shoes is the proper way to go about it.
The result of that approach, combined with a lot of homework, is a show that pays respect to Zappa’s legacy, but is also new and different and dangerous and fun, with lots of eyebrows.
Kinda like Frank.
IF YOU GO:
What: The Furious Bongos Play Zappa
When: Tuesday, September 8 at 7:30 pm.
Where: Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St., London, ON.
Tickets: The Furious Bongos Tickets, Tuesday, September 8 • 7:30 PM – 10 PM | Eventbrite
The Beat Magazine 2025 