The Bizarre World of Frank Zappa, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Review

But while the visual effects were stunning it was the passion of Zappa’s former bandmates that really took centre stage.

Longtime Zappa players Ray White, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Robert Martin, Ed Mann and Joe Travers took to the Symphony Hall stage either side of big screens set up centre stage.

As they began playing Cosmic Debris, Zappa himself suddenly emerged out of the darkness dressed in flared jeans and a stripy T-shirt playing his signature Gibson SG with abandon, his dark locks flowing.

The image was really good from where we were sitting about halfway back and the movement was realistic, especially when he was using his guitar pedals. And when he looked out at into the audience it was really quite eerie.

I was told by some of those nearer the front that the illusion is slightly spoiled the closer you are because you can apparently see the image cut off at the bottom. But for me it was quite mesmerising to see live.

As soon as he was on stage though Frank was gone again vanishing into thin air and replaced with crazy Zappa-esque animations as the band continued on with Montana from the 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation.

The hologram appeared again sparingly through the evening - perhaps to avoid the audience becoming too used to it.

But gimmicks aside, this is one super-group. Mike Keneally served up some amazing guitar playing throughout the night and was clearly relishing the occasion. It was also great to see and hear Ray White play on songs like City of Tiny Lights.

Zappa’s son Ahmet - the man behind the production he describes as a “smorgasbord of awesome” - even appeared toward the end of the show encouraging the audience to get up and dance and showing off his own wacky moves too. Other highlights on the night were Trouble Every Day, Stink Foot and What’s New in Baltimore?

A different experience to the Dweezil Zappa shows - but worth seeing - and there is certainly room for both superb tributes to their father.