Zappa Plays Zappa, an ensemble led by the late Frank Zappa's son Dweezil to honor his father's music, came through UB's Center for the Arts last night to open for Return to Forever IV, but after the set, nobody was thinking of the group as a mere opener.
Dweezil and Co. blew the mostly older crowd away, drawing one standing ovation after another from the seated theatre-style audience. Before the show, many were only vaguely familiar with Zappa's music and only knew a few of his more popular songs. Afterward, though, everyone had been converted into a bonafide fan.
Every single performer in the ensemble (to call it a band would be a disservice) displayed a prodigious musicianship worthy of a night when Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White would eventually grace the stage. Dweezil's virtuosic guitar playing would make his father proud, and the Zappa Plays Zappa drummer was astonishing, changing time signatures and providing thundering fills as if he wasn't even trying.
The group seemed humbled by the lavish applause and cheering that was bestowed by the crowd after every single song. It was a refreshing way to see a concert; even though the group's core genre is rock (deviating into jazz and classical and space-music and just about everything else), it wasn't like a rock show; an impressive solo got polite applause from the crowd members, who mostly seemed like they were there to intently listen rather than dance or fool around. And the Center for the Arts is a fantastic place to do that - the lighting and acoustics in the building are only rivaled in Buffalo by the Town Ballroom.
Once the encore came - a medley of two Zappa favorites, "Peaches En Regalia" and "Willie the Pimp" - Dweezil and his fellow musicians had achieved the ultimate goal for any opening act: they made the crowd wonder how the second group would ever top such an outstanding set.
A brief set break left most of the aging crowd in the bathrooms while the crew re-assembled the stage, and after the announcement of the start of the show, the entirety of the newest incarnation of Return to Forever (IV) arrived: the masterful Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, the legendary Stanley Clarke on bass, the accomplished (and not to be outshined) Frank Gambale on guitar, the heavy-footed (and tight after all these years) Lenny White, and, of course, Chick Mother F'N Corea (hold for applause).
They eased into a set of complicated music as easily as they could, playing songs from the Return to Forever catalog, such as "The Romantic Warrior," as well as drifting into Ponty, Corea, and Clarke's solo catalogs. They played an astounding version of the Ponty / Clarke collaboration "Renaissance," which featured a Stanley Clarke upright solo that was nearly world-ending.
The jazz legends managed to keep the audience captivated throughout their extended set, and still managed to keep themselves interested. There were clearly sections built into jam transitions so certain members could solo or rest, and it was interesting to see the "new guy," guitarist Frank Gambale, carrying sections so the other members could rest or just noodle.
Performing an incredibly gracious set, Return to Forever IV threw down vintage jazz fusion for an audience that appreciated it. This was truly a show meant for musicians, and, ironically, the two musicians buffaBLOG sent to cover the show ran into nearly a dozen of Buffalo's finest in the crowd. The Center For the Arts is still one of the best true musician draws in the area, and if this unbelievable, possibly non-duplicable show is any sign of things to come, Buffalo can still draw a crowd. The show was nearly a sellout, and despite a lack of publicity, the venue will, hopefully, be a draw for more talented acts in the future. 
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