Former Location-
The Garrick was located upstairs to the more famous Cafe Au GoGo. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention played here nightly for 6 months in 1967. Their shows became a combination of improvisation coupled with the incredible talents of the band as well as the famously tight performances of Zappa’s music.
Garrick Theatre
152 Bleecker St
New York NY 10012
And I think I was there at least once a week for the whole duration of their “gig”. I lived in East Meadow at the time, about an hours drive away, if you didn’t get stuck on the Long Island Expressway. Whenever I had nothing to do for the weekend or even on a dreaded school night, I would call up some girls I knew (who had a car and a driver’s license) and tell them I would spring for tickets if they would drive. Being that a ticket was the ridiculous price of $3.50, it was a great way to expand my musical horizons without depleting my wallet. And being a teenager in a band, I was looking to freak out and stop being a plastic people person. Thank you Frank and thanks Barbara for driving…and for making out in the back seat of your car!
I was there in the summer of 1967. I was heading into my senior year in high school – a rural school outside of Syracuse, NY. Anyway. not sure if my memory is accurate but I do know I was utterly shocked by what I saw: 2 dogs copulating on stage. And I think some sort of drugs were being passed around in little cups. Do you remember anything like that?
I was at one of those shows. It was the first concert I ever attended. I got passes from my uncle who was in the music business. Talented musicians and quirky “antics” . They announced “ this is where we blow the ass out of a stuffed giraffe” and blew up a firecracker in the stuffed animal . Zappa wore a double zero basketball jersey
SCATOTERRORISM – AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
FRANK ZAPPA IS REPORTED TO HAVE SAID:
I was in a London club called the Speak Easy in 1967 or ’68. A member of a group called the Flock, recording for Columbia at the time, came over to me and said:
‘You’re fantastic. When I heard about you eating that shit on stage, I thought, ‘That guy is way, way out there.’ ”
I said, “I never ate shit on stage,” He looked really depressed—like I had just broken his heart.
For the records, folks: I never took a shit on stage, and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973. (http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/The_Infamous_Shit-Eating-On-Stage_Contest)
CLARIFICATION: THE INCIDENT OCCURRED THE GARRICK THEATER IN 1997. I WAS THERE. A HIPPIE KID JUMPED ONTO THE STAGE, DROPPED HIS PANTS, AND TOOK A SHIT. ZAPPA, WITHOUT SKIPPING A BEAT, STUCK – OR MAYBE JUST APPEARED TO STICK – HIS INDEX FINGER INTO THE PILE, THEN INTO HIS MOUTH. HENCE THE LEGEND. ZAPPA’S VERSION THUS WOULD SEEM TO EXPRESS RETROSPECTIVE EMBARRASSMENT OVER HIS STUNT (BE IT REAL OR APPARENT – I WASN’T CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE STAGE TO DETERMINE).
SO IT WAS A GROSS-OUT CONTEST AND IT DID INVOLVE SHIT EATING (OR PERHAPS, AS NOTED, “EATING). AND IT STRUCK ME AS VERY FUNNY AT THE TIME, AND VERY, VERY MUCH IN THE SPIRIT OF THOSE CALCULATEDLY OFFENSIVE SHOWS AT THE GARRICK.
SENIOR MOMENT: MAKE THAT 1967, NOT 1997.