Pygmy Twylyte are one finest purveyors of Frank Zappa and his music. They stop off in Manchester once more to wow with their stunning musicianship and showmanship.

THE BIZARRE WORLD…

Frank Zappa created an incredible and vast body of work that is reverentially revered by many. Pygmy Twylyte are a Scottish act that we have followed for a while. They show their reverence through recreating the sounds of Zappa’s music, whilst embracing the bizarre world that it lived in.

Tonight, they’re a septet as opposed to an octet owing to a loss in the brass ranks. Nae bother though…the band arrive promptly ripping straight into Florentine Pogen. They follow it with Andy; a personal favourite of this writer. It allows the band to invoke the first instance of crowd participation with cries of ‘Andy’ being encouraged. After Camarillo Brillo, guitarist and vocalist Chris Shaw jokes that they’re the three people know and it’s now time for the deep cuts! Heckling is encouraged, however the band are NOT going to play Billy The Mountain! My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama is another crowd pleaser before the band head back to Hot Rats for a phenomenal rendition of the Gumbo Variations; Steve Kettley’s tenor sax work is exemplary.

YE CANNAE DAE THAT OAN STAGE ONYMAIR

The latest addition to Pygmy Twylyte’s T-shirt range is a ‘spoof’ of the You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1 cover. Shaw acknowledges that they had to learn something from it; they plump for The Mammy Anthem. It’s a song that found itself onto 1984’s challenging Thing-Fish record in the form of The Mammy Nuns. Pygmy Twylyte give the riff some proper oomph – Jon Shaw and Chris Shaw both cut shapes together on guitar and bass. It’s a curve ball of a set choice that is a wonderful pick.

Making up the end of set one is More Trouble Every Day and Zomby Woof. The latter is a ‘hard’ song that soprano sax player Hebe insisted was included again. It had been learnt pre-COVID and swiftly retired. Hebe wanted it back! The onstage patter between members endears them to the audience, however they need no assistance there. It is clear that the audience, as well as the band, are here to pay homage.

CALL ANY VEGETABLE

The great thing about looking back at a discography like this, is that there is so much to choose from. Set two plunders more locations on the spectrum with the Flo & Eddie era of The Mothers acknowledged on a superb rendition of Call Any Vegetable complete with Mancunian twists in the lyrics. A song that heads to the other end of the spectrum is Ride My Face To Chicago. It is fantastic to see this still in the Pygmy Twylyte repertoire. The cheesy 80’s synths are replaced by punchy brass; it’s a real zesty number that feels like an inspired choice.

In the years that Pygmy Twylyte have been performing, they’ve never performed the song that they get their name from…until now. Naturally, they do it complete justice with a rendition styled on the version from You Can’t Do That Onstage Vol. 2. If you have never listened to that version of the song, make sure you get your lug’oles around it. It is pure class. The keen eyed will also notice the ‘Easter egg’ in singer Jim McDonald’s T-shirt!

THE HITS

For the jokes about hitting the deep cuts, there are plenty of hits in the canon. Montana is one of Zappa’s classics; complete with Zircon-encrusted tweezers, Pygmy Twylyte deliver a faithful rendition. San Berd’ino is also sung word for word by the crowd.

City Of Tiny Lites is the ‘88’ version. Chris Shaw remarks that he thinks it’s the best version but it’s up for debate. I would debate hard to be honest but it’s testament to this incredibly talented band that they opt for something different in their renditions of Zappa’s music.

Joe’s Garage plasters smiles across faces, as well as another mass singalong. And to close out the show, Sheik Yerbouti’s bookend, Yo Mama, is masterfully reenacted. The solo is intense as the band step back save for minimal backing. With time not on the bands side, they head back out for an encore; a cover of a cover…that of Whipping Post.

As the band exit, it is clear that Pygmy Twylyte are deserving of every ounce of applause they get. They recently had to cancel some shows due to illness, and when times are hard, music prevails. As the great man said, ‘Music is the best.’

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