Great and grande

Having seen Dan Bern, I figured a nice way to cap the evening would be to watch some laid back southern rock courtesy of Allman Brothers founder Dickey Betts and Great Southern. With a newly minted three-guitar lineup I expected some pyrotechnics. The crowd was certainly in a hopeful mood. Several members were in a state of rapture even before the band was on stage. Unfortunately, like the Allmans and its various offshoots, Betts and Co. have taken a turn for the jammy and I quickly grew bored. Can these guys play? Oh my yes. But they couldn't keep me interested.

The man himself.



Hand percussionist and vocalist Twinkle Schascle - also a very fine vocalist.



Andy Aledort.



Bass player Pedro Arevalo and Andy (with Twinkle at back).



Duane Betts, son of Dickey.



Southern action!









After about a half hour I was feeling twitchy, so I went over to the Black Sheep Stage to see the Grande Mothers. I'm not a big fan of Frank Zappa, but I do have some of his albums and figured there might be a bit more of the rock I was hankering for - and indeed there was. Actually, the Grande Mothers rank as one of the most pleasant surprises of the festival. The bright side of no expectations, I suppose. Scratch that; even with high expectations they would have exceeded them.

Sax man Napoleon Murphy Brock is a great vocalist, and not afraid to show off some fancy moves, including a karate kick.



Don Preston, with Zappa from 1966 to 1974.



Roy Estrada started with The Soul Giants, which turned into the Mothers, then moved on to found Little Feat with Lowell George. He was also Orejon in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and played on The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot albums.



Ken Rosser was drafted in from the Quarteto Nuevo - as was drummer Christopher Garcia (of whom I have no decent photo).



Maternal action!







A couple of ladies were so moved by the music they vaulted on stage to cavort briefly before security hoofed them off.



Saved the day, they did - I was humming snippets from What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body? for several days afterward.

• Show reminder: The Marble Index and Donkeypunch play Zaphod's.