Bird Song
July 15, 1989
Deer Creek Music Center
Frank Zappa's "King Kong" sounds very much like the source of the riff the band (led by Brent) are playing with, starting around 7:00, although it's not a true tease. This isn't the main melody of "King Kong", but a transition melody leading into the solos that I believe was part of Zappa's live arrangement of the tune going back to 1970. The clearest example of this riff is probably 1:02-1:30 from the version of King Kong on the live "Make A Jazz Noise Here" release. Zappa disliked the San Francisco scene in the late 60s and was critical of the Deadhead culture through the end of his life, although I like to think he would have found a kinship with Pigpen over their shared love of obscure blues artists. So yeah, it's unlikely that Jerry was aware of this connection, but it's cool to contemplate.