Frank Zappa, as he led his 11-strong band through a celebratory version of
America The Beautiful to close out his show at the
Nassau Coliseum in
Uniondale, NY on
March 25, 1988, that it would be the last time he d ever play in the United States. Days later, the 88 band would trek to Europe for a multi-country tour, only to implode on the road before they could make it back to the States for another round of scheduled shows. Despite the growing tensions in the band, the ensemble was considered one of the best Zappa ever put together, a skilled mix of extremely talented musicians made up of both longtime members that had played with The Maestro from the early days alongside exciting new additions, bolstered by his favorite new instrument, the Synclavier. A well-oiled machine armed with an extensive 100-song repertoire, the adroit band were equally as adept at playing Zappa s complex and challenging, genre-defying songs as they were performing classical compositions by the li