Vito's Dancers Freak Out with The Mothers of Invention

This clip from You Are What You Eat is one of the best surviving examples of Vito's Dancers in action. This was shot when the Mothers were playing at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The producers of the film could not get the rights to Zappa's music, so they replaced it with some Paul Butterfield stuff. No matter, this is classic Vito's Dancers. Not the best quality, looks like a film chain transfer of an old 16mm print, but still closest thing to being there that we have today. Another gem from the Studio 303 Archives.

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• Vito's
• Dancers
• Freak
• Out
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• Franzoni
• 1960s
• Vito
• Paulekas
• Szou
• Godot
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• Bob
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• Applebaum
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• hauntedstudios.com

[condreye]

beautiful

[redinpedro]

Not too long after they changed their name to The Mothers of Invention. Vito moved to Cotati in about 1970 and actually taught a dance class in at Santa Rosa State.... built a bandstand in the center of town and kept his dance tradition going with performances on that bandstand in Cotati...the last time I saw him was in about 1976...there will never be another Vito.

[redinpedro]

Vito was a brilliant sculptor a true artist...he taught sculpture in the basement there. He had an uncanny ear for the next new thing In '66 he somehow met the Byrds just before Tambourine Man came out and let them rehearse in his basement..put together a "dance" in a rented hall and the rest is history..."music history". When he met Zappa the band was called "The Mothers"...a total spoof on "Vato" music.

[redinpedro]

I still like to drive by Vito's studio on Laurel and Beverly Blvd. from time to time and just look at the building. Lots of memories there including his wife Szou making the most wonderful clothes out of antique table cloths and bits and pieces of anything and everything.

[MsMarilynS]

hey MattHatter - great to get your note. my recollection was that Vito didn't like us to use drugs or to show up high before going out to perform. other people might have a different recollection. but we'd dance for hours and on stage it just looked sexual and crazy, but i don't remember anyone doing anything except dancing and having a great time.

[MattHatter]

@MsMarilynS Wow, Were you actually THERE when this was filmed?! Far out! My mother was a frequent visitor to The Shrine back then for the Pinnacle concerts. Are those red velvet curtains I'm seeing in the background in a few of the shots? My mother has always talked about the staircase in the back where people would hang out and do everything imaginable. 

[MattHatter]

So this was at The Shrine?! I've had "YAWYE" on VHS for some time and never knew the info behind this freak-out at the end.

[PCFDD]

Any idea as to what the mothers were playing?

[dubbelzuurrr]

Looks like they were guzzling acid by the buckets. Great Paul McCartney lookalike in the last few seconds.

[seanash1]

That's far out man, thanks for posting!