In the early days of MTV the cable network truly had a focus on music as it not only aired plenty of music videos, but also live performances. One of the first concerts to air on the channel wasHalloween 1981 show at The Palladium in NYC, which re-aired over and over again on MTV since the network didn’t have much other material to show at the time.

Frank’s band at the time featured Ray White on guitar and vocals, Steve Vai on guitar and vocals, Tommy Mars on keyboards and vocals, Bobby Martin on keyboards and vocals, Ed Mann on percussion and vocals, Scott Thunes on bass and vocals and Chad Wackerman behind the kit. We’re particularly fond of the versions of “Montana,” “Easy Meat,” “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” “Stevie’s Spanking” and “The Torture Never Stops” Zappa and his band laid down that night in The Big Apple. There’s nearly two hours of footage from Halloween ’81 on YouTube, take a peek:

Tracklist: 1) Black Napkins 2) Montana 3) Easy Meat 4) Beauty Knows No Pain 5) Charlie’s Enormous Mouth 6) Fine Girl 7) Teen-Age Wind 8) Harder Than Your Husband 9) Bamboozled By Love 10) We’re Turning Again 11) Alien Orifice 12) Flakes 13) Broken Hearts Are For Assholes 14) You Are What You Is 15) Mudd Club 16) The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 17) Dumb All Over 18) Heavenly Bank Account 19) Suicide Chump 20) Jumbo Go Away 21) Stevie’s Spanking 22) The Torture Never Stops 23) Strictly Genteel 24) The Illinois Enema Bandit