The band Z surely broke a record at the Paradise Thursday night, performing about 215 songs. Of course 200 of them weren't full songs, just snatches of hits from the '70s, strung together in a 25-minute medley near the end of Z's two-hour-plus set.

Leave it to co-bandleaders Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa, sons of late, great mad (Mother) Frank. The medley of classic-rock sound bytes had evolved from a birthday party for sister Moon Unit, and it touched everything from hard-riffin' favorites Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith to James Brown, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "You Light Up My Life." Thursday's show also included fuller covers of Frank Zappa's "I Am The Slime," [sic] "Dirty Love" and instrumental "Peaches en Regalia," but the medley made clear that guitarist Dweezil, 24, and vocalist Ahmet, 19, hadn't only listened to their Dad in the '70s.

Nonetheless, they inherited his work ethic for technical proficiency, as well as his humor. Rehearsing such a marathon was an unreal task. [BB--try doing it for your audition.] But then, Zappa bands were always the best.

So such was the case with Z, which also featured Mike Keneally (who played with Frank) and the Berklee-trained rhythm section of bassist Bryan Beller and standout drummer Joe Travers, an octopuslike basher. Their unflagging, ever-shifting chops kept the medley alive long after the joke had worn thin.

In a sense, the whole show was like that. At times, Z burned through originals with more focus than on its bombastic debut CD Shampoohorn. Dweezil graced "Lucky Jones" and Purple Guitar" with fluid scales and vibrato feedback in his best post-Eddie Van Halen style. And Ahmet--like Faith No More's Mike Patton--got by on enunciation and dramatic gestures more than vocal skill, but curled screams to powerful effect in "Mommy."

However, there was also a pointless 10-minute "Star Search" contest with three people from the crowd of 400, and Ahmet wasted another five minutes cueing accents from the band like a demented David Letterman. Dweezil also played straight man to his brother in a stage voice similar to their father's. Yet, if Z dealt a scattershot deck, it was a willful act with future promise.