August 9, 2010 – There is no messing with ZZ Top. And that’s not just because we’ve all been told not to mess with Texas. It’s because the same three guys – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – have had one of the most consistently successful music careers ever. Blending blues with pop-friendly guitar riffing has long been the band’s secret formula, and no one’s been able to copy it.
At the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis on Monday night, the die-hard fans who mark their calendars with as many ZZ shows as possible each year were sprinkled in with younger fans wanting to hear the legendary sounds, and witness those truly legendary beards. This is how the band accomplishes a packed house, every time.
The trio from Texas did have a tough act to follow. Touring hard for a decade in their own right, Buckcherry has more than enough stamina to make it through a set of rambunctious mainstream rock anthems. Singer Josh Todd leads the band with the larger than life persona that any good frontman should have; his piercing rasp always present along with ample headbanging and other wild stage antics.
Buckcherry now has a new studio album in the form of All Night Long to back up their already potent catalog. The songs from this release play with a more slick sound than the raw stylings of older cuts like “Talk to Me“, but still manage to come off as a natural progression for the band instead of a trip into overproduction. But then again, this is a group that could perform any song live and make it sound raw.
Giving the show much of its sound were Guitarists Stevie D and Keith Nelson, who aside from the occasional center-stage jamming stuck on opposite ends of the stage and did what they do best – get the crowd worked up over their guitar licks.
When ZZ Top took to the stage, the spotlights shone incredibly bright on twin guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill. All they could do is glance at each other and the crowd, casually tearing into the driving rhythm of “Got Me Under Pressure“. The bright orange guitars, drummer Frank Beard’s lit skull-clad drum kit, and long white beards that practically glow in the light give the eyes more than enough to focus on while growling vocals and crunchy riffs are underway.
The tempo slowed for live favorites “Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago“, but the band did not. Guitarists Gibbons and Hill could often be caught wandering toward Beard’s drum kit for side-by-side photo ops, or slipping off to one side of the stage to liven up sections of the crowd. A lean and tall Gibbons dressed in a shining black blazer with shades on is something to be seen, he gives a sly smile while pumping out blues on his Gretsch guitar.
With an exception in Beard, the rugged looking and ironically beardless drummer who chain smoked his way through much of the show, ZZ Top appears somewhat ageless despite having aged past 60. The beards can be given much of the credit for that feat; they haven’t changed a bit since the world saw the band in the MTV music video era. Signs of wear are evident in the singing of both Gibbons and Hill, but it works just the same for that famous rough sound.
Midway through the show it’s quite clear ZZ is holding its crisp ’80s hits a la “Gimme All Your Lovin’” for the end of the set, but that didn’t much matter. Fans were more than happy to indulge in a bit of instrumental play before hearing their favorites.
When it did come time for those songs, though, the singing duties could have easily been turned over to the crowd, who were yelling louder than Gibbons at times.
Make no mistake that there’s some serious musicianship going on during a ZZ Top concert, but parts of the show are crafted around silly nostalgia. Take the fuzzy guitars during “Legs“, for example. White faux hair isn’t exactly key to the sound, but Billy and Dusty are still bringing them out for the fun of it some 20 years after they were first introduced in the song’s music video. It’s this odd mix of straight-up blues and ridiculous humor (including those double-entendres) that makes the band so memorable.
They’ve perfected the art of blending crowd-pleasing hits with the kind of music they want to play, and it shows. 40 years together has not caused ZZ Top to lose its edge; this band is still an absolute powerhouse in 2010.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rock Concerts, Rock Concerts. Rock Concerts said: New article posted: Live Review: Blues Still Has Hold on ZZ Top http://bit.ly/a9Wgnz [...]
Those are the best pictures I have seen of ZZTop.
[...] The two groups, whose respective histories have been intertwined since the early 1970s, are set for a string of tour dates together starting May 12 in Wichita, KS and continuing for the next three weeks. The tour marks the first [...]