Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard are ZZ Top. Even after 40 years together, they still make their bluesy classic rock sound fresh and relevant in today’s music scene. A hastily arranged concert last week with little time for ticket sales still brought in over 2,300 people to hear one of the great rock bands of all time.
The Roanoke Civic Center set up a smaller venue for the band, which made the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers appear larger than life. The minimal stage setting focused all attention on the group and the digital screen behind them which showed a variety of snippets of their videos. No costume changes for these boys, just straight up rock and roll.
They played all the favorites, including “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Under Pressure,” “Legs”, “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Mexican Blackbird.” During the tight hour and a half show, they pulled songs from their very first album to their last. Billy Gibbons, lead singer and guitarist, said it was great to be back in Roanoke. He then added that they had just hit town from Las Vegas, and when people there asked him where Roanoke was, he told them to go “watch an old black and white movie with fast cars and bank robbers that get away and you will know what Roanoke is about.”
Well, maybe. “Big Lick,” as we were once called was known as a rollicking frontier town but that was a bit before the movie scenes Gibbons was referring to. Routine “stage lines” aside, he seemed genuinely pleased to be in Roanoke – albeit in a smaller setting than they are used to.
After a short break, the band performed an encore with two of their better known songs, “La Grange” and “Tush.” They head back to the studio in January to record a new album to be released later in 2010. Will the band still be rockin’ in 40 years? Based on their longevity to date don’t count the three hard driving Texans out.
By Carla Bream [email protected]