were conceived to a cassette of Eliminator, waited patiently through

the ultra-rehearsed, ultra-forgettable bar band opener until

8:33 p.m. when the beards hit the stage -- their trademark facial hair blowing proudly in the simulated wind and smokescreen

as as American flag blew atop the bridge of a battleship. I'd like to

think they represent the same thing, no?

course of the first few songs, opening with a rather hesitant rendition

of "Got Me Under Pressure," however by the fourth song, 1994's "Pin

Cushion," the trio had dug in deep and were intent on reminding everyone

in attendance just how good the best three chord blues band in the world

really is. Classic ZZ Top schtick ran rampant through the show, Billy

and Dusty's stage strutting still as in sync as ever. At one

point, a fetching young lady in lingerie brought Billy his matching

"blues hat" to counter the one Dusty wore, and yes, they even broke out a

pair of fluffy guitars towards the end of the set.

guitar aficionados on hand could rejoice in the general lack of

synth-era material as it gave The Reverend Billy G plenty of room to

bend and pinch all of the piss and vinegar out of the strings on his

custom built Bolin Gretsch style guitars while

Dusty Hill and Frank Beard held down the rhythmic fort with the utmost

of style and ease. They make it look so unbelievably easy, and more

importantly, appear to still have a very good time doing so. Never a

band to take themselves too seriously, Billy Gibbons prodded a bit at

their age, cleverly mentioning their time together with-in the guise of a

weed joke ("We've been going green for about 40 years") followed by his

introducing a Willie Brown cover as a song they had written themselves

in 1932. These guys still play their instruments very well, but it was surprising how on-point the singing was. Dusty in

particular still belts his songs out like he's earning his beer money

with his vocal chords. 

greasy grooves that have been this band's bread and butter since jump

street are still potent enough to be the epitome of cool and remain free

of irony in my book, and while they may tune a little lower, and drive a

little slower, ZZ Top can still shake down a blues boogie like nobody

else. 

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