ZZ Top – Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, and Billy Gibbons – Casino NB – 11/13/13 ~ Refrain Photography
The anticipation of this show was obvious, when the day the tickets went on sale, they sold out. No surprise to me. As the concert goers shuffled in to Casino NB’s “The Centre” I remarked to someone I didn’t think I’d ever seen the venue as full as it was tonight. The crowd ranged in age from their 20’s to much older, all here to see that “little ol’ band from Texas”, ZZ Top.
Although their show was much shorter than their large library would warrant, a little too brief for some people’s liking, they mixed up the set with songs from across the decades. Four decades to be exact, as guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons said while addressing the crowd, “Four decades, three guys…and the same three chords”! I also got to, in the same year as crossing KISS off my concert bucket list, I got to do it with another in ZZ Top.
Billy Gibbons asked the crowd “What can we do for you?” which brought out screams of various song requests being shouted from throughout the room. They played songs from way back on their very first album, they even covered Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”, and through in a few songs from their latest album. They also went through classics like “La Grange”, they played “Tush”, they played “Legs”. But they didn’t play “Cheap Sunglasses”, and incredibly surprising didn’t play “Sleeping Bag (and I was hoping for one of my favourites “Rough Boy” from their album ‘Afterburner’).
Dusty Hill & Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top – Casino NB – 11/13/13 ~ Refrain Photography
Dressed in hats, sequin covered jackets and with bright purple guitars the ‘bearded ones’ moved on the stage with an experience that decades of playing together honed, two shiny mic stands, not a lot of flash and flare, other than perhaps those jackets and when they brought out the classic white ‘fuzzy’ guitars for their performance of their 80’s classic, the aforementioned “Legs”. They don’t run around the stage like many bands of more ‘youthful’ persuasion but that’s ok, I loved it when a lady from the crowd ran to the front of the crowd, her back to the stage to get her picture taken with the band behind her. She didn’t realize that both Gibbons and Hill had moved up behind her to pose for the picture, all the while still playing, until Hill tapped her on the shoulder with the tip of his bass guitar.
Although many in the crowd grumbled at the compact nature of the set, their was much to cheer about as a crew member stepped onto the stage to light a cigar for Billy Gibbons and they played themselves off stage. 75 minutes of rocking bluesy Texas styled rock & roll, left the crowd wanting more, but isn’t that the old performing adage? “Always leave them wanting more”.
I want to thank ZZ Top, Casino NB, and PPRL for another great show, and another great band brought to Moncton!