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ZZ Top Live Review


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Posted

The band was great. Gibbons played three Gretsch Billy-Bo guitars. Frank Beard's drum kit was custom made to look like a motorcycle and was easy the coolest kit I've ever seen. Dust Hill was playing what appeared to be custom made Fender Telecaster basses with upside-down bodies.

The show was very good. Gibbons tone was nice and certainly reminded me of the expandora stompboxes through a tube amp. Behind both Hill and Gibbons were walls of red 2x12 crate VFX amps. 90% of these were empty cabs, but still it was weird to see crates on the stage. Gibbons only noticeable effect was an envelope filter he kicked on for one song. His tone rarely varied and when it did it sounded like the settings were ever so slightly change on an expandora pedal.

ZZ played for a little over an hour, but hit a lot of crowd favorites, though I was dissapointed that Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers didn't get played. Most of th big hits were in their thoug along with a couple of tunes from the begining of their career.

Gibbons has primarily been my main blues influence so it was cool to finally see him live.

If you get a chance to see the tour, check it out!

later,

Colin

Posted

Was Frank playing or were the drums sequenced, I know that was the case for a while. I saw 'em a couple years ago and the tempo was SLOW. If Frank wasn't dragging ass then the click was set wasy too slow.

Posted
Frank Beard's drum kit was custom made to look like a motorcycle and was easy the coolest kit I've ever seen.

Cool.. About 20 years ago, I saw Utopia on the POV tour. The drummer had a kit shaped like a motorcycle, or a spaceship, not really sure.... It was definately interesting. IIRC, there is a picture of it on the back of POV.

Posted
Cool..  About 20 years ago, I saw Utopia on the POV tour.  The drummer had a kit shaped like a motorcycle, or a spaceship, not really sure.... It was definately interesting.  IIRC, there is a picture of it on the back of POV.

Really? I totally missed the drumset on the back cover of POV. No mention of Utopia anywhere, either. Lots of other cool pictures though.

694049h.jpg

Posted

Chris:

That kit was indeed built to look like a motorcycle. I remember the chrome, fake exhausts, etc. from way back. I think that was like, '80 or '81.

Ted is buddies with Kasim S., who was in Utopia so he could ask him about that.

Posted

I remember seeing ZZ on Leno a while back during the release of the new box set.

I sat up bleary eyed and watched but did a double take when they shuffled by what I thought was a Crate combo. He played the Bo-Gretsch and, sure as rain, sounded like BG.

go figure,

S.

Posted

In my limited experiance, an expandora in front of any tube amp almost instantly give you the BG tone. It has that "fuzz" quality.

Posted

Lo and Behold...the very Leno appearance I mentioned is available here

About 45meg file but worth it.

enjoy,

Steve

edit> WTB gen one Expandora (davide) Cough it up, pedal whore. :D

Posted

I hadn't bought any ZZ Top product or seen them live since Deguello, but last week I got Rhythmeen and am surprised how good it is.

Great band. Amazing career.

Guest Buck Dharma
Posted

Thanks for the review. I saw them in Hawaii in 1983 and thought they were great. I'd love to see them again.

Posted
Cool..  About 20 years ago, I saw Utopia on the POV tour.  The drummer had a kit shaped like a motorcycle, or a spaceship, not really sure.... It was definately interesting.  IIRC, there is a picture of it on the back of POV.

Really? I totally missed the drumset on the back cover of POV. No mention of Utopia anywhere, either. Lots of other cool pictures though.

694049h.jpg

Man... that pic makes me want to run out and buy some porno. I don't have any in the house, LOL.

Posted
Man... that pic makes me want to run out and buy some porno. I don't have any in the house, LOL.

Buy? Nonsense. I got more DVDs here than I know what to do with. E-mail me if you want some.

Posted

Spreading the love. Damn, this is a cool place!

:D

Posted
Spreading the love. Damn, this is a cool place!

:D

Spreading The Love? Is that one of MCC's DVDs?

Posted
Spreading The Love? Is that one of MCC's DVDs?

Just to clarify, I don't actually appear in any of them, although I could have easily been cast in the title role of this one:

464009h.jpg

Posted
Man... that pic makes me want to run out and buy some porno.  I don't have any in the house, LOL.

Buy? Nonsense. I got more DVDs here than I know what to do with. E-mail me if you want some.

Many thanks for the offer, and I'd love to take you up on it.... but, I am afraid that I might enter a world of moral decay, and I am currently an upstanding citizen, LOL...

Translation: my wife would kill me if she found it!

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