Review by Shawn Perry
Like everyone else, ZZ Top’s touring schedule was derailed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was supposed to be a celebration of the group’s 50 years together — all three originals members still out there, having a ball playing their unique style of Texas-sized blues-based rock. Then, just as the group was swinging back into action in 2021, bassist and co-vocalist Dusty Hill died on July 28, 10 days after his final gig with ZZ Top.
In the midst of the tour, the group’s guitar technician, Elwood Francis, stepped in for Hill. Tonight at the Opry House in Nashville, Francis was there with guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard, playing ZZ Top’s iconic hits, slathered up nicely with blues-tearing detours, segues and bridges. Hill’s absence was noticeable, but the show goes on.
Before ZZ Top played, Nashville-based Tim Montana and his band, the Shrednecks, served up a piping hot set of country flavored rock with a sharp edge. The singer has deep ties with Gibbons, which probably helped him land the opening slot, though the arena-sized chops crossed with the elegant harmonies featuring Montana and backing singer/acoustic guitarist Molly Brown won over the packed home of the Grand Ole Opry.
The band — Montana, Brown, guitarist Kyle Rife, drummer Brian Wolff, and bassist Bryce Paul — are firmly entrenched in the Kid Rock and Blackberry Smoke school with indirect nods to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young. They’re raring to push beyond a simple label, aligning a modern country music salvo with a southern rock swagger.
Tonight’s set included “Be A Cowboy,” with a generous rub of country flavoring, and the catchy “This Beard Came Here To Party,” a 2013 single that featured Billy Gibbons. The song received national exposure when its accompanying video included the Boston Red Sox during their drive to win the 2013 World Series. The team made it their theme song, which received full MLB support and earned Montana thousands of new fans.
Another Gibbons collaboration called “Weed And Whiskey” seem to resonate well. Then, out of the blue, Montana and company took Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” for a spin and exceeded the speed limit. “Hillbilly Rich,” lifted up by a video that caught Charlie Sheen’s attention and lead to future collaboration, also made the cut, showcasing the range of a relatively young band. I don’t think it’s the last we’ll hear from them.
The set-up for ZZ Top was rather simple by previous standards. In the past, the band showed a propensity for theatrics, from having live animals on stage to featuring an array of videos, fairly standard today. Not so for the Top tonight. Assuming nearly every one of the nearly 5,000 seats in the spectacular Opry House provided an optimal view, ZZ Top was all about the moment without the visual aides and big screens. Besides, there were hundreds of phone cameras already documenting the night.
In an instant, the three members of ZZ Top appeared. Before taking their places, Gibbons and Francis paid their respects to what was presumably a Dusty Hill shrine positioned in front of the stage left wall of Magnatone amps. As if to say they weren’t under pressure, they rolled right into “Got Me Under Pressure” to get the audience up and shaking. One glance above, and the whole upper balcony section was alive with movement.
If you’ve seen ZZ Top in concert before (a good five, maybe six times here) and are familiar with what they look like (even non-fans know about the beards), Francis immediately looks a little out of place. Supposedly, after a beardless lifetime, he’s got a beard going, though it’s nothing like the strands of hair falling Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons’ chins. Perhaps a hat similar to Gibbons atop that mosh of hair would have made the frontline look a little more ZZ Top-like. Elwood Francis wasn’t there to mimic Dusty Hill. He didn’t take on any of Hill’s lead vocals. He can play bass and sing backups well enough to make you believe ZZ Top are still a viable, working band.
The one-two punch of “Waitin’ For The Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago” was just as toxic as ever, with Gibbons laying on a thick slab of blues-loaded tones over Francis’ rumbling bass lines. Drummer Frank Beard — head down, eyes closed — never wavered from the beat, anchored yet loose, inserting sensible and powerful fills at just the right time of any ZZ Top song. To see him and Gibbons end it after Hill’s passing doesn’t seem right. Hill knew this. That’s why he urged the band to keep going with Elwood Francis. So here they were, playing numerous favorites like “Gimme All Your Lovin’” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” (complete with fuzzy guitars) to keep the party going.
You can’t go wrong with “Pearl Necklace” (depending on how you look at it); and the stretch that covered “My Head’s In Mississippi, “Sixteen Tons” and “Just Got Paid” truly found the band waist-deep in heavy blues-based terrain. Gibbon’s slide work and Francis on double bass left little doubt these guys weren’t just here to do make-up shows. You get the sense of a real connection between Gibbons and Francis, an important determining factor in ZZ Top’s future.
The Stones may have shelved their “Brown Sugar,” but the Top had no problem playing their own “Brown Sugar” to begin the encore. The thick and straight blues original released three months before the Stones song with the same title is from ZZ Top’s 1971 self-titled debut and it sizzled right along as the clock ran down. That left “La Grange,” always a crowd-please, after which Gibbons asked everyone for the fourth or fifth time if they were having a good time (he knew they were). Then he added: ”We got to do one more…”
And with that, they fell right into “Tush” featuring the lead vocals of Dusty Hill booming from the PA. Gibbons, Francis and Beard played along as the isolated vocal recording from Hill’s last performance prompted both confusion and delight. Without ever saying more than a couple words, ZZ Top paid a beautiful tribute to their fallen brother. There was nothing morose or macabre about it. It’s possible a few in the audience didn’t even notice. Those who did should feel lucky.
The night before ZZ Top’s Orpy House show the Rolling Stones wrapped their U.S. tour, their first without drummer Charlie Watts, in Florida. Many speculate this could very well be the last time for the Rolling Stones. And you have to wonder the same about That Little Ol’ Band From Texas and if they’ll carry on after they finish this first tour without an important original member. It makes you realize the folks in bands like these — 50 plus years and still going strong — aren’t immortal. They’re subject to age and diminishment. They can leave the building without a moment’s notice. You have to be mindful to savor every bit of what they do that much more, every time out.
