Hauling their unloved album around Europe later that same year, Gibbons happened into a club late one night and was struck by the spectacle of a throng of people dancing to the Rolling Stones’ elastic-limbed funk-a-thon Emotional Rescue. That was a very primitive version of what we went on to do.”Įl Loco, though, proved to be too jarring for ZZ’s heartland audience and sold less than half as much as its predecessor. “Very early on, I walked into the studio one time and found Billy on the floor, pumping the pedals of an organ with his hands, just shadowing a bass part of mine. “But we’d always done that kind of thing,” insists Hill, the cadence of his Texan drawl a beat quicker that Gibbons’s mellifluous burr. I was just pushing buttons and found something that sounded kind of trashy.” “The intrigue of these new-found contraptions was by then just starting to catch on, but we didn’t have a teacher or guide, we didn’t even have an instruction manual. “Without question there’s some crazy, interesting-sounding stuff on that record,” Gibbons says today, from his perch on ZZ’s tour bus as it winds its way around the European festival circuit. Opening the concert was Samantha Fish, a bluesy guitarist of considerable skills.Tres hombres hit the road to worldwide success To follow "La Grange," ZZ Top let Hill do the singing via recording as Francis, Beard and Gibbons played "Tush," and the fans got exactly what they were looking for, which wasn't much more than a boogieing good time. The 4,000 fans loved the MTV favorites (especially the boogieing "Sharp Dressed Man" and the hard-charging "Legs") and even earlier hits, including 1973's snaking "La Grange," which, with lit-up carnival rides spinning behind the stage, created the kind of rush that some men might have experienced at the brothel for which the song is named. "It's an electric guitar, it might help if you turn it on," Gibbons announced, then mockingly ordered: "I told you to stay in the car." He did get off a good line when his new guitar tech brought out a fresh instrument but failed the final step. On Friday, there was less winking and leering humor in Gibbons' manner and patter. He was a good foil for Gibbons, as well, manifesting obvious camaraderie and a willingness to jam.įor "Legs," ZZ Top continued the tradition of playing guitars covered in fake fur but didn't spin them like Hill and Gibbons used to do in unison. He helped Beard provide the perfect rhythmic rumble.
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Both were dressed in black jackets and slacks, although the star's outfit was all sparkly.įrancis has a bass, and he knows how to use it. In Wayzata, he went hatless, showing off his freewheeling cloud of Brillo-y curls, pushed backed by a red headband that matched Gibbons' kerchief. Like Gibbons, he's toothpick thin, with the requisite cheap sunglasses and beard - silver compared with Gibbons' strawberry blond. Gibbons' raspy voice was often coarse but still effective, sounding suitably macabre on a bluesy reading of the country classic "16 Tons."īeard was once again solid on his big kit with its two bass drums.įrancis, whom Hill tapped as his successor, is a 30-year member of the ZZ Top family. Overall, this concert was 100% more satisfying than ZZ Top's last Twin Cities gig, at the 2019 State Fair, when the trio seemed rushed because of an impending rainstorm.Īs always, Gibbons was in command on guitar, delivering licks in various mutated styles of the blues - Delta, Texas, Chicago, heavy, fast, slow, boogie, shuffle, gritty - and even punkish Chuck Berryesque riffs on "Pearl Necklace." In fact, the band seemed refreshed, which was noticeable on the opening "Got Me Under Pressure," a 1983 MTV hit, when Gibbons and Francis grooved together.įrom the jump, this was a winning night. There was nothing sad about the Rock Hall of Famers' appearance Friday night at the Wayzata Beach Bash less than two months after Hill's passing. With longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis stepping out on bass, ZZ Top still has three distinctive beards with frontman Billy Gibbons and Francis, as well as clean-shaven drummer Frank Beard. Bass man Dusty Hill had the beard, shades and hat that visually defined ZZ Top.Īfter he died on July 28, there was no question that the little ol' blues band from Texas - which had never had a personnel change in 52 years - would continue.
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