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Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman
If you were looking for a Saturday night rock concert, the place to be was The Wind Creek Event Center as fans packed the venue for a sold out performance of ZZ Top’s 50th Anniversary tour.
Pittsburgh based, Ghost Hounds, opened the concert, and did more than warm up the audience, they set the stage on fire, metaphorically speaking, of course. This tight seven-piece group has gained attention as they opened for Willie Nelson, The Rolling Stones in July, and now eight shows with ZZ Top. Their music and energy is fresh, and incorporates classic rock with the blues. Center stage was Tre Nation, lead vocalist, who captivated everyone’s attention with incredible stage presence and swagger. Nation smoothly covered the stage as he twirled, did a little shimmy, rocked and kicked about, as the crowd rose to their feet, for many taking in their music for the first time.
After a brief intermission, the three members of ZZ Top took the stage. After 50 years, this little ol’ band from Texas still sounds great. For guitarists, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, the color of their full long flowing beards may have softened, but they sounded razor sharp on identical multi colored guitars and often stepped tandem to the beat. They opened their set with “Got Me Under Pressure” followed by “I Thank You”. The crowd instantly rose to their feet, and the majority of the audience stayed on their feet for the remainder of the show.
Left with the daunting task of providing 50 years of music into an approximate 75 minute show, their song selection covered their classic songs, “Waiting For The Bus”, “Jesus Just Left Chicago”, “Gimme All Your Lovin”, “Pearl Necklace”, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” and “My Head’s in Mississippi” with Frank Beard pounding away on the drums like there was no tomorrow. The show closed with the most recognizable hits, “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs”, “Tush”, and a little a-haw haw haw with “La Grange” the crowd went wild.
In a complicated world, ZZ Top remained simple to the core. A rare achievement when you think about it, three original band members, no changes in the line up, no tour musicians to fill out the sound, no fancy lighting or pyrotechnics. Just raw, gritty blues as it should be.
