04/19/2007 01:23 AM
By Larry Rodgers
azcentral.com
ZZ Top has been on the road since 1970, so nothing in the Texas power trio's concerts is particularly surprising anymore.
But that doesn't make the live shows by the band, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, any less entertaining or fun.
Looking like a pair of cartoon characters with their long beards, cheap sunglasses and hats, ZZ Top front men Billy Gibbons (guitar) and Dusty Hill (bass) still know how to work a crowd, like the baby boomer-heavy audience at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix on Wednesday.
They delivered many of the hits that made them MTV superstars and milionaires in the late '70s and '80s, such as "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Gimme All Your Lovin' " and "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" with an extra dose of the raunch that has made them stand out from the crowd over the decades since.
Although it appeared they might be going through the motions early in their nearly two-hour set, once this trio got rolling, it started hitting on all cylinders, like the classic red Eliminator coupe of its groundbreaking MTV videos.
Gibbons remains the king of the nasty Texas guitar lead, and he doled it out on such hits as "Have Mercy" and "Cheap Sunglasses." He also threw some red-hot blues riffs into an extended solo in "Catfish Blues." Those who left their seat to get a drink or hit the restroom during that song -- not one of the band's huge hits -- missed a true treat.
Hill is one of rock's more busy bassists, and he helped keep things on track in extended jams in such songs as "Brown Sugar," which went all the way back to ZZ Top's 1970 "First Album."
Low-key drummer Frank Beard remains one of the most reliable timekeepers in rock. He was all business Wednesday, barely exchanging glances with Gibbons and Hill and quickly exiting the stage when the show wrapped up.
The band achieved a droning, mechanical sound that seemed simple on the surface but actually ran on extremely well-honed musicianship.
The three members brought that formula to a climax on a lesser-known number, 1996's "Bang Bang," as well as 1981's "Pearl Necklace."
Gibbons and Hill, both wearing sequined suit coats, occasionally went through the onstage choreography and hand motions that helped make them MTV stars. Exchanging low-fives now and then as they passed on the stage, they are some of the most closeknit musical partners in rock.
The pair brought out their famed "fuzzy guitars" for the group's 1980 megahit, "Legs," and wrapped things up with an encore of another massive radio song, "Tush."
The ultra-hip and biker-friendly image of this trio, all well into their 50s, will allow ZZ Top to keep rolling for years to come. Perhaps someday the band will venture more into its newer material onstage, despite the crowd-pleasing reliability of its '80s catalog.
Reach Rodgers at larry.rodgers@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8043.
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