The Reverend Willie G has spoken: ZZ Top shall carry on.
In a recent interview with Texas Monthly, Billy Gibbons explained why the band will continue to play shows (including one at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday, October 3) despite the fact that he is now the last man standing.
After drummer Frank Beard’s passing last month (bassist Dusty Hill died in 2021), many folks (including yours truly) opined that it was time to close the book on ZZ Top. Not that I really want that to happen. It just seems like it is the right thing to do. Don’t want to besmirch the legend and all that. Besides, Billy has already established a presence as a solo act with three fine albums and numerous shows with organist Mike Flanigin and drummer Chris Layton.
(As I may have mentioned in this column, the band holds a special place in my heart, as their performance at the Summit on Thanksgiving Day in 1976 marked my first “real” concert. There was rock and roll, beer, 11 secret herbs and spices and the sight of young ladies displaying their attributes on the then-new “telescreens.” My 14-year-old head almost exploded.)
But Billy sees things differently. As he told Texas Monthly, “It’s what we owe the fans. I guess the good news is that it may not be the same three guys, but it is the same three chords, same songs. And it’s working.” Gibbons went on to say, “I’ve gotten so many calls and texts from friends the last few days that have been reassuring. I got a nice one from Keith Richards. He didn’t say, ‘the show must go on.’ He just said, ‘I heard about it. I’ve done it.’ [The Rolling Stones decided to continue touring after drummer Charlie Watts’ death in 2021.] That’s all he said. It meant a lot and gave me a lot to think about.”
Ticket Alert
Well, how about that? After bypassing the Bayou City for the more geographically desirable (I guess that’s the reason) Fort Worth on its current “Fifty Something” tour, Rush is coming to Houston after all, on Thursday, October 1, at Toyota Center.
In a press release, Guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee said, “When we initially booked this tour we didn’t know how well we would hold up to the rigours [gotta love those Canadians!] of the road – so we played it safe with lots of days off to recover – but life is nothing if not surprising and we’re doing fine and having a blast – so why not try to hit a few more of the cities that have always treated us so well.” Presales are in progress, and the general sale is set for Friday.
Tickets are on sale now for the Pink Martini All Stars, who will perform on Tuesday, March 25, at the Hobby Center. How to describe the band’s music? We’ll leave that to Pink Martini founder Thomas Lauderdale: “Our repertoire is wildly diverse. At one moment, you feel like you’re in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you’re in a French music hall of the 1930s or a palazzo in Napoli.
”It’s a bit like an urban musical travelogue. We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America, the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world, composed of people of every country, every language, every religion.”
Concerts This Week
If you were making a movie and needed to cast the role of a heavy metal musician, guitarist Zakk Wylde would be your man. Looking like the bastard offspring of Hagar the Horrible and Grizzly Adams, Wylde spent years in Ozzy Osbourne’s band before forming his own group, Black Label Society. Catch Zakk and his crew on Thursday at the Bayou Music Center.
Josh Groban is a multitalented guy, with success in multiple arenas – the concert hall, film, television, and Broadway – so his program called “Stage, Screen and Symphony” makes sense. Groban will give his audience a sampling of his multiple musical stylings on Thursday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. A guy who can guest star on “Ally McBeal” and handle the lead role in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd? Now that’s some range.
Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper Asake brings his afrobeats sound to Toyota Center on Friday as part of the “In God We Trust” tour. However, I suspect that the theme will not be a spiritual one, as Asake’s most recent album is titled M$NEY.
Current Austinite Carolyn Wonderland will pay a visit to her hometown of Houston on Friday with a show at the the Big Top. And any time she plays there, you know it’s going to be a party. So how did Wonderland, who once ruled the roost in these parts, end up in Austin? The story goes that, while the two of them were signing some autographs after a show, Doug Sahm told her that she should move to Austin because it was “the land of free guitar lessons.”
The Atlanta Rhythm Section, an act that had hits with songs like “So into You” and “Imaginary Lover,” was initially not so much a band as a collection of session musicians who had all played on records coming out of Georgia. The ARS was tagged as a southern rock band, and while technically they were, the group’s sound was generally a bit smoother and a tad more poppy than their ‘70s contemporaries. You can hear the ARS on Saturday at Main Street Crossing in Tomball.
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