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Billy Gibbons in Concert
From his awesome beard to his massive riffs and gravelly voice, Gibbons has been carving out his own place in music history for the past 50 years. Born in 1949 in Houston, Texas, to a father who was a concert pianist and orchestra conductor, Gibbons rebelled by picking up the electric guitar at age 13. As a teen he played in a number of bands, striking gold as his group The Moving Sidewalks penned the Doors-esque "99th Floor," which became a hit in Houston. Oh, and they opened for Jimi Hendrix during his first American headlining tour. Those experiences would give Gibbons the fire he needed going forward, as he would form ZZ Top in 1969. With the rough-riding, groundbreaking group, he found incredible mainstream success throughout their numerous platinum-selling releases (‘Degüelo,' ‘Eliminator,' ‘Afterburner'), chart-scorching singles ("La Grange," "Gimme All Your Lovin," "Sleeping Bag"), and numerous awards and distinctions, including an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Gibbons' solo career took off late in life, with his first solo LP dropping in 2015. ‘Perfectamundo' delivered everything one could desire from a Gibbons solo album: Afro-Cuban rhythms, grungy blues licks, and a Tom Waits-flavored general dirtiness. Its follow-up, the energetic ‘Big Bad Blues,' was released three years later, in 2018.
As a collaborator, Gibbons has lent guitar bliss to countless big-time musicians and their songs, including Queens of the Stone Age's "Burn the Witch," B.B. King's "Tired of Your Jive" (from ‘B.B. King and Friends'), Nickelback's "Rockstar," Hank Williams III's "Trashville.' In addition, he's performed in a ton of blockbuster supersessions, like when he joined Lou Reed and Jim Jarmusch to play with The Raconteurs at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, or when he played Skynyrd's "Free Bird" on ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' alongside Ben Harper, Beck, Will Ferrell, and Conan himself.
It was an awesome concert. The opening band rocked then Billy and his band mates rocked the house down. The venue was perfect Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale. I will definitely be going there again.
Billy Gibbons fronting a six piece band, (guitar, Hammond organ, electric piano, conga and other percussion, and two drummers), played songs off his first solo album. There were a few ZZ tunes thrown in for fun and to hear them played by this group was quite different than the usual three members treatment. The band is VERY tight and all are seasoned professionals, although the drummers, both women, do seem young. As Billy comments, the drummers are stealing the show. The final encore was Led Zepplins Whole Lotta Love with Alex Garza on vocals. Along with the excellent opening act, this was the best concert I've seen in a while.
Billy Gibbons is an amazing guitar player. Don't miss a chance to see him perform. The BFG's are a fun mix of sight and sound. Don't expect a ZZ Top set list. Mr. Gibbons is sooooo good.
I love Billy Gibbons, and his work with ZZ Top, but this show seemed disorganized, and it looked more like a jam session than a concert. I found the show to be short.
Let me begin by qualifying my fan status. I've been listening to Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top since almost getting thrown out of the house for playing side two of "Fandango" at top volume OVER AND OVER again. I wanted to know every single lick. That was in 1975. I've followed the bearded one ever since, loving the good stuff and begrudging the commercial ventures. When I got a chance to catch the good Reverend's new project, I jumped at the chance, and was ready when Ticketmaster started selling. I was so stoked I accidentally bought the VIP package, but thought, what the hell- it's THE Billy Gibbons. Hearing the advance cuts on the album just reinforced my excitement- it's some good stuff. Let me begin by giving kudos to the band. Billy put together one of the baddest blues/funk/Cubano band you'd ever want to hear. Special shout out to Martine GuiGui on keys, Alx Garza on percussion, vocals and guitars, and (sisters?) SoZo and Melanie DeLarenzo were awesome. Then there was Billy. Billy was like a fish out of water. After opening with two cuts from his excellent new album, Perfectamundo, Billy pulled out a concert classic- "What do you guys want to hear?" Usually, that's just patronizing stage chatter, and the band has a set list ready. Billy really didn't seem to know where he was going to go. He seemed markedly uncomfortable in the music setting he had created, and rather than taking a turn at the B-3 or timbales, he held fast to ZZ Top approved guitar licks- which didn't always support the song. The Top songs he played were deep cuts that weren't served by the extra percussion or (2) B-3's. It seemed to me that Billy just couldn't commit to the new sound, and really leaned on his persona and old licks rather than just diving into the new music. Beethoven said, "I don't care if you play the wrong note, but it's unforgivable not to play it with passion." I hate to say it, but without completely committing to his now sound, the show would have been better had Billy just given the band the stage. He truly seemed uncomfortable and out of place, both with the music and with the small venue. Particularly lame was a mash-up rock/funk/rap piece that started out with a lackluster "Communication Breakdown" opening that (luckily) evolved into a funkier thing- but Billy's tone, always the core of his appeal, was thin and just didn't cut it for a Zeppelin snatch. I can only hope that Billy will get it right for the tour. Perfectamundo is a great album, and all the cuts should be played in concert- it's the only material the band has. If you're going to see ZZ Top, you should wait for the next tour. If Billy's smart, he'll limit his ZZ Top tunes to just the stuff that really suits that band- I was thinking "Tube Snake Boogie" with all the drums, or any of his slow smoking stuff to show off those organs. If I could tell him one thing, it would be "You can make all of the people happy some of the time, and some of the people all of the time- but if you try to make all of the people happy all of the time, you're going to do a lot of shows that are really mediocre." Commit, Billy. Let the boys from LaGrange take this tour off. Be the leader you are, and work that new album. If people came to see ZZ Top, maybe next time they'll pay attention to the playbill- or better yet, maybe they'll be inspired to pick up some Tito Puente.
Billy put on quite a show as he fronted two keyboards (incl a very skilled Hammond B3 operator), two talented lady drummers and a Latin percussionist. Billy stuck mostly to his new album Perfectamundo, but pulled some old ZZ Top and a great final encore Led Zep cover to close out the show. He didn't play for two hours, but quality overcame quantity in terms of this being a great show.
I really enjoyed this, but forgive me -- I wanted more. Not necessarily in time length (although that woulda be great), but more guitar licks from Billy. His guitar sound is so amazing and I love how he doesn't feel the need to play super fast (like the 2 guest guitarists did) -- he's more about finding just the right notes that hit the groove and letting them do the talking. I just wanted him to stretch out into longer grooves, to get past the usual running time of a song and let if fly more. The banter between songs was nice, but the evening felt like what it was -- a loose pick-up session between some great muscians. And that is indeed a lot of fun... but when you have such great musicians, you can't help but want more.
Gibbons and Will Lee are awesome. The concert was very informal.
Awesome show . Billy Gibbons is a guitar legend . brought the house down . There wasn't a single soul in the room that wasn't clapping and cheering and going nuts after every number . great drum solo by Anton Fig too. Billy joked around between numbers and made funny comments . Did some ZZtop numbers too - sharp dressed man thank you and la grange when is the next show ????
