ZZ Top Wows the Crowd in Everett, Washington

ZZ Top made a recent stop at Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington. There's something a little decadent being at a concert on a Monday night, but it's a great way to get the week started.

Local band, Spike and the Impalers, got things going. They ruled the stage with the gut-wrenching guitar work of Dudley Taft (formerly of Sweetwater and Second Coming), Amy Stolzenbach (Angus Young from the all-female AC/DC tribute band, Hells Belles), and 20-year old Aaron Balsley. Lynn Sorensen (Bad Company and the Paul Rodgers solo band) provides the deliciously pounding bass.

With their first album due out before the end of the year, the band is expertly fronted by Spike O'Neill with Bob "Twisted Tunes" Rivers taking up keyboard duty and Jeff Kathan (Paul Rodgers Band) on drums. Kaci Boyle, reporter on Q-13's Morning Show gives the boys what-for when she takes over lead vocals.

They provided a solid set of covers from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and even The Who. Not a stranger to the crowd, since they play all over the area, the band was clearly having a good time and had definite reign over the stage. As they played each tune, it was almost like hearing the original band and yet they still managed to make the songs their own.

Of course, the main attraction for the near-capacity crowd was that little ol' band from Texas, ZZ Top. Formed in 1968 in Houston, Texas, the band still consists of the same members: Billy Gibbons on lead vocals and lead guitar, Dusty Hill on vocals and bass, and Frank Beard on drums. Gibbons likes to say the band is the same three guys with the same three chords. But what chords they are!

Their first album was released in 1971, but it was their third, Tres Hombres, that earned them wide acclaim. It features the classic, La Grange, written about famed Texas bordello, Chicken Ranch, which was also the subject of the Broadway musical and Hollywood movie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

The best bands play music that their audience can feel in their soul, but ZZ Top also plays music that their audience can feel in their seats. The band came out with a laid back ferocity that only they can manage, at a heart-stopping volume that one quickly becomes accustomed to. No doubt even people in the far sections were able to feel the bass as Dusty played.

With a catalog as extensive as ZZ Top's, it must be difficult to choose which songs to play. Of course, they know the crowd wants to hear the hits, but even that's an impressive list. 1983's Eliminator provided four top-40 hits itself including Gimme All Your Lovin', Got Me Under Pressure, and Sharp Dressed Man, all of which were played at the Comcast Arena.

In addition to the 80's powerhouse hits which also included Legs and Tube Snake Boogie, the band reached as far back as 1973 for La Grange and 1975 for the show-ending Tush, a definite ZZ Top staple.

The power-trio played about an hour and a half, often times with Gibbons and Hill showing off understated choreography that makes one wonder if it's really planned or unconscious after so many years together. But despite those years, the band is still as fresh as they ever were. They play with the same intensity as someone just starting out, and it's clear they want to make their audience happy.

There's a reason they were inducted into Rock and Roll hall of fame - and after more than 40 years together, they still have it.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZZ_Top
http://www.zztop.com/
http://www.facebook.com/spikeandtheimpalers