SHARING THE SHOWS
ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas - AMC Hampton 24 - Hampton, VA - September 26, 20199/27/2019 It had been a month since I had been to any type of live music-related event, in person or on screen. Since the school year started back up, I’d been getting up at 5:30 in the morning to work on my book; this is when I’m at my sharpest on an intellectual and creative level. So my energy has been focused on my writing, teaching, and recuperation from the energy exuded in both things.
Today was a typical day, filled with two lessons that appeared to engage both of my classes, grading, meetings with students, and the usual chaos. Following a post-work run and dinner, I headed to the theater to meet Maggie. Dinner was accompanied by that episode of King of the Hill where ZZ Top appears and spends half of the episode pissing off Hank, including at 0:36 of this clip. Maggie and I talked for a bit before Adam came by to chill with us. Gary then arrived, and we were in the theater. Previews consisted of biopics/documentaries about historical figures Judy Garland, Thomas Edison, and Roy Cohn. We also got previews of the Roger Waters concert film, Us and Them, the upcoming Metallica concert film, S&M2, and the Bruce Springsteen documentary, Western Stars. So many movies, so little time and money. Gary also treated us to some pictures of the soon-to-be-rebuilt Surf Rider, which he’s framing after the unfortunate fire that destroyed it a few months ago. The film opened with an overhead shot of what I’m assuming is LaGrange, Texas, as their classic “LaGrange” played over the soundtrack. Actor Billy Bob Thornton described his experience seeing ZZ Top as like “seeing Bugs Bunny in person.” I felt the same way when I saw Phish for the first time. John Homme from Queens of the Stone Age had an even more apt description: their choreography created a mystique; since they were so flashy, it kept you from knowing who they really were. Made sense the way he put it. We were treated to a history of how the band formed in the late 1960s; they saw a poster blues artist ZZ Hill, right next to one of BB King. At first, they combined “ZZ” and “King,” until one member (I forget who) said that King is “up top.” Hence the name, “ZZ Top.” When their organist left for Mork & Mindy, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard (the only beardless member of the group) found Dusty Hill to play bass, and the trio was born. Some random items that stuck out to me:
The band started out as a simple blues rock group in the 1970s, but during a hiatus, they were treated to the punk movement, and their new sound was slightly more aggressive. Hence came Eliminator, the 1983 album that spawned the songs for which ZZ Top are most known (“Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’”). According to Homme, Eliminator functions as most people’s introductions to ZZ Top. Side anecdote: I found 1985’s Afterburner in my Dad’s CD case and pretty much wore the heads out on it after two weeks. We also saw that with the onset of MTV, ZZ Top was part of the innovative new combination of music and video. Director Tim Newman had the vision of incorporating narrative into music video, so “Legs” told a story about a cook and a salesgirl overcome some harassers and bullies and find love. In Adam’s words, the movie ended quickly, an assessment with which I agree. There was a quick montage of a couple of their videos and an appearance of Johnny Carson before final reflections from the band. I might have liked to know about the 80s through today, including their popular culture appearances, like in King of the Hill and Back to the Future III (“Doubleback” is my favorite song of theirs). That’s a minor quibble. Overall, it was a nice break in a hectic week, and it was nice to hang out with good friends, even if it was only for a few hours. P.S. Drew, "Waiting for the Bus" wasn't played, but Winston Marshall from Mumford & Sons referenced it, saying that was the first ZZ Top song with which he identified.
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