ZZ Top

Cheap sunglasses, fuzzy guitars, slo-mo footwork and all, ZZ Top had a hard
time sustaining the rousing crowd response generated by Lynyrd Skynyrd at
the Patriot Center Sunday night.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the "li'l ol' band from Texas" followed
Skynyrd's show with all the Southern-fried boogie and blues it could muster.
While the trio's new album, "XXX," served as an occasional focal point, the
concert was loaded with big hits--"Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs," among
others--and nearly all of them showcased Billy Gibbons's raunchy-toned
guitar work.

Since its video-primed heyday in the early '80s, the band has simplified its
sound and streamlined its concerts. But Gibbons's ferocious tone hasn't lost
any of its power or bite, and the boogie patterns relentlessly churned out
by bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard generated waves of rhythmic
momentum. Some of the new and lesser-known tunes, however, were basically
interchangeable, and the concert's pacing suffered as a result.

Skynyrd's opening set was far more emblematic of Southern rock, fueled in
large part by the band's guitarists, Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke and
Hughie Thomasson. Together and alone, they forged a series of classic
Southern rock guitar solos and weaves around singer Johnny Van Zant's husky
vocals on both new songs ("Edge of Forever" and "Preacher Man") and such
longtime favorites as "Gimme Three Steps," "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free
Bird"--the inevitable and overwrought finale.

While not breaking new ground, the band often managed to revive its old hits
with a vigor that recalled its glory days.

--Mike Joyce


*Sent in by the national and international knorn Mr. Michael Crane...s