ZZ Top in NOLA
ZZ Top commandeered the Saengar Theatre on April 6, 2026, and even though the band has apparently been active for an impressive 50 years, their patented blues-rock boogie still had a potent Texas tang.
The band took
the stage with an introduction borrowed from James Brown's immortal 1963 record
Live at the Apollo, where the announcer asks a hyped up crowd, "Are you ready
for STAR TIME?" a cheeky move immediately forgiven as guitarist and lead singer
Billy Gibbons, bassist and backup singer Elwood Francis, and amusingly
clean-shaven drummer Frank Beard took the stage clad in shiny spangled suits,
wraparound shades, fuzzy guitars, Francis' wonderfully cartoonish splay of blue
hair, and, of course, those iconic, Biblical beards. Sharp dressed men, indeed.
The
band clearly relished the enthusiasm of the near sold-out crowd as they started
off with the anthemic "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and followed it with a sturdy
cover of Sam and Dave's R&B classic "I Thank You." Their underrated tune
"Jesus Left Chicago" describes Our Savior departing Chi-town to follow the
mighty Mississippi (perhaps walking across it?) for some R&R in our
beloved Crescent City, which did not go unappreciated. At times, it should be
said, the lead vocals were a bit muted in the mix and therefore hard to make
out. The band is getting on in years, with founding members Gibbons and Beard
pushing 80, but they were gamely still up for a little synchronized
shuffling.
The cover of Tennessee Ernie Ford's
bitter "16 Tons" was a little surprising, but the band put a bluesy snap into
the loping country beat. To properly play a song like "Sharp Dressed Man"
required swapping the spangled suits for a sunburst red, much like the color of
the weathered Gibson guitars Gibbons explained were a gift from the late, great
Jeff Beck. "La Grange" was the final encore and the memorably guttural chuckle
about all those nice gals in what was formerly known as "the chicken shack"
(some of whom might have hailed from New Orleans) was enough to bring the crowd
to its feet and even get a few people to shimmy in the aisles, noteworthy for
the relatively staid Saenger. Then, the boys from the Lone Star state grinned
and waved good bye, their beards glinting in the lights.
