BILLY GIBBONS THE BIG BAD BLUES TOUR FEATURING MATT SORUM, AUSTIN HANKS, ELWOOD FRANCIS at BROOKLYN

Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ TOP made a stop at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas on November 16th in support of his sophomore solo album of the same name, with a much smaller band than his last solo tour, with Matt Sorum on drums, Austin Hanks on guitar and vocals and Elwood Francis adding harmonica on a few selected tracks. The set was filled with songs from both ZZ TOP, and covers from various artists, including Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You”, Bo Diddly’s “Bring It Home" and a sped up version of Bobby Troup's “Route 66”. Gibbons also played from ZZ TOP - "Jesus Just Left Chicago", "Just Got Paid", "Blue Jean Blues", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Thunderbird", and the last song of the evening "La Grange", and it was interesting to hear Gibbons play during his two song encore the classic "Stairway To Heaven". Gibbons and Hanks are a powerful duo onstage, and bring that dirty, gritty southern blues to life. Adding to the ambience of the show was a huge video screen above the stage with videos from the 30’s and 40’s playing to each song, everything from old classic videos of fangirls dancing, tornadoes and storms, and old movie clips all synchronized to each song.

It does not matter what song Gibbons plays, you can not help but flash to ZZ TOP. Billy is that sound - a rock icon who has blessed us for with music for nearly 60 years. This was a fun show from the beginning to the end.

Billy F. Gibbons photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos