Saw them in concert Saturday night in Abbotsford just outside Vancouver. They started this current tour a couple nights prior in Victoria and are playing smaller cities/venues. I've seen Cheap Trick a couple times back in the day but hadn't seen ZZ although I had many chances to see them over the decades.
Cheap Trick came on at 7pm and played an hour. They change up their setlist quite a bit each concert it seems. Went on Setlist FM to see what they sang in Victoria and it was a lot different. They now have Rick Neilsen's son on drums and Robin Zander's son on rhythm guitar. Sound wasn't that great but Robin Zander's voice was still good, hitting the high notes on The Flame. Other big songs were Dream Police, Surrender and I Want You..
ZZ came on at 8:30 and played til 10pm. Pretty good show, their setlist was the same as Victoria. Not an elaborate stage show but good enough. Billy Gibbon's vocals were a bit buried in the mix. Said he's glad to be back on the road after 2 years. Their first encore song was Brown Sugar, I didn't realize they had a song called that, too. I started filming until I realized it wasn't the same as the Stones!
Overall a decent show, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to covid.

I was at the show in Victoria. Thought it was pretty rockin'. Cheap Trick was better than expected and Billy Gibbons really carried the show with ZZ Top. It was strange to see the bass tech replacement looking like a muppet corpse of Dusty Hill with the obviously fake wig and beard, but he did his job adequately. Billy's vocals were a bit buried, but he sounded a bit craggy around the edges, so maybe it was a good thing. The drummer kept his head down most of the night, but played well.

They're dressing up the bass tech to look like Dusty?

That ain't no kinda good.

Missed the show, would have loved to have seen Cheap Trick. It's only a 20 minute drive away!

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mosthigh
I was at the show in Victoria. Thought it was pretty rockin'. Cheap Trick was better than expected and Billy Gibbons really carried the show with ZZ Top. It was strange to see the bass tech replacement looking like a muppet corpse of Dusty Hill with the obviously fake wig and beard, but he did his job adequately. Billy's vocals were a bit buried, but he sounded a bit craggy around the edges, so maybe it was a good thing. The drummer kept his head down most of the night, but played well.

I believe the hair and beard of the guitar tech are real, he started to let things go during COVID, or at least that was Billy's version when I heard him describe the chain of events.

[ultimateclassicrock.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-04-26 04:25 by snorton.

Oddly this is a band that I always hoped to catch and now without Dusty the desire is just not there......

I've seen them over a dozen times since the late '70's (and as recently as 2019), but without Dusty I have no desire to see them any more.
His bass, vocals, and stage presence were an integral part of the overall experience. Maybe the band should change their name to Z Top as a tribute and in memory of their fallen hombre...
I'm sure they're still OK live with Billy being front center, and Frank holding down the fort on drums, but the void left by Dusty would be impossible to overlook. A similar feeling to the absence of Charlie.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
I've seen them over a dozen times since the late '70's (and as recently as 2019), but without Dusty I have no desire to see them any more.
His bass, vocals, and stage presence were an integral part of the overall experience. Maybe the band should change their name to Z Top as a tribute and in memory of their fallen hombre...
I'm sure they're still OK live with Billy being front center, and Frank holding down the fort on drums, but the void left by Dusty would be impossible to overlook. A similar feeling to the absence of Charlie.

All the bands most here on the board grew up listening to are now losing members so it's almost a matter of see them while they're still around! I'm sure a lot of younger fans that were at the show don't know much about the history of the band so they probably weren't aware of Dusty passing away.
Bands like Foreigner still tour with only Mick Jones being the original member. Similar situation to bands like Foghat, Styx, Journey, Skynyrd etc. where they still draw decent crowds.

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DGA35

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Hairball
I've seen them over a dozen times since the late '70's (and as recently as 2019), but without Dusty I have no desire to see them any more.
His bass, vocals, and stage presence were an integral part of the overall experience. Maybe the band should change their name to Z Top as a tribute and in memory of their fallen hombre...
I'm sure they're still OK live with Billy being front center, and Frank holding down the fort on drums, but the void left by Dusty would be impossible to overlook. A similar feeling to the absence of Charlie.

All the bands most here on the board grew up listening to are now losing members so it's almost a matter of see them while they're still around! I'm sure a lot of younger fans that were at the show don't know much about the history of the band so they probably weren't aware of Dusty passing away.
Bands like Foreigner still tour with only Mick Jones being the original member. Similar situation to bands like Foghat, Styx, Journey, Skynyrd etc. where they still draw decent crowds.

I was speaking for myself, but the rest of the world who wants to see a lesser version of ZZ Top or any band is more than welcome to.
As for the other bands you mention, and again speaking for myself, I wouldn't ever bother seeing any of them at this point - they've all become sort of glorified tribute bands with maybe one (or two) original members.
And then Styx, Journey, and Foreigner...I would have never bothered seeing them in the first place when they were fully intact, or even at their late '70s peak of fame. Tolerable on the radio occasionally, but that's it for me.
Wish I could have seen Skynyrd before the plane crash...and Foghat would have been great back in their mid-late '70's heyday, but now I think the drummer is the only original member left...would have to pass on that one...

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Just gotta say that Cheap Trick is still very good. And play a widely varying setlist - only Surrender, IWYTWM, Dream Police, The Flame, and Ain't That A Shame are warhorses.

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Elmo Lewis
Just gotta say that Cheap Trick is still very good. And play a widely varying setlist - only Surrender, IWYTWM, Dream Police, The Flame, and Ain't That A Shame are warhorses.

Those songs are good reason not to go.