At a place where ZZ Top, Smokey Robinson and Russell Peters can all perform on the same weekend and it makes perfect sense, Casino Rama Resort’s Entertainment Centre adds that touch of excitement unlike any other destination resort. It was all on offer Thursday night as Texas trio ZZ Top came to play Casino Rama in a makeup date from last October after bassist and co-lead vocalist Dusty Hill injured his hip last August.

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Who has three beards, cheap sunglasses, furry guitars, killer blues riffs, rockin’ good times, and is loaded with coolness? ZZ Top, that’s who.

50 Years Of Killer Blues/Rock

Saturday night was all about getting into some killer blues/rock from the Texas trio known as ZZ Top. For pretty much five decades the same three musicians (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – that’s where the third “beard” comes from) have been dishing out some soulful rock and roll, with a good dose of whimsical, fun and even a touch of kitschy performances. I mean, who else can rock some big oversized white furry guitars, and make it ultra cool? Their personalities are larger than life it seems, with the beards, the hats and the dark shades. There is a certain swagger that comes with this band and rightfully so. Legends. And I personally have loved all of that since I first heard the band on the 1973 release of Tres Hombres.

As Tight As They Come

It seems redundant to say that this band is wicked tight. If you’ve seen them or listened to them at all during the last 50 years, you know how spot on they are. But something that stood out to me on Saturday night, was just how tight they really are. I guess after 50 years you should be, but damn, they have being in-synch down to a “T”.

Hit After ZZ Top Hit

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Opening the show with Got Me Under Pressure, the boys played a great set list of pretty much all hits. Gimme All Your Lovin, Pearl Necklace, Legs, La Grange and on and on it went. Lots of the music from the early days and that suited me just fine. And they tried to get some response from the crowd who really seemed pretty subdued. There were bunches of the audience who were vocal and making some good noise, and at times everyone would join in with great cheers and applause, but overall, this was a slightly quiet audience. I really expected to experience a bit more of a rowdy, raucous bunch.

But, having said that, I wasn’t there to hear the crowd, and it certainly didn’t detract from the show for me. I found myself rocking along and finishing the lyrics when the band would stop playing to give us our chance to sing.

Went By Fast

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The entire night seemed to go by so fast. There was no opening act for this show, so getting underway at just a few minutes past 8:00 pm meant that we were all walking out after the show ended around 9:20. Perhaps that seemed a couple of songs shorter than some expected. We did overhear some comments to that effect, but I can’t really find much fault with how this night went down. And personally, I’d love to see more bands take the stage at an earlier time and thus wrap up earlier. That is always one of my personal pet peeves with some shows (particularly in clubs) where the headliner doesn’t go on until 11:00 pm or some ungodly hour. No, I’m fine with the way ZZ Top ran this one.

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No Complaints Here

Loved it! And got my fill of some great live music that I have been listening to for many, many years. The Rock Source would like to thank ZZ Top and their team, along with our hosts at Casino Rama Resort for having us out.

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Review and Photography: Scott Burns, The Rock Source