Well the ZZ Top express is in full swing. After some initial concerts in the US of A in May, featuring some nice additions to the set list, the group moved on down to South America. Some reports indicated they reinserted Francine into the set list, with the final verses being in Spanish in the traditional presentation of the song; no doubt a crowd pleaser. Moving back to North America the group played a number of dates traveling east from British Columbia, reentering the States tonight in Bloomington, Illinois.
ZZ will be playing Summerfest this weekend. The festival is proclaimed to be the largest of its kind in the world, with 800+ bands in 11 days on 11 stages. It remains unclear if ZZ is playing on the 25th, the 26th, or both. Either way it should be a great show, although the Top rarely capitalizes on these expanded exposure concerts by mixing things up or being extra creative.
To date four recordings of shows from the 2010 tour have surfaced, four that I'm aware of anyway. The more recent shows reveal the early kinks and voice issues have been worked out, and once again a polished and streamlined show has emerged. I'm unsure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Sadly Thunderbird and Francine (save for South America) remain out of the set list. These songs are staples of the ZZ legend, their glaring absence is bizarre and dumbfounding. I can only assume the group does not like the sound or energy of the tracks; surely the fans are excited to hear them, and the ones that aren't are not really Top fans now are they. Hopefully a recording of the Summerfest show will surface - I would imagine a heavy handful of bands will be recorded.
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40+ years and counting....anyone think the goal is 50? Lots of people retire at 71, and to my knowledge recording artists don't have pensions. Wonder what 2020 will bring?
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