Rodeo Roundup

Houston, Texas. That place is a serious force to be reckoned with. Millions of people, millions of cars and thousands of miles of asphalt. Thanks to the unique lack of zoning laws Houston has been able to expand, grow and sprawl at an unclipped rate, the result of no need to cut through the red tape and await clearance, grants and approvals from various commissions. While this has resulted in sometimes unnecessary traffic congestion and questionable locations of various businesses and "clubs", it also has encouraged an extremely deep and diverse mixture of cultures, influences, music and entertainment. The city, like New York, does not appear to sleep.

Having never been to Houston or Texas for that matter some stereotypes were true, but most were false. There are an overabundance of trucks with only one occupant in the vehicle, where a car would seemingly make more sense. ome of the health habits of the population are cringe worthy. And it is humid, even in March. But the people, contrary to some opinions, appear to be very nice. Manners and chivalry are respected and encouraged, and our out of town plates did not seem to entice any unwelcomed behavior from Texans. Everyone seemed to get along and everyone appeared to be relaxed with low stress levels, remarkable considering the amount of pressure the city can put on you.

Perhaps a stereotype that was in full force was that Texans are proud. They love Houston, they love rodeos, they love Texas, and they love ZZ Top. 55,000+ people turned out to watch the Top's show, and the applause after each song was louder than any encore demand I have heard in any other city. Dusty only had to cock his head ever so slightly, as he did just prior to the Roulette introduce to "Viva", to be met with rapturous approval. This being the 8th time I have seen them play, I had never seen them shine brighter, be more relaxed, smile as much, or jam as hard as I saw them at the rodeo.

As briefly mentioned in my initial impressions Billy especially was animated, creative and spontaneous - more than I have ever seen or ever heard among the 100 or so shows I have on tape from year 2000 and on. He and the band obviously wanted to impress, please, stun, and reinforce their deservedly high place in Tejas culture.

As hoped and anticipated the group worked hard to pull off some rare numbers. In the past having recalled Johnny Cash and Hank Snow, this time Country and Western staples from Blind Blake and Johnny Paycheck were brought to the stage. With the subdued but perfectly supportive acoustic guitar of Jamey Johnson, along with his fitting lead vocals, combined with the twang of Elwood's steel guitar, the five piece unit maintained the individual contributions of each member (as the three piece Top does) yet combined to present a pleasingly smooth and authentic southern country sound. If you have ever wondered how ZZ would sound with another instrument in the mix this is evidence of how the sometimes thin live sound of the band would be fleshed out. At this point it would be blasphemy to add another musician on stage, but thirty years ago perhaps it could have been explored.

It does need to be said that the rodeo itself, featuring multiple varying competitions from bull riding to carriage races to mutton bustin, is likely to entertain anyone with an open mind. While I would not travel to Houston just to see a rodeo by itself, there is no doubt that many people do, as the sport is very popular and faithfully followed by many in the Southwest and Midwest regions of the US. And if I do ever go to another ZZ Houston show I will look forward to the rodeo as a vital part and highlight of the trip.

Also very enjoyable, yet unfortunately all too unusual, was the abundance of fans who have an educated knowledge of the band. Unlike seeing performances in rural Pennsylvania or beach towns in Virginia, where spectators yell out "Cheap Sunglasses" ever two minutes, Houstonians appreciated every minute of the rodeo performance, and no stupid comments or requests were picked up by my years. Also the diverse range of age groups and mix of T-shirt and hat memorabilia showed that these individuals had followed the band through every curve and studder step their music had taken - not having listened only to Eliminator and Afterburner, but to Rio Grande Mud, El Loco and XXX. How refreshing.

If you have not already please check YouTube for the multiple videos of each song, with varying audio and visual quality. The images reinforce the massiveness of the arena, capable of holding 80,000 plus spectators. Just like the saying goes everything is bigger in Texas and Reliant Stadium is on the larger end of American venues. The sound was surprisingly better than I expected, given the extremely challenging acoustics of such a performance hall.

I do have a few videos of the show however the quality is average and the clips are relatively short, due mostly to a failure to bring back up batteries for the HD camera. YouTube has the good stuff, thanks largely to the efforts and time commitments of fellow good hearted Top followers.

Having had the opportunity to see the show with both family and good friends was especially rewarding, and the memories of the trip will certainly be preserved in my mind for as long as I roam this circular venue. As some may have seen there have been some recent articles about the continued delay in the new album, now rumored to be appearing in June at the earliest, and these rumors will be addressed in future blog entries, along with theories on the reason for the delays and thoughts on the lack of any new songs being performed at the rodeo.

A new album would truly prove, for the long term, that the band is still an active and evolving force. But Thursday March 8th did prove, if only for one night, that ZZ was alive and well, and still that Little Ol' Band from Texas.