Posted on 06/11/2009 5:32:36 PM PDT by pissant
Being on the road this summer with ZZ Top puts Aerosmith in a unique position for the Boston rockers. As guitarist Joe Perry rightly told us of the little ol' band from Texas, "They've been together longer than us." Not many acts can claim to have outlived Aerosmith, and even fewer can last so long with the original lineup. Therefore, it's that much more amazing that 2009 marks the 40th anniversary for bandmates Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill.
Let that digest for a second -- 40 freaking years! Obama is the eighth president ZZ Top has recorded under, the Beatles hadn't broken up yet when they formed, most of today's pop stars hadn't been born yet, there was no hip-hop, it's their fifth decade of touring, and on and on. As most bands are celebrated for a decade together, we decided to ask Gibbons the secret of a happy band marriage. "I think first and foremost is the fact we still enjoy getting to do this more than anything we could imagine and somehow that translates into the nightly performance," Gibbons says. "Those two hours on stage, that's the real payoff. That's when we get together and we may not know what each other is gonna do. Some of it is because we're trying to outguess the next guy, trying to think of what he's gonna do next."
(Excerpt) Read more at spinner.com ...
They put on a great show.
Tell me more about the venue - it sounds similar to one of Seattle’s “great” early music venues, the Eagles Auditorium. I saw some outstanding shows there including Chicago, Steve Miller Band, and the Eagles.
The place was old and musty, had bad ventilation and worse bathroom facilities and really rocked! I remember people knocking out windows during the Chicago show to try to get some air in there.
Good times...
I remember that concert with the conveyor belt ... they would stand on it so that it moved them backwards, and move their legs to make it appear they were moonwalking. It was hilarious!

Interesting thread!
bttt
A friend of mine went to a concert in Beaumont with ZZTOP and Hank, Jr. a year or two ago and said they were a great combination.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGRj5BpHzkM
Here’s Billy with the Allman Bros. doing “Jesus Just Left Chicago (and is bound for New Orleans”
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