setlist.fm gathers all of the known setlists of bands through out the years. Here is a link to their ZZ Top stats. ZZ Top Tour Statistics | setlist.fm There was the long break in 1978 where they grew their beards and several years in the 90s without a lot of shows and a couple with none.
I learned this site existed today: https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/zz-top Buuuut this is better: Of all years, 2020 did get one date in: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/zz-top/2020/atandt-center-san-antonio-tx-5b982744.html
I knew someone would say that. I would imagine his family will speak up at some point if they know otherwise. Again, this wouldn't be the first time Billy has spun a yarn.
I don't think that's a fair comparison. Rush stopped when the three of them decided to, and death didn't sneak up on them mid-tour. Rush was already over when Neil passed. In the case of ZZ Top, they were mid-tour and Dusty died. He'd told the others to carry on with the tour when he had to step down. Nothing wrong with what they're doing now. As for whatever juice they may have left, it's up to them. Personally, I don't think a band has to stop when a key member passes away, that's not entirely fair on the other guys. No one is taking away our memories of their glorious past, and whatever they do with their band moving forward is fine by me.
Here are some miscellaneous notes from Friday night's show. Feel free to ask me anything else, and I'll answer here if I can! At stage left, there was a small little statue of sorts. It was made out of bass pedals, a sword, and some sort of a glowing bottle of something potent, I'm sure. Billy and Elwood walked past it during their entrance and gave it a quick rub and acknowledgement. I'm not sure if this was new for last night, or if it was always there during the previous Elwood shows. Otherwise, there wasn't really a separate tribute to Dusty. After the opening song, Billy made some remarks about Dusty telling him to let Elwood take the bottom end and take them to the top (similar to the quote given to Eddie Trunk and in the Variety article). Later on in the show, he told the same story about Elwood not deciding to "cut the grass" by shaving his beard that's in the Variety interview. During the interchange between the opening act and ZZ Top, after setting up Dusty's mic stand, the roadie gave it a quick pat of sorts and a sad look. Very quick (and not a showy or intentional) act of kindness for Dusty. Elwood uses a pick for the bass during the whole show, which might contribute some to the difference in sound that has been pointed out by others. I'm not a musician (I just mess around some on guitar), so I didn't notice a ton of differences in his playing as compared to Dusty's. By far, the most noticeable song he needs to work on is I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide. He doesn't know those little descending runs on the bass that occur during Billy's end guitar solo. Not sure if I'm using the proper term there, but Billy did them himself on the guitar and it didn't sound nearly as good. Elwood didn't use Dusty's mic once. He really stayed completely away from it and the stand, which I'm sure everyone will be happy with. Billy and Elwood didn't attempt to do any of the usual stage moves or synchronized swaying on songs like Waitin' on the Bus. They did interact, but it was in a much less "scripted" fashion. Elwood and Frank did lock in during Sixteen Tons, and Frank gave him a big grin (one of the only ones I saw out of him, ha!). Dusty's background vocals were piped in on Gimme All Your Lovin' and I Gotsta Get Paid. I'll admit that I left during the beginning of the encore, as I had an hour long drive ahead of me and I wanted to beat the huge traffic delays. So I didn't stick around to see how they handled Tush. This was my first concert since October 2019, and I'd forgotten how much of a rush it was just to be in the same vicinity of amazing performers. It's easy to complain about setlists being static, but wow, it's also so much different seeing Billy Gibbons mere yards away while he's gruffly belting out Got Me Under Pressure. The sound was pretty good. As a result, in person, it was pretty easy to tell that Sharp Dress Man and Legs were completely lip-synced (as many have pointed out here throughout the years). The sound of Billy's voice during those songs was distinctly different than the others; it sounded like it was using completely different EQ, compression, and other sound settings (which I'm sure it was!).
If "Steely Dan" can perform without Becker, ZZ Top can perform without Dusty. Do I wish they'd perform as Fagen and Gibbons, respectively? Yes, but it ain't gonna happen.
Maybe they need to keep playing, for themselves. Maybe they know this is the last time. I may not buy tickets to a ZZ Top show without Dusty but if I had them already I would go.
Some dude’s watching it on tv! I was on a ZZ thing with Hardware and played them all after. Great stuff!
This is tough to watch, Dusty barely able to walk onstage, but blasting his way through the gig. Much respect. You can see Elwood (and his beard) standing backstage assisting Dusty.
Thanks. All in all, it seems fairly clear that Elwood is merely a guitar player of unknown capacity trying to play bass, with a plectrum of course. Dusty was a real and really good bass player and he played those fast runs with his fingers.
Yeah, good luck with that. I've never heard of anyone being successful in getting a refund because the bass player wasn't gonna be there. My friend Mike badly wanted a refund when he had a ticket to see The Who in 2002 (When JAE died a couple of days before the show), but he went to the show anyway (and complained afterwards, despite the fact that The Who delivered a truly GREAT performance!). Strangely enough, he's gone to see The Who several times since then. I spoke to my friend again last night, and he still complains that The Who should have cancelled the 2002 tour. Go figure!
I'm sure that this has been mentioned....but if you're going to continue on without Dusty, you couldn't find a more aptly named character than `Elwood Francis'. Perfect.
We've got an inverse Status Quo situation here! Original Quo bassist Alan Lancaster insists that you can't play Quo with your fingers like his successor John "Rhino" Edwards does, and some fans agree with that. And speaking of Quo, I know they offered refunds for what was meant to be their farewell electric tour when Rick Parfitt fell ill in 2016 (he died shortly after the tour wound up) and had to be replaced... I think most ticket owners still went to the shows, and eventually young Richie became quite accepted by most fans. Rick was 1/2 of the name-owning band members at that point even if two other musicians have spent decades in the band, so it was a big deal. The promo artwork for the 2016 tour had only shown Rick and Francis and was hastily changed when Rick was out. With Dusty having been 1/3 of the "brand" and one of the two frontmen, it seems like a similar situation to me.
One half isn't the same thing as one third, and Parfitt wasn't the bassist of Status Quo. Look, I don't have a problem if someone WANTS a ZZTop refund. But I don't see someone getting one.
I'll let you know. All the promo verbiage for the ticket sale was stressing the "same three guys" angle. Discussions have begun and the initial response certainly wasn't a "forget about it" note. btw, when Ox died didn't The Who immediately draft Pino Palladino in? I'd say there's quite a bass skill gulf between Elwood and Pino
There definitely is a giant gulf between the two comparisons indeed! This is more comparable to Kenny Jones filling in for Moon than it is for Pino filling in for The Ox though! Elwood may be part of the family but it doesn't sound like he can handle Dusty's bass duties much less the vocals required.
You're absolutely correct about Pino's skills on bass. But in fact, The Who already had Pino on retainer, because they knew Entwistle wasn't in the best of health, and wasn't following doctors' orders.
