Last night was my last concert of the 2024 summer season up in Washington at the RV Inn Style Resorts Ampitheater. I still have many more concerts to attend this year (3 more this week), it’s just that they will be in the Portland area from here on out, as that facility is built for outdoor concerts, and they only have shows there through October.
So, last night was pretty epic as concerts go. I was in section 102, row W, seat 24. I had a fairly close up fantastic view for the last stop on the 2024 ZZ Top/Lynyrd Skynyrd Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour, and I couldn’t have been more centrally located. The night started out with the Outlaws, a rock band that has been together since 1967, opening for the first 30 minutes to get folks in their seats. Except for their 1980 cover of “Ghost Riders in the Sky” (at :18 seconds) they never really hit the top of the charts, but they have put out over 20 albums, and they seem to have a fairly robust following. As openers go it was pretty decent, but not who anyone was there to see.
During the brief stage reset a couple Shriners came onstage, and the announcer talked about how the audience could buy raffle tickets for a chance to win a signed Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar with the funds supporting the Skynyrd Foundation. The whole evening, including the singing of Simple Man by Skynyrd, was very patriotic. I was slightly surprised though given what I had heard to expect, that there were no Confederate flags in the audience (the band having given them up years ago). Maybe that would be different for their stops along the tour in the Deep South.
After the Shriners wrapped up, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, ZZ Top came out. Guitarist and front man Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (the only one without an actual beard) and bassist Elwood Francis (who replaced original member, Dusty Hill, who passed away in July 2021) arrived on stage much as Billy and Frank have been doing together for the past 51 years. Seeing them perform on stage it is so hard not to think that there are two younger guys under the disguise of fake beards dancing away up there because they had the energy of men 30-years younger.
ZZ Top proceeded to run through a 90-min set that ran the gamut of their many albums. Invariably, I ended up once again standing behind some old white tall dude that couldn’t stand still. And yes, I understand the incredible irony of me saying that.
Overall, once again it was apparent that the vocals weren’t quite what one might hear on an early recorded studio album from the 70s, and I have to be careful not to exacerbate it by how I hold my new phone to ensure I don’t cover the microphones. It wasn’t over-the-top lights and showmanship, just good Southern Rock and a whole lot of fun. The ending though, if I’m honest, left a bit to be desired. Bubbles? Really? Not to worry though as the next act would more than make up for it.
During the 30-minute break to reset I meandered over to the VIP lounge to grab a cocktail and a soft pretzel with mustard and queso…. Pricy at $15, but so delicious, soft, warm, slightly chewy and a whole lot of food that I couldn’t even finish.
The co-headliner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Lynyrd Skynyrd, came on stage at 930 after quite a tribute to the original and intervening years’ band members. This offers an opportunity for comment about those that think this is a cover band because there are no original members. Just keep that to yourself please because nobody really cares for your lame opinion.
Several of the current members have been playing together under the Skynyrd name for decades and the band as a whole has put out more albums since the 1977 plane crash than were recorded before. Some bands live and die around a small core of original artists and some like Lynyrd Skynyrd will probably live on and be around in another 100 years.
As I mentioned before, throughout the night the band kept past members in their forefront through the video presentations, tributes and their spoken word.
Additionally, this was the most patriotically-focused band I’ve seen yet. A lot of attention paid to veterans and first responders. At one point ZZ Top front man Billy Gibbons came back onstage and jammed with the band.
One of my Top 10 all-time favorite songs, Sweet Home Alabama (also my ringtone) was played, and of course for their encore the most extraordinary 11+ minutes (starts at 14:00) in Rock and Roll, their playing of Freebird, synched throughout to video of former band members singing and playing, building to its massive crescendo (turn it up) in the last 6-minutes to close out the show.
I once again had to remind myself to breathe, and I got goosebumps watching it again to put together this post. Just an awesome night of Rock and Roll to remember for the ages.