| 13th August 2007 03:21 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Rock's latest triple threat
By Mark Brown,
Rocky Mountain News
August 13, 2007
It started as just an interesting lineup for a diverse concert: the blues boogie of ZZ Top, the pop- punk of The Pretenders and the rockabilly of the Stray Cats.
But once it hit the road, it turned into a love fest of musicians rediscovering one another after crossing paths for years.
"ZZ Top has been a revelation. I know why Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix rated (Billy Gibbons) so highly. He's just one of the guitar greats. Billy is the coolest dude on Earth," says Chrissie Hynde.
Gibbons is equally thrilled about the other bands.
"To hear these guys once again get after it like they always did - it's patently amazing to realize how accomplished their playing skills are," he says.
In separate interviews, Gibbons and Hynde sat down to talk about the tour.
Chrissie Hynde
Rocky: What did you think of this tour when it was brought to you?
Hynde: "I immediately said yes. I didn't think I was going to do anything this year. My manager said, 'We were just offered a tour with the Stray Cats and ZZ Top.' I said, 'We'll take it.' "
Rocky: You have a history with the Stray Cats, right?
Hynde: "I was one of the first nine people to see them when they started in the punk days in the U.K. We were all at a pub. Slim Jim was telling me last night: 'Yeah, it was you and Joe Strummer and Lemmy (from Motorhead) down there.' We go back with those guys. It's a great band. People love it: honest, pure rockabilly. They're very theatrical, a real sense of showmanship. And ZZ Top has been an absolute revelation."
Rocky: So what have the shows been like?
Hynde: "It's madness. The audience has a really great vibe; that's my favorite thing. I walk through the audience every night. There's a sense of real guitar fans. It's waitresses and bikers and varying degrees of that."
Rocky: The Pretenders box set and expanded reissues made fans happy. Were you involved?
Hynde: "We've been completely hands-on. . . . I have no business head. I think we're one of the most underexploited bands. We just kinda trudge along and do our thing. When they said they're doing these reissues and box set . . . it was one of those things where it's going to happen with or without our involvement. Because there are people who are no longer with us (the late Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott), I have to make sure they're well-represented. Looking back on it, it gives us an overview of where the band has been."
Rocky: Is there more music coming?
Hynde: "We're going in the studio in September, so we should be making a new record. I know it's way overdue, but it interferes with my goofing-off time."
Rocky: It seems like you do whatever you want, whenever you want.
Hynde: "Yeah. I'm not too am- bitious. I've never had that thing of 'We want to be the biggest band, I want to be the biggest artist, I want to be mainstream or maximize this.' That's why I'm so impressed with ZZ Top. They're such masters, and they're so at the top of their game and have been for so long. They're not mainstream, they're outlaw. My rock 'n' roll has got to be outlaw. As soon as you capture the masses, it's McDonald's to me."
Rocky: Is there anyone you want to work with? You've done everything from Neil Young to Cher.
Hynde: "I didn't seek out these people. You just bump into them, something comes up and you do it. Or not. I just lucked out. Iggy Pop and Bob Dylan. Do you have to have any ambitions beyond that?"
Rocky: It's hard to believe it has been more than 25 years since The Pretenders broke through.
Hynde: "I've been in the audience for so many years I can only see myself as a fan and part of the audience. I'm always uncomfortable when somebody recognizes me. I can't get the waitress out of my blood. Sometimes I don't act very gracious. I just don't have what it takes, I really don't."
Billy Gibbons
Rocky: What do you make of the lineup?
Gibbons: "The first I heard of it, I thought somebody had made a mistake. It was quite rewarding to join up this rather diverse range of entertainment. Chrissie Hynde and her outfit present something a little different as well. Everybody (in the audience) has maybe their favorites, but everyone is staying till the very end. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves."
Rocky: I think that, like with the Stray Cats, your image has overshadowed your talent. People think ZZ Top and it's cars, beards and Legs.
Gibbons: "We're the band with the pretty girls and the red car (laughs). You're right - one ran the risk of being part of the wallpaper instead of being a featured part of a presentation. You're looking at the band, but you've seen the video 200 times. It has turned around. We're actually bringing back some of the early ZZ Top video imagery in the live show. It doesn't get in the way of the music."
Rocky: You put out a box set recently with your full career, even some early Moving Sidewalks music.
Gibbons: "The box set is for a lot of really die-hard fans who wanted everything. They didn't have to scour the bins of the odd record store. For once they could just hit it and get it. The beauty of the set was, it brought together the pre-MTV era and the after-MTV era. We at one time had a lot of friends and fans who had discovered ZZ Top when we were just starting out, just down the road from you guys, a little club in Boulder, Tulagi's, way back. If you were around in the '70s, that was a great little spot to catch some really good sounds up close. Then there's the other group that discovered ZZ Top just through the videos. I remember talking to some people who said, 'Wow, when did you guys have time to make this other new stuff?' I said, 'No, this is the old stuff, before MTV.' "
Rocky: Hendrix praised your guitar- playing. Keith Richards inducted you into the Rock Hall. What's that like?
Gibbons: "It's pretty gratifying for us as a band. To be recognized by your peers is a real bonus. Having Keith Richards take a moment to be part of this thing - he's been a hero of ours forever. That was a very special moment. It comes back to sticking with your guns and making sure when it comes time to play you give it 110 percent, the best you can do."
Rocky: What's up with the new album?
Gibbons: "(This tour) provides us an opportunity to garner some experiences out here on the road. Most of the ZZ Top material had its humble origins in talking about shared experiences - just things we encountered while touring. We're looking at November. The incoming e-mails, faxes and phone calls all say, 'Hey, let's get something new.' There's a reason for us to stay near to the ground and stay focused."
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| 13th August 2007 01:36 PM |
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| Starbuck |
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| 13th August 2007 01:58 PM |
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| mojoman |
zz was exciting circa 1970. they are up there with van halen these days....... |
| 13th August 2007 02:02 PM |
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| Dan |
Kind of a lame package, a Pretenders/Stray Cats theatre tour would have been much better. |
| 13th August 2007 02:24 PM |
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| Martha |
Theater much better???? No way. RR is the best venue on earth. I got 4th row seats late Saturday night for this gig and cannot wait to see them. It will smoke.
;-) |
| 13th August 2007 02:27 PM |
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| glencar |
Martha Please check PM... |
| 13th August 2007 02:28 PM |
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| Dan |
quote:
Martha wrote:
Theater much better???? No way. RR is the best venue on earth. I got 4th row seats late Saturday night for this gig and cannot wait to see them. It will smoke.
;-)
Here it's at some corporate mega shed with an additional headliner, either Stevie Nicks or REO Speedwagon or something like that. ZZ Top is lame now. |
| 13th August 2007 02:36 PM |
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| Martha |
I have great respect for Billy's style. Lame? Not in my eyes they aren't.
I plan to rock tonight. And Hard.
The days of RnR are coming to an end and I feel blessed to be able to see the Great's while I still can. It's really gonna suck when the tours all dry up.
xxoo,
Martha |
| 13th August 2007 02:39 PM |
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| gimmekeef |
quote:
Martha wrote:
I have great respect for Billy's style. Lame? Not in my eyes they aren't.
I plan to rock tonight. And Hard.
The days of RnR are coming to an end and I feel blessed to be able to see the Great's while I still can. It's really gonna suck when the tours all dry up.
xxoo,
Martha
The very last ever show could be.."Chuck Leavall and His Strolling Drones"....with Blondie/Lisa/Bernard and horns.. |
| 13th August 2007 03:00 PM |
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| Dan |
ZZ Top uses a lot of backing tape. I watched the Rockpalast 1980 and Camden 2003 pro shots back to back and they seem like a parody of themselves now.
Rock N Roll ain't even close to dead. I am actually thinking it might just get a lot better when it's not totally dominated by nostalgia and the big tours dry up. It's been a great year for small club gigs, at least here in L.A. |
| 13th August 2007 05:05 PM |
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| Martha |
quote:
Dan wrote:
ZZ Top uses a lot of backing tape. I watched the Rockpalast 1980 and Camden 2003 pro shots back to back and they seem like a parody of themselves now.
Rock N Roll ain't even close to dead. I am actually thinking it might just get a lot better when it's not totally dominated by nostalgia and the big tours dry up. It's been a great year for small club gigs, at least here in L.A.
Who have you seen this year? |
| 13th August 2007 05:13 PM |
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| Riffhard |
quote:
Dan wrote:
ZZ Top uses a lot of backing tape. I watched the Rockpalast 1980 and Camden 2003 pro shots back to back and they seem like a parody of themselves now.
The irony is thick in the air that you would post this on a Rolling Stones' message board.
Riffy |
| 13th August 2007 05:32 PM |
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| Dan |
quote:
Martha wrote:
Who have you seen this year?
I think this is everything but I might be missing something.
Jan 25 2007 Dickies/Fear Key Club
Jan 31 2007 Beat It Wally benefit Alex Theatre (Garbage, Sheryl Crow, Martinis, Jackson Browne, Keb Mo, Crowded House) free ticket!
Feb 1 2007 Nine Pound Hammer/Charley Horse/Chelsea Smiles The Scene
Feb 10 2007 Norah Jones Amoeba
Feb 17 2007 Kristin Hersh Amoeba
Feb 27 2007 Money Mark Amoeba
March 7 2007 Albert Hammond Jr Amoeba
March 7 2007 "Stripped On The Strip" Queensryche/Tesla/Great White/Dokken/Jani Lane Key Club
March 11 2007 Beasts Of Bourbon/Dallas Crane Troubadour
March 16 2007 Ian Hunter/Zombies/Charms Henry Fonda Theatre
April 11 2007 Helmet/Airiel Down/National Dust Cinespace
April 23 2007 Stooges/Sistas In The Pit/Web Of Spider Wiltern
April 24 2007 Stooges Jimmy Kimmel Live
April 25 2007 Heaven And Hell/Megadeth/Machine Head Forum
April 26 2007 !!! Amoeba
May 3 2007 Patti Smith Amoeba
May 8 2007 Midnight Movies Amoeba
May 22 2007 Ozzy on Jimmy Kimmel Live just 3 songs
June 4 Client at Amoeba
June 5 Richard Thompson at Amoeba
June 12 John Doe at Amoeba
June 15 Noisettes at Amoeba
June 20 The Police/Fiction Plane at Staples Center
June 22 The Humpers/Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders/Harbortown Saints at Alex's Bar
June 23 The Humpers/Throw Rag/The Hangmen/Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders at Safari Sam's
(am I missing something here? Attempted Tegan And Sara at Amoeba but couldn't get in)
July 27 Melvins at Troubadour
July 28 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Alhambra Jubilee
July 30 Simon Stokes/Gabriel Hart/Preacher's Son The Scene
Aug 4 Qui/Melvins/Circle Jerks/The Bronx/The Locust at Echoplex
Aug 10 Sgt Pepper 40th Anniversary with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Cheap Trick and special guests Hollywood Bowl
Aug 11 Poison/Ratt/Vains Of Jenna at the Universal
Aug 12 Mike Watt/Chairs Of Perception (former Urinals)/Sacharrine Trust/Raw Power Rangers (Stooges tribute) at the Punk Rock Barbecue
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| 13th August 2007 07:23 PM |
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| Left Shoe Shuffle |
quote:
Dan wrote:
ZZ Top uses a lot of backing tape. I watched the Rockpalast 1980 and Camden 2003 pro shots back to back and they seem like a parody of themselves now.
Funny that you mention that.
Caught the Jones Beach stop on this tour recently - way undersold, btw - and was very disappointed with ZZ Top.
Their music really did sound canned.
OTOH, Pretenders can still deliver the goods live, and LI homeboys Stray Cats blasted through their opening 45 minutes.
I'd like to see them stay together and do a headlining tour on their own. |
| 13th August 2007 08:04 PM |
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| Dan |
Apparently average anticipated attendance for most shows right out the gate was 5,500 - I heard this package was driven by the shed promoters as they aren't reaching quotas with about a third to half the usual amount of shows this year. It's doing better in some cities like LA where it's part of JACK FM's annual show but then the radio station distributes most of the tickets anyway.
There's amazing sounding bootlegs of the Atlantic City show on Dime, only listened to Pretenders and Stray Cats so far. |
| 13th August 2007 08:42 PM |
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| Left Shoe Shuffle |
quote:
Dan wrote:
Apparently average anticipated attendance for most shows right out the gate was 5,500 - I heard this package was driven by the shed promoters as they aren't reaching quotas with about a third to half the usual amount of shows this year. It's doing better in some cities like LA where it's part of JACK FM's annual show but then the radio station distributes most of the tickets anyway.
There's amazing sounding bootlegs of the Atlantic City show on Dime, only listened to Pretenders and Stray Cats so far.
5K sounds about right for the show I saw.
And apparently the promoters padded that number by handing out loads of freebies at Jones Beach that day.
From what I've read the whole tour is tied in to Jack FM.
Got my tickets for $10 through NYC's Jack 101 - which got clipped a coupla weeks before the show.
Thanks for the heads up on AC.
Stray Cats do I Fought The Law at that one? |
| 14th August 2007 11:06 AM |
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| Martha |
Stray Cats did the only encore of the night. They came back and played "I Fought The Law". Great show.
Billy had a very good night. His leads were gorgeous. Red Rocks wasn't sold out but it was packed-up so I am guessing approx. 7,500 were in attendance.
Chrissie looked fabulous. Her set rocked. I was hopin' ( against hope I know) she might play "Forver Young" since she's covered it on one of her albums, but that didn't happen. She did tribute a song that I didn't recognize to Joe Strummer and said she does that every show now.
I love Red Rocks.
xxoo,
Martha |
