ZZ Top Concert Review 1980

To this day ZZ Top continues to tour the globe to please fans. The first time I ever went to a ZZ Top concert was on Friday April 4 1980 at the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Ct. It was an early spring day, with that springlike feel, a day your weren’t sure if winter wanted to come back, but it wouldn’t as spring was here to stay this year.

This tour was in support of their Deguello album. During the 1970's I was familiar with Top as they had some commercial success. But during late 1979 and thru 1980 was when they really were getting big. This was as stripped down no frills of a rock concert as you could get. As best as I can remember, that evening Top played classics such as Waitin For The Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, as well as the entire Deguello album which included; I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide and I Thank You. Everyone loves a story, and one was told by Billy Gibbons prior to the playing of A Fool For Your Stockings.

The stage show was basic, the stage itself had a few visual effects on the floor of the stage that you could see from above, but this was a pure hard rock & blues performance. I could detect no pre-recorded music or sound effects during the concert. This was ZZ Top, the USA’s premier power trio at its finest !

ZZ Top went on to become widely popular after this tour. Their string of FM radio hits was one after another. You started to see them every place--concerts, TV adds, MTV Videos, they had made it. I did see these guys again in the early 1980's and 1990's, but this was the best show of them all.

I almost forgot--this was pre-sun glasses wearing days for the band, so only during the song Cheap Sunglasses did the band wear them-and they were quite a bit oversized. By the time Tush was played, we didn’t know what had hit us-but it turned out to be That Little ‘Ol Band From Texas rockin us into the 1980's !