Zz Top

(Universal Amphitheatre; 6,251 seats; $ 31.50) Promoted by MCA Concerts. Reviewed Dec. 11, 1996. Some things never change, as in the dirty electric blues that Texas veterans ZZ Top have been churning out since 1969.

Band: Bill Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard.

Then again, the trio is showing a marked lack of energy, and Monday's spectacle revealed a band all but on its last legs. Playing to its smallest Southland crowd in many years (ever?), ZZ Top left the giant cars, half-dressed dancers and barnyard animals of past tours at home. But they also left behind much of the fire and magic that has always made the group's shows so special. The band took a good hour into this show to show any palpable spirit, initially running through a mix of newer ("Pincushion," the lifeless "What's Up With That") and older (opener "Under Pressure," the seldom-played "Brown Sugar") songs with all the presence of the slacker grunge bands that these guys are supposed to oppose. Thankfully, the trio did wake up halfway through the two-hour set. A block of songs, including classics "Just Got Paid" and "Heard It on the X" and recent entries "Bang Bang" and "Rhythmeen" were powerful statements that showed these guys still have it in them to get down and dirty. But it was and is too little too late for this once-proud band whose best days, sadly, are far behind them. Troy J. Augusto

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