Willie Nelson, one of the world’s greatest humans, has been very generous to us over the last decade treating us to the likes of Van Morrison, the Avett Brothers, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Krauss and Brandi Carlile on his Outlaw Music Festival tours.
On Sunday, for the third Outlaw Fest to hit Star Lake (not counting 2017 when it was part of Farm Aid), Willie brought a band that headlined Three Rivers Stadium in the ‘70s and sold out the Civic Arena two straight nights in the ‘80s.
That would be That Little Ol' Band from Texas, ZZ Top, appearing here for the first time without beloved bass player Dusty Hill, who died last year.
His position in the band is in good hands with Elwood Francis, Hill’s longtime guitar tech, who is lean, mean and has grown one sweet beard. He would make a fabulous Muppet character.
Gibbons referred to Francis as “my main man” and noted, “That is not a pin-on beard. You get the real thing.”
They also both look great in tight leather jackets and skinny jeans.
It has to be said, though, you could pull a guy off the street and the amazing Billy Gibbons, with drummer Frank Beard, would carry it. As you well know, Gibbons’ tone is just nasty — everything that comes out of his guitars sounds great — and his gruff vocals are still the perfect match.
What you don’t get from Francis are vocals, so ZZ Top played a set that included rugged early classics like “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and “Waitin’ for the Bus” and MTV-era grinders like “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Sharp Dressed Man,” but there was no “Tush” or “Heard it on the X,” songs that Dusty sang.
Gibbons mentioned calling Jeff Beck in England on Sunday who said he was “getting ready to play a little rock’n’ roll” and added “ZZ Top play A LOTTA rock ’n’ roll.”
“That’s why we’re gonna play some country,” Gibbons said, introducing Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons,” which sounded more rock ’n’ roll than country, because, well, that’s ZZ Top.
They pulled out the custom white fur guitars for the churning set-closer and signed off with a three-song encore ending with “La Grange,” performed, believe it or not, with a bubble machine.
Willie Nelson did not have a bubble machine or anything on that order — just a Texas flag backdrop and his guitar Trigger, his son Micah by his side, the rhythm section of Billy English and Kevin Smith and his longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael. There was no pianist to replace his late beloved older sister Bobbie, making the sound more stripped down.
It might be safe to say that no singer ever sounded better at 89. Willie maintains his gorgeous woodsy tone and full command, which speaks very well of a lifetime smoking weed.
He opened with the traditional “Whiskey River” and led the band through a mix of country romps (“On the Road Again,” “Still is Still Moving to Me,” “Good Hearted Woman’) and devastating ballads (“You Were Always on My Mind,” “I Never Cared for You”).
Although he was sitting down, his energy was high, particularly when he was shouting the “MAMMAS!” on “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
Micah, the Particle Kid, added a jolt of fun to the set with a father-son duet on “If I Die When I’m High, I’ll Be Halfway to Heaven” and his surreal excursion on “Everything is [Bull—-].”
Earlier, Warren Haynes put on a guitar clinic with Gov’t Mule, the band that became his primary focus after the demise of the Allman Brothers.
The Mule played a set highlighted by two songs he once played with the Allmans: “Dreams” (which he sang with soul) and “Soulshine,” his own song he brought to the band. He also brought up Micah for an epic version of “Cortez the Killer.” Haynes recalled that the first time he played that was when they “got a wild hair” and did it at the Pittsburgh club Rosebud, around 1994.
Micah did an engaging acoustic set for almost no one to open the show, followed by the Southern blues-rock band Larkin Poe, led by talented sisters Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell.
Rebecca is a sassy rocker with a stunning vocal range and Megan is a slide guitar queen. They delved into the Allmans as well, inserting “Blue Sky” into “Back Down South” and also showcased their respective talents in a call and response on “Trouble in Mind.”
Six hours later, it was ending with the Outlaw legend, and when you’re watching Willie Nelson singing “Georgia” or “Always On My Mind,” you have to pinch yourself. You’re seeing one of the greatest things America ever produced.
We’ll be blessed if we can see him back here again when he’s 90.
Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.
First Published: August 1, 2022, 3:32 a.m.
