Tonight at Sydney’s ICC Theatre, ZZ Top bring their Elevation Tour to town – and while time has thinned the original lineup, the Texan titans still deliver the kind of swampy, grease-slick rock that smells of engine oil and old bourbon.
Missing from the stage is original drummer Frank Beard, sidelined on doctor’s orders, but standing in is seasoned live gun John Douglas, who previously subbed in 2002 and just wrapped the U.S. leg with the band. The bearded groove doesn’t miss a beat.
Now whittled down to Billy Gibbons and Elwood Francis – who took over bass duties after the death of longtime member Dusty Hill in 2021 – ZZ Top are still the snarling blues machine they’ve always been. Gibbons’s guitar tone is a masterclass in overdrive filth, and Francis’s low-end lurch is all rumble and finesse.
Opening the night is Dallas Frasca, who stomps and howls through a fierce blues-rock set that drips with pub sweat and Southern Gothic snarl. Raised in Wangaratta, she’s got the kind of voice that could sandblast paint off a Cadillac. She ends her set with three rip snorting Led Zeppelin covers-Kashmir, followed by Black Dog and lastly Whole Lotta Love.
Then come George Thorogood & The Destroyers, all snarling swagger and slide guitar fury, taking the stage to Barry McGuire’s ‘Eve Of Destruction’ and reminding the crowd that Bad to the Bone wasn’t just a song, it was a mission statement. They may be billed as special guests, but tonight they feel like co-conspirators in a Southern-fried heist.
The ICC theatre is packed wall-to-wall with fans of all ages, and the merch desk is doing a roaring trade. When ZZ Top take the stage it’s clear that they may be down a founding member, but they’ve lost none of their bite. This isn’t a nostalgia trip – it’s a lesson in groove, grit, and staying louder than time. Gibbons and Francis are dressed sharply in rhinestone studded suits and Francis plays an impossibly huge multi-string bass. ZZ Top’s legacy runs deep, even with a slightly altered lineup. Sure, we miss the thunder of Frank Beard and the steady presence of Dusty Hill, but what remains is still unmistakably ZZ Top: bluesy, bold and built to last. Australia, we’re lucky to have witnessed it.
Images Deb Pelser
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