What a difference a venue makes. This truism has been brought to life in various ways over the past year in town, most notably when Sir Paul McCartney deigned to make his debut at the Santa Barbara Bowl in September. Do the math: Here he was, in the kickoff gig of his U.S. tour, playing in our beloved 4,500-seat Bowl, a capacity 1/10 (or some smaller fraction) of his standard places of touring business. It was a magical 805 occasion.
Jumping to the end of the rock legend alphabet, ZZ Top brought its theatrical mega-boogie sound to the Bowl in October and, last week, the Top’s kingpin, Billy Gibbons, brought his humbler side project Billy F. Gibbons and the BFG’s band to the Lobero, clocking in at about 650 seats. It, too, was magical for those of us attuned to Gibbons’s gifts as a taste-machined, post-blues guitarist/singer, clever songwriter, and general Texas-sized character.
And then there is that great signature Gibbons tone: He knows how to coax colors and squeak out well-placed overtones on his instrument, in a language rooted in the blues but stamped with his own unique sense of phrasing and riff-making.
Joining Gibbons in the BFG are fellow Texans worth knowing and hearing — foundation-laying drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton (whose résumé includes playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan) and organist/bassist Mike “the Drifter” Flanigin. Layton’s presence was deeply rooted and undeniable from start to finish, sometimes slipping into an offbeat drum groove, as on “Precious and Grace.” Flanigin fulfilled his supportive role, but handily stepped into the soloist spotlight on tunes such as the jazz-flavored shuffle tune “Q’ Vo,” the only actual BFG tune, from the 2015 album Perfectamundo.
The Lobero show confirmed that Gibbons, now 76, is a legend on his own, and he keeps on ticking and kicking. He also has, um, legs, as a veteran blues-rocker who has lost none of his relevance. The bearded wonder could claim bragging rights of having opened for a new sensation from Britain named Jimi Hendrix with his old band The Moving Sidewalks in 1968. That factoid added weight and grit to the trio’s smoking version of Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady,” the set’s only cover song, aside from a blues legacy check-in on Slim Harpo’s “I Got Love if You Want It.”
Most of the set was ZZ Top songbook items, including such classics as “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and a strategically set-closing “La Grange.” (No “Legs,” though.) More interestingly, in a way, are BFG’s deep cuts unearthed from the Top’s ‘70s oeuvre, including the 1971-vintage First Album’s “Brown Sugar” (released the same year as the Rolling Stone’s major hit of the same name) and the show’s encore of “Thunderbird.” ZZ geeks could also savor the live sounds of “Francine” and “Nasty Dogs,” returning to the public ear after languishing in neglect for years, concert-wise.
Undeniably, BFG is a power trio with strong ties to the ZZ, but with the kitschy antics more subdued. Gibbons and Flanigin did play matching paisley print instruments for most of the show, busting out bizarre instruments with embedded video monitors on the face during “Thunderbird.” And another winking theatrical touch, and punchline, came during his extended solo during “Sharp Dressed Man,” calling on the gimmick of playing riffs with left hand only and then suddenly whipping the guitar around to reveal a hand-scrawled sign taped on the back of the instrument, emblazoned with the power word “BEER.”
Humor is never very far from the surface with Gibbons, whatever the project in the spotlight, a reminder not to take even serious music too seriously. But music is what ultimately matters, and Gibbons still gives it all and refuses to phone it in. That element of true taste and true grit felt all the more impressive in the comparatively living room–style quarters of the Lobero, on an up close and personal basis.
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