“Paula Abdul taught us how to dance”
- Dusty Hill

Oh word? The ‘Top, having for quite a while not been upon it, has recently undertaken some steps to dust off (or, well, actually to re-apply the dust and dirt to) their iconic though no longer laconic brand. It started with the replacement of their long-time manager, a completely under the radar re-issue of Eliminator on its 25th anniversary and hitting up the studio to make an album with Rick “Let’s kick it like back in the day” Rubin. They also put out this DVD of a recent concert they performed here, back where it all got started, in Houston Texas.

Wait, hold on. [flips over packaging after not recognizing seating arrangement in venue to read liner notes.] DALLAS?! THIS THING WAS RECORDED IN DALLAS? THIS THING WAS RECORDED IN DALLAS! NO GOOD, STOP THE DANCE. STOP THE DANCE! SURE - Frank and Dusty are from Dallas, but Mr. Voice, Mr. Guitar, Mr Billy Gibbons is from right here where SPACE IS THE PLACE. Stories of his tossing back suds at Lola’s so fast he returned the bottle cold and slapping down a Fifty for a milkshake at 59 Diner are crucial threads in the Turin Shroud of Montrose lore. Bah! You think after Keith Richards inducts Bring Back the Guns into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame they’re gonna go kick off the sunset years of their career in the Nokia Theater? HAH! Ok, we’re cheel. Apologies to any Dallasians (Dallasonians?) we may have offended.

This show was recorded in 2007, and contains no archival material. This is a smart move if you want to reinvigorate listeners with you in the here and now (and, by extension, your next album), but we’ll admit that some seriously 70s video of the band remains on our re-release dream list. And the show certainly does reveal a band that is still vital, playing crisp and inspired versions of hits they have likely played thousands of times before.

The bonus features are great, if brief - especially the one in particular in which the trio sits down to play some poker and, to borrow a phrase, remembers more times than Michael Jackson. They drop names like Ike drops trees: Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Roky Erikson, 13th Floor Elevators and yes, Paula Abdul (turns out she did the choreography for one of their videos, and they explained how she literally nailed their boots to the floor so they could execute the now famous ZZ Top lean). There are plenty of origin stories, including when Dusty tried out to join the band (but didn’t bring a bass) and their first show (where he, again, did not bring a bass).  It comes across well, and is certainly among the more interesting and least self-glorifying ‘band history’ segments we’ve come across (Although when Billy starts to talk about ‘the women’, it is kind of creepy).

There’s also a ‘backstage pass’ view of the day of the show, during which Gibbons’ luthier and guitar tech (two different people) get a surprising amount of screen time. Granted, their discussions aren’t wonky or detailed enough to satiate staunch gear nerds, but it was interesting, certainly more so than an interview with their manager or a superfan. What was disturbing, however, was the clear (though never addressed) indication that Frank Beard has a serious drinking problem. As best we could tell, it looks like the man has a case-a-day habit…. of Tab. Check out these screen grabs:

Frank backstage with atleast two cans

Frank takes an unhealthy gulp

During the poker game, the only non-band member to appear is this young woman who brings Frank a new Tab.

Franks sets down his Tab momentarily to conduct an interview with a local TV station. It sits comfortable by his foot.

His Tab remains in a deathgrip while taking pictues with some presumably important people.

On the way to the stage, one last sip of the sustaining sauce.

Or maybe not, as it turns out his drum set has a CUSTOM TAB HOLDER.

Shocking. While we’re the last people in the world able to throw stones about the beverage consumption of our fellow man, this may call for an intervention. If you’ve always wanted to see ZZ Top live, but never have wanted to stand in the beer line and have a conversation with a true-believer stranger at a ZZ Top show, then you’d do well to go pick up a copy or throw it in the Netflix cue.