Article & Photos: Jim Summaria
Billy Gibbons and the BFGs at the Park West, Chicago
February 1, 2025
Review & Photos by Jim Summaria
Famed ZZ Top guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons and his side project band the BFGs put on a blues rock boogie show at the Park West in Chicago on Saturday, February 1 that will have the town talking about it for quite a while. The BFGs boast Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame drummer Chris 'Whipper' Layton, who was inducted with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble. On bass and keyboards is Mike 'The Drifter' Flanigan, who plays regularly with Jimmie Vaughan. Gibbons, Layton and Flanigan all were born and raised in Texas with strong roots in the blues.
Gibbons formed ZZ Top in 1969 with bandmates Dusty Hill on bass and Frank Beard on drums. I'm sure any fan of ZZ Top knows that Frank Beard was the only member without a beard. They created their name because of their love of the blues especially BB King. So they took BB's initials and doubled the last letter of the alphabet. Since a king is the name given to the highest leader they figured they would use the word top. They were the longest running band without a change in their lineup in the history of rock music. The streak was ended when sadly Hill died in 2021. He was replaced by Elwood Francis, their long time guitar tech. The original members joined the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Gibbons has also pursued a solo career and never rests on his laurels. His new single, “Livin’ It Up Down in Texas,” is now out on Concord Records and is available for streaming and download. The song was previewed in the hit Paramount+ series Landman. Gibbons co-wrote the tune with the show’s actors Billy Bob Thornton and Mark Collie. The song is the first of an upcoming fourth album release by Gibbons on the Concord imprint.
But tonight, the set list was mostly ZZ Top songs, much to the delight of the audience. Layton and Flanigan set the groove with Gibbons adding his own unique style of guitar playing of finger slides, plus pinched harmonies with blues phrasing - - a cool combination that he has perfected. Each one of his leads was tasteful and never overly extended, just enough to be satisfied but still wanting a little more. His gritty deep baritone voice is perfect for the blues.
The band was introduced one by one and they took the stage wearing cool looking, very colorful, sequined outfits. Their confidence as musicians and showmen was apparent right from the start. After a quick hello, they started with an instrumental shuffle which led right into two songs from their 1973 Tres Hombres album, "Waitin' For the Bus" which fed right into the fan favorite "Jesus Just Left Chicago." The crowd was theirs. After a huge ovation, Gibbons shouted out, "ya'll ready to have a good time?" The answer was a rousing yes.
Drummer Layton started off the next song and everyone knew what was next. Gibbons followed the intro with the powerful opening chords of "Gimme All Your Lovin" from the 1983 Eliminator album. He and Flanigin had some fun by synchronizing their moves to the rhythm (but alas no spinning guitars) and into "Cheap Sunglasses" from their 1979 Dequello album kept the good times rolling.
The band next played a cover of the Slim Harpo (real name Jim Moore) song "Got Love If You Want It" off the BFGs 2015 Perfectamundo album. Flanigin showed off his talented chops with a sweet solo on the keyboards.
Gibbons then took to the microphone and asked if they wanted to hear some down and dirty blues. This being Chicago, the reaction was, of course, ecstatic! Gibbons, Hill and Beard wrote a song with tongue-in-cheek lyrics about their favorite pair of pants that appeared on their 1975 Fandango album --not many blues songs out there with pants as a theme. The band proceeded to play "Blue Jean Blues." Gibson put his heart and soul into this slow, blues tune. It was a genuine highlight of the evening.
L to R: Chris "Whipper" Layton, Billy Gibbons, Mike Flanigin/ photos: Jim Summaria
It was time for a little storytelling and Gibson had a good one about Jimi Hendrix. Back in 1968, Gibson was in a band called Moving Sidewalks and they were offered to open for Hendrix on a U.S. tour, which they gladly accepted. The Moving Sidewalks were big fans of Hendrix and the Are You Experienced album. They had the audacity to close their set the first night with "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady" fortunately to the delight of Hendrix himself. Gibson and Hendrix became good friends and to seal their friendship Hendrix gave Gibson a pink Stratocaster guitar. After the story Gibson hit the opening notes to "Foxy Lady" and the place went wild.
Four deep cuts from the ZZ Top library were up next. The first two have possibly the best song titles you'll ever hear. First "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers" from Tres Hombres and "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" from Fandango. The band was in high gear on each song. Gibbons took on what you may call his version of rap with "I Gotsa Get Paid" from their 2012 La Futura album. The foursome finished by going back to their Rio Grande Mud album with "Francine."
The audience knew the evening was coming to a close and people starting whispering what songs they haven't played yet. Speculation was high on what was next. With one of the greatest opening guitar boogie riffs in music history, the band launched into "Just Got Paid" also from the Rio Grande Mud album. Gibbons played his slide to perfection. People shouted out more song suggestions but the band was already into another song. This song had familiar opening chords and everyone knew that they were about to hear "Sharp Dressed Man" with Flanigan and Gibson swaying to the beat together.
It was so cool to watch the crowd dancing and bobbing up and down to the last two songs but their endurance was to be tested when Gibbons led into one of the best opening riffs of any rock song in history, that being "La Grange." Layton kicked in on the drums and Gibson added a growling vocal, spewing out a John Lee Hooker influenced "Haw, Haw, Haw." Everyone in the band took a nice solo and everyone thought the evening was probably over...but not quite.
The band decided to remain on stage and not wait for the applause for an encore. The guys wanted to pay tribute to Johnny Cash and did a nice Texas style rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues." The band then reached way back to ZZ Top's 1971 debut album for "Brown Sugar." A great rendition ensued with a John Lee Hooker style slow opening which morphed into a blues rocker with Gibbons displaying some exquisite guitar. They closed the show with the boogie song "Thunderbird" from the Fandago album with a message about, let's just say, having fun. Well, everyone sure did that night!
Jim Summaria began professionally photographing rock concerts in 1973 at the age of 19 when he became the staff photographer for the Chicago rock concert promoter Flip Side Productions. Jim's photos have been published in numerous books, magazines and CDs. His rock ‘n’ roll photos have been viewed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum and Hall of Fame on Rt.66 and the Grammy Awards. Jim and writer Mark Plotnick co-authored the books Classic Rock: Photographs From Yesterday & Today and the October 2024 release ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts.
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