A "Hairy" subject...
I had seen
ZZ TOP perform before - at the PAC - a few years ago.
But, this was their first time in our new Gaillard Center.
They filled both venues... with clean-shaven fans, bearded ones and a few
"No Shave November*" participants.
It's also known as
Movember*.
I saw a Gaillard beverage vendor lady pouring beers while wearing a long, flowing blonde beard.
I asked if it was her idea and she said, "Not really, my husband suggested it would be a funny idea."
That's really getting into the spirit!
My modest effort to contribute my hirsute effort is still in the beginning stage - Day 6 - and has a long way to go.
I actually wore a beard for five years.
As I recall, way back then, mine was blonde - light blonde - so this will come in similar.
Well, more white than even gray.
Eventually. I do have a full month to make this happen.
(Uh, oh, the headshots I had done to send when I apply to be an Extra in tv shows filming here, will not reflect this soon-to-be-shaggy look.
Guess I'll stick with the clean shaved look.
Easier to maintain on short notice.
If I were chosen, I'd have to tell the casting director it would take me a month - at least - to show a bearded look.
(I did take a photo of the "bearded lady" so I include it here.)
I sat a few rows further back than usual.
Row E is about 7 or 8 rows from the stage, counting rows in the Orchestra pit.
I paused coming in to allow a small group ahead of me to file into the very last row on the ground floor of the Gaillard.
Knew it was a sell-out show and felt sort of bad for a moment that they would be seated so far back.
When you're seated up front, you get to see facial features and get even more from the performance. But, they seemed to be in a very good mood.
Even jovial.
I heard one of their crowd say "So, we have seats in row ZZ! Wow!"
They must have planned this, armed with a diagram of the seating chart.
But, even with seats relatively close to the stage, there always is room for a fan to stand, waving their arms and playing air guitar.
Or just standing perfectly still.
For a long time.
Oh well, I was there to hear the music.
Seeing the band that's had the same three members for 45 years is quite a big deal.
Bassist Dusty Hill and guitarist Billy Gibbons have long-time long beards. The drummer has no whiskers ... but his name is Frank Beard.
(Click on the images and links for more details.)
For the folks who sat in row ZZ...this is what the bearded ones looked like.
Party on!
Oh, I rummaged around in my files to find a photo I remembered from a few years ago when
"Cat Bearding" was - briefly - popular online.
It seems appropriate to include it here.
My cat posed beautifully.
If you look closely, her tiny nose replaced mine.
She allowed one more shot then squirmed her way out of my grasp.
Thanks again for stopping by.
Labels: Bassist Dusty Hill, Drummer Frank Beard Movember, growing funds to support cancer prevention, Guitarist Billy Gibbons, No Shave November, Row ZZ, together for 45 years, ZZ Top
One of the Zs...
I had front row seats at the Performing Arts Center when I first saw
ZZ Top in concert in 2008.
Took some amazing close-up photos of the two bearded guys.
Guitarist Billy Gibbons is the one with the reddish long beard.
Dusty Hill plays bass and the drummer, who has no facial hair, is named Frank Beard.
The three had been together more than 40 years and, today, still are. Billy wanted to experiment with a tour that included a stop in Havana, Cuba.
Wednesday night at the Charleston Music Hall (CMH) I enjoyed the solo tour by
Billy Gibbons and the BFG's.
I wished he had taken off his hat so I could see his face that was in shadow.
Bob Dylan did something similar with his hat so guess I'll just have to get used to it.
Two - not just one - ladies on drums. Nice.
Different percussion sounds from each.
Piano on one side of the stage and an organ on the other.
A large tilted mirror was positioned behind and above each player.
This gave us an excellent view of their hands as they ran up and down the multiple keyboards.
Had seen a similar mirror set-up like this at Pat O'brien's dueling pianos in New Orleans many years ago.
This touch adds a nice element to the entertainment.
Billy was scheduled to play in Charleston back in November but had to postpone it due to illness.
Had a lot of fun "enhancing" this shot of the opening band
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown.
They opened right on time and I think all the sound levels were cranked up to 11 or 12!
No problem. I always/usually have my professional earplugs with me.
And, this time, there was no NYC cabaret singer comic trying to climb onto my lab.
I think she realized I had a good sense of humor.
When she invited a much younger man to join her onstage for the finale, my buddy said she had told me I didn't have enough bone mass.
At my age, my strong point seems to be sitting comfortably in a plush seat, enjoying music being created and giving strong applause.
(Click on the photos and links for more details.)
I hope you get out and support live music. That helps convince performers to come to Charleston. Yay!
Labels: BFG band, Billy Gibbons, Havana Cuba., Pat O'Brian's in New Orleans, two lady drummers, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, ZZ Top
Very close to the target of 100,000 hits!
Now that I am within 50 of rolling past the 100,000 mark of people making "hits" on my blog, I want to do this "weekender" entry.
Funny how when you're thinking "silhouette" everything that's back-lighted grabs your attention.
Technically, this is just a shady oak tree early on a Saturday morning.
It casts nice shadows.
Even the retention pond that holds rain waste water looks attractive.
The "fountain" keeps scum from forming by keeping the pond water in motion.
I'll add this photo to next week's
Show & Tell at my Photography Group monthly meeting.
Continuing this weekend posting, here's the lovely lead singer Young-Mi Feldsott of the
Old You quartet.
Saw them perform last night at Home Team BBQ at Sullivan's Island.
If you look closely, you can see that's a photo of
Muddy Waters hanging on the wall behind her.
Tried to get a shot like this last week when Muddy's son
Big Bill Morganfield was playing.
Unfortunately, he wore a fedora-type hat that kept his face in shadow so that did not work out.
She announced they are leaving for Colorado in the morning to start a month-long tour. In a brand new van that was parked out front.
Ms. Feldsott said it was their 3rd vehicle but added no details on where the other two are. Hmm.
(I just checked and there are still 22 hits to go to reach the 100,000 target. Come on people, click in.)
Well, while we're just marking time, here's another shot of
Old You showing lead guitarist Caleb Bodtorf.
Caleb reminded me of my Hippie Days back in the 1960s.
Mainly his long hair partially tucked back behind his ears.
Not that my hair was ever THAT long.
I started college after four years in the Marines. My hair was REALLY short by campus standards.
The menu at
Brixx in Mt. Pleasant describes this sandwich as
"roasted chicken club."
It casually adds
"served on toasted focaccia."
Man, that's a LOT of bread.
The usual hunk of chicken breast is replaced by a creamy shaved chicken.
And strips of bacon of course.
The fruit cup of melon probably was the healthiest part of the meal.
That pretty well covers what I've been up to the last few days.
Food, music and snapping photos with the Canon sx260 camera I usually have with me.
Someone - actually quite a few - asked me how do people find my blog?
One way is they type in a subject matter or a person's name.
Back in June 2008, I was fortunate to be in the front row center for a ZZ Top concert.
Cameras were NOT barred and I posted some remarkable shots of the trio that had - at that point- been together for almost 40 years.
The ZZ Top hits on my blog kept coming. Month after month. Year after year.
When I checked online, I saw my blog came up FIRST with my photos of them. Maybe still does.
I would not be surprised if the hit that takes me over the top will be someone looking for the long-bearded guys.
The drummer has never worn a beard but his name is Frank Beard. Cool huh?
(Click on the photos to see more detail.)
Keep in mind, it's only been recently that I have a camera with a 20x optical zoom.
For the last 10 years, my P/S (Point & Shoot) small Canon cameras had only a 3x zoom lenses.
I tried to get as close as possible. Last night I was able to "zoom in" for some nice facial expressions of the Old You singer.
OK, closing out here.
I'll take another look at my tracking program to see if we've rolled over the target number.
(*My 100,000th hit was received this evening at 21:51:36 from someone in Pompano Beach, Florida. Wow.)
Labels: 100000 hits, 161 countries, all 50 states., bassist Paul San Luis, Brixx, focaccia, John Pope drummer, lead guitar Caleb Bodtort, Old You band, roasted chicken club, silhouette, Young-Mi Feldsott, ZZ Top
Music .... From AA to ZZ TOPS
Well, I finally ran out of days to continue covering Piccolo Spoleto as a
SpoJo but I received a special surprise last night from my buddy.
He had won two tickets to the
ZZ Top show at the Performing Arts Center. He heard a radio station promotion, called and got right through. How lucky can you get!?
First Row. Smack dab in the center. But, wait..there's more!
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As usual, people all around me had those dinky little cameras built into their cell phones but, this time, my small - but very effective - digital camera
WAS ALLOWED.
I have been seated up close for concerts before (10th row for The Eagles, second row for David Sedaris) but this time I could freely take pictures. Legally!
As
Tops fans know, this Hall of Fame trio has played together almost 40 years with the same three people. No changes since 1969.
Billy F. Gibbons, guitar, has the reddish hair color and the gray beard is bassist Dusty Hill. Hey, sitting this close, with a good camera, I'm able to see more and share more.
Frank Beard, the drummer, has long blonde hair and smokes filtered cigarettes.
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(Click on photos for awesome details!)
Labels: Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, PAC, ZZ Top
That's really getting into the spirit!
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