Billy F. Gibbons @ Copenhell 2023
Showing everyone else just how it's done for near 6 decades
You know what the 'F' in Billy F. Gibbons stands for? Anybody?
…
'Fucking'. It stands for 'Fucking'. Because it's Billy Fucking Gibbons. Because sometimes, you need expletives to emphasize how awesome things or people are. (In fact, why do you think there are so many so-called 'dirty' words all over this website?!)
But the man's middle name could also very well have a lot of other initials representing a lot of other things. It could also be an 'I' for 'Integrity'. Or an 'A' for 'Authenticity'. Or, not the least of all, it could be a 'T' for 'Talent'. Genuine fucking talent.
Some of the local dumbass journalists have rhetorically asked what a 73-year-old blues guitarist was doing on a Copenhell line-up. Well, one answer is that those very three aforementioned qualities of Gibbons are three of the biggest values in the entire genre of metal.
Another more obvious answer is that ZZ Top were playing alongside metal bands on Copenhell's much bigger siblings Hellfest and Sweden Rock for a fucking decade. And the third even more obvious answer is that heavy metal has its roots in the blues. And that Gibbons – friends of one Jimi Goddamn Hendrix who named Gibbons his favorite guitar player in the world – was wielding the blues decades before half of the bands on this year's line-up even knew who he or Jimi Hendrix were.
Since the passing of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill almost two years ago, Gibbons has been touring under his own name. The man has three solo albums out. But, perhaps not surprisingly, he focuses on the songs from the band that put him in front of major audiences in the first place. And what a delight it is.
Indeed, as he and his companions enter the stage with 40-year-old sumbitch "Got Me Under Pressure", that's exactly what yours truly is: under pressure. Because, like I wrote about yesterday, the frequency of busses towards Copenhell this year leaves A LOT to be desired. I've been waiting for half a fucking hour again.
Fortunately, the band's a bit late. And I'm running, hangover be damned. So as I find my friends in the inner barrier with just short of €50 worth of beer during the second verse, a party ensues in my world that's equivalent to the one that "Pantera" put on this Thursday.
Admitted: I don't know a single tune from the man's solo catalog, and I have no idea who his two solo bandmates are. But I do know genuine goddamn talent when I hear and see it. And that's exactly what's playing out in front of me here: people who know their instruments better than their own genitals, and master them (the instruments) better than anything else in their lives.
Every note the man plays has a feeling. Some of his bends are hypnotizing. Some of those blues licks are older than Gibbons himself, and in his hands, Robert Johnson bless them, those licks come together and transcend the sum of their parts.
While I don't know those solo songs – Hell, I couldn't even find the names of two of them – they're not only dirty. They're fucking heavy. In fact, all of this is, in its own right, so meticulously heavy that yesterday's otherwise fine Slipknot bash looks like a bizarre high school dance in comparison.
No, I am dead serious. The drummer is constantly behind the beat, and the guitar is constantly behind the drums; it's so heavy it's almost falling apart. But at the same time, every dirty drive is as steady as a goddamn tank. Mark my words: We might not be witnessing anything more than handicrafts, but it is the handicraft of masters.
Again not surprisingly, some tunes pull home more points than others. We are, of course, talking about monolithic party kicker "Gimme All Your Lovin'", its drum intro and feeling as instantly recognizable as in "Rosanna", and pure sonic anti-depressant "Sharp Dressed Man", during which an otherwise boring audience, perhaps also strained by that third-day hangover, actually raise their hands and make some noise.
Mind you, this signature has seen Gibbons on stage 5 times now – 4 being with The Top – and I can attest to the fact that crowds at the man's shows tend to be bewilderingly sucky. And perhaps this is due to the fact that Gibbons himself hardly moves around on stage.
All of this is, in its own right, so meticulously heavy that yesterday's otherwise fine Slipknot bash looks like a bizarre high school dance in comparison.
However, this is not because he's an old, dried-up fart, but because he lets that music of his do the necessary performing. And every note the man plays has a feeling. Some of his bends are hypnotizing. Some of those blues licks are older than Gibbons himself, and in his hands, Robert Johnson bless them, those licks come together and transcend the sum of their parts.
This is not to say that Gibbons & Co. doesn't bring the party. Especially the older part of the audience (+50% would be a conservative estimate) sing along to "Thunderbird", its chorus belonging to that equally hated and loved "hear it once and it's there forever" club.
And even though most people, including myself, seem to have forgotten "Brown Sugar" (not to be confused with the Stones' ditto) from 52-year-old ingeniously titled "ZZ Top's First Album", it's followed by an instantly recognizable "Tube Snake Boogie". It's not The Top's most interesting tune, but you'd have to be paralyzed from the neck down to not rock along. And while concluding "La Grange" – for some reason, The Top's biggest hit – does still leave me wanting more, I can expect none at this sorry mid-afternoon time of day.
And having once again taken the opportunity to throw back some keg coldies and rock out to one of rock's greatest icons and craftiest tradesmen, I'm more than happy at this point.
Rating: 5 out of 6
Genre: Blues rock / hard rock
Venue: Copenhell, Helvíti Stage
Date: Sat., 17/6/2023
Setlist:
- Got Me Under Pressure (ZZ Top)
- More-More-More
- Rollin' and Tumblin'
- Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (ZZ Top)
- Gimme All Your Lovin' (ZZ Top)
- ???
- ???
- Thunderbird (ZZ Top)
- Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Top)
- Brown Sugar (ZZ Top)
- Tube Snake Boogie (ZZ Top)
- La Grange (ZZ Top)