
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991                   TAG: 9103220638
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ZZ TOP'S BOOGIE DAYS A HIT AGAIN

For its "Recycler" tour, ZZ Top has replaced the buffalo, rattlesnakes and buzzards that once were part of its act with a stage set that looks like what you see when you drive by Roanoke recycling haven Cycle Systems.

But the mega-hit band, which rocked a sellout crowd at the Roanoke Civic Center Thursday night, proved it hasn't forgotten the days when it was known as a little old boogie band from Texas.

When the trio played down-and-dirty blues, including a tune about a woman who steals her man's blue jeans, the music was as satisfying as a steaming bowl of Texas chili.

Other songs didn't seem quite as inspired, but "Sleeping Bag," which featured a little soft shoe by bearded duo Billy Gibbons and Dustry Hill, "Gimme Me All Your Lovin" and "Sharp Dressed Man" received an enthusiastic response from the crowd of 11,000.

The group's elaborate stage set - which featured construction-like cranes that moved, sputtering flames, two TV-sized monitors and a giant nozzle that appeared to suck Gibbons and Hill away for a brief break in the show - was also a big hit with the audience.

Gibbons and Hill did a good job of staying in sync during the show. In their best efforts - when they sidestepped while playing matching white guitars or just clowned around - they looked like carbon copies of each other.

The concert attracted a diverse crowd, from adolescents to young adults to the middle-aged. There were rock'n'rollers and hipsters with shoulder-length ponytails and clean-cut guys with spiky close-to-crew cuts. There were women with casually chic short styles or pouffy permed 'dos.

There were also a lot of hats around, perhaps in tribute to Gibbons and Hill, who started the show in pink baseball caps and later switched to magenta derbys and matching suits.

The Black Crowes, a quintet from Atlanta whose hard-hitting rock'n'roll has earned them comparisons to the young Rolling Stones, revved up the crowd with a solid 50 minutes of music.

"Twice As Hard," "She Talks to Angels," "Jealous Again," and the band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" got a warm reception.

by CNB