Another great flash from the ’80’s tonight with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. It is hard to believe that they have been around for 35 years, and Toni and I both noticed and commented to each other how darn happy they looked, not only as performers but as a married couple…how refreshing.

This was apparently an early warm-up concert where they were practicing and getting things sorted out for their upcoming summer tour. You couldn’t have prove it by me, to me it was a absolutely stunning and flawless performance by one the most revered icons of the 1980’s – Perfect!

They played a ton of hits that I had forgotten about and haven’t heard since back in the day. Songs like You Better Run, which I didn’t know, but was the second video ever played on MTV back in August of 1981. They also played a very powerful version of Hell is For Children which apparently they play at every concert as a sort of an anthem for abused children and they vow to keep playing until there is no more child abuse. Some of the other songs they played were, We Belong, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Love is a Battlefield, Promises in the Dark and Invincible.

They closed the night with their second encore song of Heartbreaker which really showed Neil’s fantastic guitar skills. The song morphed into Johnny Cash’s song Ring of Fire at some point, and then culmenating into a number of classic guitar riffs including Led Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker.. what an ending to a perfect performance!

Went to see Bachman & Turner (Overdrive) or as I will always know them B.T.O. at the Emerald Queen Casino tonight with Toni.

I have to say, this was by far one of the best classic rock shows I have seen in a long time. I am not sure why I felt this way. Maybe it was the classics that I haven’t heard in a very long time; maybe it’s because I could sing along to most of the songs and knew all the words; could have been the incredible amount of cow bell; or maybe it was just because they sounded so darn good and true to their original sound. Not too many bands can say that after being around for 40 years, but these guys sounded like they just stepped out of the 70’s.

The show started off very strong with Roll On Down The Highway which got all the 50-60 somethings up on their feet and clapping their hards. They then went into some of their more obscure, vintage BTO music (a lot of it apparently was originally recorded in Seattle). One of the best songs of the night I thought was Looking Out For No. 1. This is a mellow, bluesy song that you would never hear on the radio, and only could enjoy from playing the full Head-On album end to end.. This song featured some incredible, long blues guitar playing by Randy Bachman. It was just cosmic.

They played nearly all their most popular songs including Let it Ride, You Ain’t See Nothing Yet, Four Wheel Drive, Sledgehammer, a great rendition of American Woman. Of course they has to closed the night with their final encore song being Takin’ Care of Business. AWESOME!

Well, a mix-up on the family events calendar resulted in Toni and Nicki up in Seattle attending the Lion King show and me down in Tacoma at the Emerald Queen Casino at the Michael MCDonald concert. Not sure if it was just a matter of poor planning or some strange voodoo magic of Toni’s to get out of going to see Michael MCDonald. Oh well, she’ll have another chance in August when he comes through this area again touring and co-headlining with TOTO.

The photo cops were out in strength, enforcing the “no photo” rule, which of course wasn’t posted anywhere I could tell. Another bummer about the show was that there was no swag! Every performer sells swag. It’s a staple of income and a given that you can buy a shirt, CD, poster, headband or whatever, but not tonight…bummer, my first Michael MCDonald show, and no commemorative T-shirt.

The show started a bit later than the typical 8:00pm start with him coming on to stage around 8:45. He came out and started the show off right with a couple of older Doobie Brothers songs and then a great mix of his single stuff, some great covers and more Doobies. They did a great rendition of Eric Clapton’s 1996 Grammy hit Change the World, it turns out it was written by the bassist for Michael MCDonald‘s band Tommy Sims. They also performed an incredible medley of Stevie Wonder songs. But of course, everyone was there to hear him perform the great hits such as Yah Mo B There, Takin’ It to the Streets, It Keeps You Runnin’, Minute by Minute and What a Fool Believes.

I have always enjoyed his music. He has such a unique and soulful voice and writes songs with a strong southern blues a jazz influence. His soft rock ballads bring back so many memories that make you sit back and remember all the good times.

Missed not having Toni with me at the show tonight, but I am glad I didn’t miss it.

Tonight was an awesome night of “TexiCali”, backwoods, rock and roll Blues with ZZ Top at the Moore Theater in Seattle. Although I have been a fan for years, this was the first time I had seen ZZ Top ..I think since the early 80’s when I first heard them on the radio.

The guys came out sharp dressed in sequined jackets, funky hats, styling shoes, sporting their trademarked sunglasses and those incredible long beards…what a sight.

They started the show off with “Got Me Under Pressure” followed by their very bluesy “Waitin’ for the Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago“. It was amazing how both Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill played the same guitars almost all the way through the entire set. Most bands change guitars after every song, but these guys were so simple and basic (all in a good way) that all they needed to do was stand and play, and they just blew everyone away. The crowd was standing and cheering for the entire show, and for a venue full of 50/60 somethings, that is really a testament to their incredible power to jam. I think my favorite songs of the night were “Legs” and then as part of the encore, the extra long version of “La Grange“. They also played a very good rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” which of course the crowd just loved. Naturally, all their music brings back great memories and for me with what I think are the two most recognizable ZZ Top hits of the late 70’s/early 80’s, “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Sharp Dressed Man”

Seeing ZZ Top was a very long time coming, and if I would have known they performed and sounded this good, I would have seen them way before now. It’s hard to believe that these three guys have been rocking for over forty years. Well, I do know that when they come around to Seattle again, they will definitely be on the list of must see bands.