Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with ZZ Top at the Hollywood Bowl

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with ZZ Top at the Hollywood Bowl

Back-to-back nights at the Hollywood Bowl. I swear I'm not that upscale. I was going to take my dad to see Tom Petty & the Hearbreakers for his birthday way back in May, but it got postponed. My friend Hane suggested one on the Heartbreakers must have been in rehab, then added something to the effect of “Whatever! Now we get to see ZZ Top open instead of Joe Cocker!” It just so happened that the show was rescheduled to the night after Sonic Youth, Pavement, and No Age. The atmosphere was totally different, with throngs of hippies, classic rockers, burnouts, and entertainment lawyers working their way up Highland. We heard ZZ Top's first song while waiting to get in, and were in our seats by the second number…

I didn't really expect much, but crap. ZZ Top was damn good. Leader Billy Gibbons shared that after 40 years, it was the same three guys and same three chords… Those are three mighty