Story and Photos by Jimmy Steinfeldt –
Cathedral City, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/26/25 – As if busy Billy Gibbons didn’t have enough to do! He just completed on November 24 a ZZ Top tour and is back on the road with his other band Billy Gibbons and the BFG’s. They put on a great show at the Aqua Caliente Casino Cathedral City. The fans were excited and warmly dressed. Yes, it was in Aqua Caliente’s outdoor venue with a balmy 55-degree temperature.
It was a general admission show so the lucky ones who arrived early got to stand near the stage and see the talented Mr. Gibbons perform his electrifying guitar playing along with his well-known showmanship. And how about his snappy threads! He was joined by Mike Flanagan on bass and keyboards and Chris Layton on drums. Chris of course was the legendary drummer for Stevie Ray Vaughan, and I was so lucky to photograph Chris back in the day.
Billy introduced most songs with conversation like “Do you dig the Blues?” Then launched into Blue Jean Blues. He said he was recently in Hawaii, and his guitar of choice this night was a Fender Telecaster with a funky built-in video screen showing ocean waves. He mentioned it was a tad chilly this night, but the band’s hot tunes kept people moving whether in their seats or standing.
The set list was a great mix of songs from Billy’s career both ZZ Top and as a solo artist. Some cool covers were also performed. ZZ Top songs included: Waiting for the Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Cheap Sunglasses, Blue Jean Blues, Certified Blues, Francine, Just Got Paid, Sharp Dressed Man, Brown Sugar, La Grange. Great renditions were played of Got Love If You Want It from Gibbons’ Perfectamundo album and Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix. The encore included Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, The Chantays’ Pipeline and ZZ Tops’ Thunderbird.
A special treat for this writer was Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings. One of my fav ZZ Top songs that doesn’t always make it onto the set list. When they played La Grange anyone in the audience that hadn’t already gotten up out of their seats was up and standing for this.
After the show, a group of VIPs got to meet the band and since I was lucky enough to get an after-show pass, I too got the very friendly treatment of getting my photo taken with the band. I’m usually on the other side of the camera so this was fun!
For those who missed last night’s show, Billy Gibbons and the BFG’s will be on tour through February 20. For more info on Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top check out: https://billygibbons.com/
