Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center February 15 2025
ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons (with his BFGs Mike Flanigin and Chris Layton) brought his unique Texas style blues rock to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA on a snowy Saturday February 15, 2025 for a two-hour set heavy with 70s-era ZZ Top classics, a few of their 80s hits, and some choice covers.
As the sold-out crowd settled into their seats, the ZZ Top song “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” played before the lights went down and the band was announced. The power trio, composing of Gibbons on lead guitar and vocals, drummer Chris Layton (a former member of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s backing band Double Trouble), and Mike Flanigin on bass, Hammond B-3, and backing vocals, sauntered onto the stage to an uproarious welcome. Gibbons and Flanigin wore matching flashy, sparkling rhinestone jackets and white cowboy hats, while Layton sported a bright red suitcoat. Gibbons proclaimed in his low drawl, “Are you ready? Cause we came here to have a good time! Let’s shuffle it up here,” before launching into “Shuffle in C,” with Flanigin playing Hammond B-3 organ and the bass pedals with his feet. The band now properly warmed up, Flanigin picked up his bass (which matched Gibbons’ ipad inlayed yellow telecaster, the only axe he played during the night) for the classic combination of “Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago.” Afterward, Gibbons announced that, “We have the famous director of our 80s videos in the house, Mr. Tim Newman,” who stood and waved to the crowd from the left opera box by the stage. Gibbons quipped, “Let’s see if we remember this one, we’ll have the drummer start It,” and Layton began the familiar drum beat intro to “Gimme All Your Lovin’” (one of the songs from the Newman-directed trilogy of ZZ Top videos, the others being “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs”).
Gibbons engaged in playful banter with the crowd throughout the night. When a female fan yelled out at one point, Gibbons cheekily retorted, “I told you to stay in the car.” He then confessed that although they were “having a good time with all this fancy shit up here” and “showing off out new suits,” that he had been a bit bummed out a few weeks back. When that same fan shouted, “Why?” he chuckled, then replied humbly, “Because I heard they closed our Dollar Store.” Then, waiting for the laughter to wane, continued, “That’s where I get some cheap sunglasses.” As the band jammed the famous ZZ Top classic, the audience took part, singing the “Cheap sunglasses!” refrain, the “Oh yeahs,” and even the missing keyboard swirl “Wooo” part in the interlude section.
“How about a little blues – a funky version of Jimmy Reed comin’ at ya!” Gibbons offered before playing “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” and then a swampy version of Slim Harpo’s “I Got Love If You Want It.” During the latter, the band got progressively quieter, prompting Gibbons to rhetorically ask, “How low can you go?” before they ramped it up. It was during the next number, ZZ Top’s “Blue Jean Blues,” that Gibbons spoke to the females in the audience, saying they understood why he had his blue jeans stolen. Then with a full stop from the band, he deadpanned wryly, “I got a confession though… she sure looked good in those blue jeans,” before ripping into the final solo with fire and fury. Gibbons shared a story of first hearing Jimi Hendrix’s music when his girlfriend (a six-foot tall, skinny “knockout” he used to take to the beach after a dose of LSD) sent him Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? debut album from England before it was available in the states. He explained that he later met Jimi Hendrix when his pre-ZZ Top band Moving Sidewalks toured with the guitar legend. When jamming with Jimi in a hotel room, he confessed he could not comprehend some of what he was playing, “But he did teach me this,” and he played the iconic opening guitar swell and riff to “Foxy Lady.” During the performance, the audience again sang along when the band stopped for the two-word refrain each time. After the gritty, groovy 2012 ZZ Top tune “I Gotsa Get Paid” (the most recent selection they played), Gibbons and his BFGs played a string of mid-70s ZZ Top classics, including the deep cut “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings” from their 1975 Fandango album, which was one of many impressive guitar-driven performances of the night.
Feeling the palpable enthusiasm from the captive audience, Gibbons announced, “Someone lock the door – we could be here all night long!” and the crowd erupted as the band began “Sharp Dressed Man,” the anticipated hit they’d been waiting to hear, as many female patrons danced in the aisles and sang along with the refrain of “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man!” During his solo, Gibbons turned his guitar around to display a “BEER” bumper sticker before ending the song to a resounding standing ovation. Coaxing Layton back to his drummer’s throne to keep the vibe going, they played the stalwart “Le Grange,” with Gibbons walking to the edge of the stage during the solo, playing one-handed while pointing to the crowd. Encores included a faithful version of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” (a difficult song for anyone but Cash to sing, although Gibbons’ low register and Texas drawl proved fitting for the song), and “Thunderbird,” another rare gem from Fandango, which kept the crowd reveling with its opening lines “Get high, everybody, get high,” and gave everyone one more chance to dance before the band’s final bow and exit. Although Gibbons had asked many times if everyone was having a good time, it was evident that they certainly were (and did) by all the smiling faces present as the patrons departed. It also left many guitar enthusiasts in attendance knowing what the F initial stood for in Gibbons’ name.
More tour information here: https://billygibbons.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Billy F. Gibbons at the Blue Note in Hawaii
SETLIST:
Shuffle in C
Waitin’ for the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Cheap Sunglasses
Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Redd cover)
I Got Love If You Want It (Slim Harpo cover)
Blue Jean Blues
Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix cover)
I Gotsta Get Paid
Francine
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
Just Got Paid
Sharp Dressed Man
La Grange
ENCORES:
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover)
Thunderbird