April 12, 2023 – Orpheum Theater – Omaha, NE

For over 50 years, ZZ Top has been producing music and entertaining crowds across the world, and on Wednesday night April 12, 2023, they brought their “Raw Whisky Tour” to the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska.

The evening kicked off with Kalispell, Montana native Tim Montana and his band.  These guys were absolutely amazing.  Montana’s song, “This Beard Came Here to Party” was used by the Boston Red Sox during 2013, and was co-written by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.  His song, “Asphalt Throwdown” is used during NASCAR telecasts, and his music has also been in feature films. Montana’s first album, “Iron Horse”, was released in 2007, and since then, he’s produced 4 more studio albums.  He has over 275 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, and is a huge supporter of U.S. military veterans.  Montana’s Southern Rock style reminded me a little bit of Kid Rock at some points during his 7-song set.  He’s got an infectious energy, and his guitar riffs are out of this world.  He told the crowd about how at a young age, he taught himself how to play the guitar by candlelight because his childhood home didn’t have electricity. After recording music with Billy Gibbons and touring with ZZ Top, Montana seemed right in his element.  He had great stage presence, an amazing voice, and a lot of energy.  All of the songs in his set were great, but “American Thread” was my favorite.  It’s easy to see why it has over 6.5 million plays on Spotify.  I was thoroughly impressed, and this was a fantastic way to kick off the night.

For all the latest tour information, merchandise, news and more, visit Tim’s website at:
https://timmontana.com 

Tim Montana Setlist:

• Be A Cowboy / Eminem 2X
• Stronger Than You
• Mostly Stoned
• Hillbilly Rich
• Devil You Know
• This Beard Came Here To Party
• American Thread

After a brief intermission and revamp to the set, ZZ Top, consisting of Billy Gibbons, Elwood Francis, and Frank Beard made their way to the stage, and the crowd erupted. They’ve been performing since 1969, and even though they’ve been going strong for 5 decades, they haven’t missed a beat.  Francis, complete with spiky hair, sunglasses, and long white beard, had an enormous 17-string yellow guitar, and Gibbons was decked out in a leather jacket, bandana, hat, and sunglasses.  This was my first time seeing ZZ Top live, and they delivered.  In preparation for the concert, I listened to their latest album, “RAW” (from That Little Ol’ Band From Texas soundtrack), and I was happy to hear a few songs from it during the show.

Their 16-song set included hits, “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs”, and an amazing encore. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, has garnered four gold albums, three platinum albums, two multi-platinum albums, and one diamond album. They have over 9.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and continue to draw record crowds on their tours.  This was definitely a bucket list concert for me, and I was so excited I was able to attend the show.  If you have the chance to see them live, do it!  They are some of the greatest guitar players and Rock & Roll groups you’ll ever see!
 
ZZ Top Setlist:

• Got Me Under Pressure
• I Thank You
• Waitin’ For the Bus
• Jesus Just Left Chicago
• Gimme All Your Lovin’
• Pearl Necklace
• I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
• I Gotsta Get Paid
• My Head’s In Mississippi
• Sixteen Tons
• Just Got Paid
• Sharp Dressed Man
• Legs

Encore:

• Brown Sugar
• Tube Snake Boogie
• La Grange

_{For the full gallery of photos from this show, please visit The Review Junkie Facebook page.}