When ZZ Top took the stage
on Essen, Germany’s Rockpalast
television show in 1980,
the band had just marked its 10th anniversary.
When the Texas trio embarked on its
Almost Now tour in 2008, it was nearing the
40-year mark, and was even longer in the
tooth … and beard. If the band shows its age
on either occasion—captured on this double-
DVD set, it’s for the better. After years playing
dive bars, the blues-rock trio had cemented
a rhythmic bond that just wouldn’t budge.
Bassist and singer Dusty Hill sounds fierce
on the Rockpalast performance, plucking
each note like he means it.
Some of Dusty’s lines may not look like
much on paper, but make no mistake—the
man can play. Proof abounds in the Rockpalast
performance of “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,”
where Hill unleashes some monstrous
fills, all with a gnarly, super-saturated bass
tone. Through the entire performance, the
hits are tight, the unison riffs are massive, and
the band’s trademark Texas blues shuffle
swings so hard it almost hurts. Disc Two, with
performances taken from various stops on
the Almost Now tour, shows a band that has
to reach a little to hit those high notes, but
the bond is none the looser, and the dudes
deliver. For any bassist looking to bone up
on the blues, Double Down is a safe bet.