I don’t recall the last time I got this much bang for my concert buck. We had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Zac Brown Band – and friends – at LA’s Gibson Amphitheater recently.
Let me just put this out there: them boys can play. And play they do for a long time, too.
The tour is called "Breaking Southern Ground," but it’s twangy in a different kinda way, much like the ZBB. The way the show unfolds is very creative and immensely entertaining in itself. There are essentially four opening acts – three solo and a husband-wife duo -- that are presented seamlessly over the course of 90 minutes.
And hey, those opening acts need a backing band, right? None other than the Zac Brown Band players themselves – in various configurations, along with a few other quite capable musicians to round out the sound – are the house band. No kidding.
By the end of the night, the headliners, though they come and go during the opening sets, will have been performing for about three-and-a-half hours. I don’t think, in the buttload o’ shows I’ve attended, I have ever seen the headliners sit in as the house band for the opening act. Way cool idea.
The openers were all quite talented. We really liked the low-key and well-humored Levi Lowrey the best. Will definitely grab his CD online.
Don’t miss the fun behind-the-scenes movie that precedes the arrival of Zac and the boys onstage, if for no other reason than to witness the fountain that is Zac’s nose. (That’s all I’m sayin’.)
As the main event of the evening, the ZBB played a blazing set that lasted about two hours. With strong new material and some killer covers sprinkled in, it was not too long to ask the audience to endure at all.
Returning the openers and the other backing musicians for an all-hands-on-deck encore added a sweet touch, too. All in all, one helluva show.
Coupla ‘Zac’ thangs to be on the outlook for:
- The ‘Crossroads’ featuring Jimmy Buffett and the ZBB begins March 21st.
- You can already download the EP length audio/video package “Live from Bonnaroo” for cheap on iTunes.
- If you miss seeing Zac and the boys when they come to your town, they have a live DVD/CD set that will be released on May 4th called “Pass the Jar.” Catch a clip here.
Here’s hoping the ZBB is around for a long time to come. So we can see them play again!
