Houston has produced some tremendous musicians over the years, but none bigger than the members of ZZ Top. That Little Ol’ Band from Texas has taken the Lone Star tradition (and attendant boogie) to the world, so many of us feel a certain pride in ZZ’s accomplishments. This being the case, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about a recent project undertaken by Croatia’s Denis Pauna, a fellow who proclaims that he has been “bringing madness to the masses since 1998.”
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Metallica album Kill ‘em All, Pauna has, as they say, “reimagined” that classic record, demonstrating what it might sound like if ZZ Top had recorded it. That’s Pauna on vocals, guitar, bass and fake beard in the video recently posted on YouTube. And you know what? I’m kind of digging his stuff. It seems that Pauna specializes in this sort of musical cross dressing, producing a series of videos that pose questions like What would it sound like if the Doors wrote Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean?” Or What if Motörhead (don’t forger the umlaut!) wrote Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’?” Feel free to dive down this rabbit hole at your leisure. In the meantime, let’s see what’s happening on the concert front.
Ticket Alert
Country phenom Luke Combs has just announced two shows at NRG Stadium, on August 9 and 10, 2024. Now that’s some advance planning. You can register now for the presale, which begins at noon on Thursday, August 24, with the general sale starting on Friday, August 25.
Tickets remain available for Chicago’s show at the Smart Financial Centre on Wednesday, September 20. Ditto for Danzig at the White Oak Music Hall on Sunday, September 3.
The Mucky Duck has just announced two upcoming shows: former Blaster Dave Alvin on Sunday, October 15, and the perpetually polyester clad John Evans on Sunday, September 1. Concerts at the Duck often sell out quickly, so get ‘em while they’re hot.
Concerts This Week
As most folks know, the Abbott brothers of Pantera – Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul – separately shuffled off this mortal coil several years ago. Well, that didn’t stop the surviving members – vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown from saying, “We’re putting the band back together!” After recruiting guitarist Zack Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne) and drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax), the boys are back on the road, making a stop at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Thursday. It will be a hard rocking night, with Lamb of God and Flesh Hoarder opening, so be sure to wear black and get ready to throw those metal horns!
The mood at the Pavilion will be markedly different on Saturday, when Snoop Dogg headlines a bill including Wiz Khalifa and Too $hort. This jaunt is operating under the banner of “H.S. Reunion,” so the vibe will definitely be old school. As a public service, concertgoers are reminded that the venue has a no-smoking policy. Wink, wink.
Not too far down the road from the Pavilion, singer / songwriter Gary P. Nunn will be at the Dosey Doe Big Barn on Saturday. While Nunn is best known as the author of “London Homesick Blues” (aka “I Want to Go Home with the Armadillo”), there is more to his music than boozy singalongs. As a bonus, this is one of those Dosey Doe shows that includes a three-course meal. I generally opt for the chicken-fried steak.
By virtue of his residency in Klein, Houstonians have frequent opportunities to see Lyle Lovett. But that doesn’t mean that you should take an El Paso on his performance at the Hobby Center on Saturday. Lovett will have the Large Band with him, so it promises to be a spectacular evening of music featuring songs from his latest album, 12th of June, a strong entry in his catalog. How can you not like a record that includes “Pants is Overrated”?
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
