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Saturday, April 30, 2016

A to Z Challenge - 2016

We made it to the end of the A to Z Challenge! I am so excited that I actually completed one whole challenge.  I think having the Sunday's off made it a lot easier because I could use those days to catch up on reading other participant's blogs and write some of my own if I needed to.  It also helped to pick a theme I was comfortable with and have the ideas for each letter picked out in advance (at least most of them).  I want to thank all the kind people who stopped by during the challenge and left me comments.  It definitely kept me going knowing that there might actually be someone reading what I was scribbling about.

So, Z is for...

ZZ-Top!





















Dusty Hill (bass guitar) Billy Gibbons (guitar and lead vocals) and Frank Beard (drums) have been together for more than 45 years!  They started as a group in 1969 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.





Interesting that Dusty and Billy are well known for their beards and yet Frank Beard only sports a mustache at the most.


We saw them at Shoreline in 2010.  There were three groups playing that day.  The opening act was .38 Special and we felt that they should have been the second group because there was hardly anyone in the stands that early and we felt it affected their performance.  Plus, the group they had playing second was some kind of heavy metal band.  I don't even remember the name and we didn't even stay to watch them but roamed around the grounds until it was time for ZZ Top.







ZZ puts on a great show and they do a bit of synchronized playing which is pretty neat.  
















They used the screen behind them very effectively and showed clips of some of their videos from the MTV era...

Legs
Jimi Hendrix


 and played tribute to Jimi Hendrix, who they said was a great influence on them.



 When it was time for Sharp Dressed Men, they put on jackets with tons of sequins that lit up.  Their microphone poles changed colors as well.  





Eliminator is my favorite album of theirs as it has the songs Sharp Dressed Man, Legs and Gimme All Your Lovin.

They will be performing at the Mountain Winery this year but we did not get tickets to see them, although they were on the short list.  They were a bit more expensive than we wanted to pay.  I did just read, while doing some background for this, that Billy Gibbons broke his shoulder earlier this month going up the stairs to one of their shows so they have had to cancel some performances until he recovers.  I hope it is soon!

And there you have it!!! I actually made it to the end of the challenge in one piece!  Again, thanks to the organizers for giving us all the opportunity to share our blogs and for encouraging us along the way.  Thank you most to those of you who have stopped by on occasion to leave a message and I definitely have found some new blogs to follow by visiting yours.  I already have an idea for the next A to Z so I will be back next year!!!

19 comments:

  1. Great choice for the letter "Z." Congrats on finishing the challenge.

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    1. Thanks Ally! It's been fun. May is going to seem kind of quiet.

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  2. A fine way to end the challenge Janet with a double Z. Congrats on finishing! I enjoyed your journey through the musical alphabet and hope you get to attend lots of concerts this year.

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    1. Thanks again for all your encouragement. May might seem a bit quiet around here!

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  3. Great finish to the a-z! Congratulations! You did a terrific job. I agree this Sunday was a real blessing.

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    1. Thanks, Sharon. It's been fun reading your posts too!

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  4. Great finish to the a-z! Congratulations! You did a terrific job. I agree this Sunday was a real blessing.

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  5. Hey Janet. Great finish with ZZ Top! I love them. I saw them in Buffalo years ago. They do put on a good show.

    Congrats on finishing the A-Z Challenge. I have enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to reading more! Thanks for your visits at my place too. Hope to see you again soon.

    Enjoy your weekend. Now we can take a break and actually get some decent sleep! Cheers!

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. Yes, Michele! I have to plan a few posts for May to keep the momentum going. Don't want to lose all the friends I just made!

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  6. Great posts. Congratulations for getting to the end of the challenge. I've enjoyed learning about music

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    1. Thanks, Lori! I've enjoyed your posts as well. Happy May to you!

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  7. Nice article!! Congratulations on finishing the challenge!!

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  8. What a lovely way to end the Challenge. A fine tribute. Congratulations and thank you for popping over to my blog. Have a lovely relaxing Sunday.

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    1. Thanks, Nicola! I've enjoyed finding all kinds of new blogs to follow!

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  9. What nincompoop put a heavy metal band between those too? I love both .38 Special and ZZ. Would have been better to put a female rocker between the two. Oh, well.
    The AtoZ was fun, but I'm worn out now and glad it is over. ;)
    Revisit the Tender Years with me at
    Life & Faith in Caneyhead

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  10. Yes, Barbara, I agree. We really felt cheated with .38 Special because it was obvious they were disappointed with the crowd, or lack there of. I've joined your page so I can follow the Tender Years!

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  11. Congratulations on finishing the challenge. Was this your first?
    I think the real question here is how do the Canadians pronounce this band? Zed Zed Top?

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    1. Yes, Jeffrey, it was my first A to Z. I have done other month-long challenges but I really liked having the alphabet as a guide. I'm thinking hard about what to do for next year. Interesting question you pose about the Canadian pronunciation. Thanks for stopping by!

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