Review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top keep alive spirit of late members in Pittsburgh show

Two Southern rock titans that have suffered potentially devastating losses in recent years showed Sunday night that they’re ready to soldier on for the foreseeable future.

Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, both inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, visited a packed Pavilion at Star Lake on a warm summer night on their co-headlining Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour.

For Lynyrd Skynyrd, ever since they reunited in 1987, it’s been all about the music and paying tribute to the band members who helped create that legacy. The band’s biggest tragedy occurred on Oct. 20, 1977, when singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines died in a plane crash. Bassist Leon Wilkeson died in 2001 and keyboardist Billy Powell passed away in 2009.

The latest loss, however, seemed to sting the most and could have ended Lynyrd Skynyrd. Guitarist Gary Rossington, who had been the band’s last surviving original member, died on March 5, 2023. With his family’s blessing, the band decided to keep going.

“Thank you for keeping Lynyrd Skynyrd music alive all these years,” said singer Johnny Van Zant, who stepped in for his late brother in 1987.

The current lineup — Van Zant, guitarists Rickey Medlocke, Damon Johnson and Mark Matejka, bassist Keith Christopher, drummer Michael Cartellone and keyboardist Peter Keys — delivered a crowd-pleasing tribute Sunday. Besides one song from 2009’s “God & Guns” album, it was most of their greatest hits from the band’s heyday in the 1970s. (When “Gimme Back My Bullets” is the biggest omission, it’s probably a good night for Skynyrd fans.)

After opening with “Working for MCA” and the aforementioned “Skynyrd Nation,” they didn’t worry about backloading the hits at the end of the night, as “What’s Your Name” and “That Smell” came next.

Noting Labor Day was coming up on Monday, Van Zant asked: “Anybody off tomorrow? You’re gonna have to work a lot harder then.” And the crowd proved up to the task, with a surprisingly loud singalong on “The Ballad of Curtis Loew.”

A video tribute to Rossington played during a stirring “Tuesday’s Gone,” followed by “Simple Man,” which was dedicated to the military and first responders. Next up were three more of their classics: “Gimme Three Steps,” “Call Me the Breeze” and “Sweet Home Alabama” to end the regular set.

To absolutely no surprise, Lynyrd Skynyrd encored with “Free Bird,” showcasing the band’s three-guitar attack for extended solos and a satisfying end to the night for the decidedly more vocal Skynyrd contingent.

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ZZ Top isn’t slowing down either, as founding guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons, with a beard halfway down his chest, and drummer Frank Beard kept rolling Sunday.

Longtime bassist Dusty Hill, who joined the band in 1970, died in his sleep in 2021. But veteran guitar tech Elwood Francis stepped right in, with a gray beard that’s not quite as long as Hill’s. At times, Francis unleashed some massive, purposeful bass notes that could be felt in the crowd.

Gibbons and Francis, decked out in matching black pants, sunglasses and leather jackets, continued with the band’s classic in-sync moving and swaying.

After a strong start with “Got Me Under Pressure,” ZZ Top cruised through other classics like “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Pearl Necklace,” among others. After a brief lull, “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” — including a fuzzy fur guitar and bass — rejuvenated the crowd.

For the encore, the duo traded in the black for sparkling red shoes and matching jackets. The encore started with “Brown Sugar” followed by “Tube Snake Boogie” and then closed with their biggest hit, “La Grange.” Gibbons, as he had done for much of the show, showed off his guitar virtuosity as he coaxed a variety of sounds during his solos.

Singer/rapper Uncle Kracker, best known for “Follow Me” and his cover of “Drift Away,” opened the show.