I had never been to an outdoor rock concert out in the countryside before. The last concert I attended outside was at Addington, Christchurch in 1985, Dire Straits, and there was nowhere to sit down and I'd had no chair. I went on my own.
Gibbston Valley Winery 2023 had things pretty organised. If one didn't feel like driving to the venue and being locked in a sea of cars one could take an organised bus from Queenstown School to the venue which is a good 20 minutes away. From there there was a bit of a walk with folding chairs and other comfort paraphenalia, squeezing past folks already installed on the grass or standing on the gravelled dance space in front of the stage, and then getting settled oneself.
I was there principally to see ZZ Top and their new lineup which these days includes Elwood Francis on bass guitar, but I was curious to see and hear the other rock acts; The Angels, Stone Temple Pilots, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. As a rock bassist I already play numbers by The Angels and ZZ Top and was hoping those numbers would be included in their setlists.
The weather was warm, to say the least as The Angels took to the stage. I'm very familiar with one of their songs and they did play it. It was acceptable but I was distracted by the current lead singer. Early in their set he gave me the impression of being under the influence of something - drugs, alcohol? I don't know but he almost tripped over his own feet three times within the first number. He gave the impression of trying too hard, deliberately setting himself onto the drum riser in order to jump off. It looked premeditated and screamed 'Look at me!' I was not impressed and just sat there in my camp chair, feeling increasingly heated.
Now it was time for Stone Temple Pilots. I don't know the music of this group but they were polished and definitely hard rock, as was their frontman. However, as they left the stage I was not inspired to check out their musical offerings online.
Each group seemed to have been allocated approximately one hour, with a half hour turn-around for the technical crew to break down and set up for the next act. Generally that went smoothly and the audience had easy opportunity to visit toilets, merchandise tents (anything worthwhile sold out immediately) and grab some snack food.
Next up were Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (Pat's second husband, married 1992).
Despite the silver hair they are a very polished act. Neil, whose nick-name is Spyder) is a very competent lead guitarist. He doesn't hog the stage though, he supports Pat and does mostly backing vocals.
Pat is still impressive, vocally. There may be the occasional tweak to the higher notes to bring them down a fraction but she still has a powerful presentation, great intonation and knows how to be an entertainer with class. She works hard, without TRYING too hard. She just 'is'. The crowd responded enthusiastically to her, singing and dancing along to her most recognisable numbers.
And then it was time. Time for the group many of us had come specifically to see - ZZ Top. I love their more rocky numbers rather than the particular bluesy numbers. As the sun beat down on us with scarcely any breeze I was thrilled to actually see this famous trio in the flesh instead of on YouTube.
I really enjoy playing bass on their songs because although their songs don't involve a lot of chords, they have a driving energy that really appeals to me. They are a great example of how a three piece band can sound tight and interesting for decades.
Of particular interest was their new band member Elwood Francis. Elwood was bassist Dusty Hill's technician for many years and also Dusty's choice to replace him when he 
became incapacitated and later died. Already fitting into the hirsute duo concept, he knows all the songs and can sing but needs more encouragement to do so. I really enjoyed his freshness and playfulness. Billy Gibbons and his bassist are known for a few fun choreographed moves but it was clear Elwood wanted to do more and would nudge Billy into doing a bit more of this fun stuff.
And yes... out came the fluffy guitars adorned in sheepskin but not the spinning gimmicks from one of their famous music videos of the past. Billy and the band signed a lady's pair of sneakers. As ZZ Top made their bows to the audience it was clear that Frank Beard, drummer, was not in the same sartorial or physical state as Billy and Elwood. Frank looked haggard, tatty as he shuffled off stage. I do hope he's not back on drugs or having health issues.
I shall, of course, be working on more ZZ Top numbers to share in the future.
The only blot on the day was trying to get back to Queenstown. As the crowd walked a fair distance down the fields to where we expected our buses to be lined up we were dismayed to find only one for the thousands of spectators who were hot, parched, tired and, in some cases, a bit drunk. The most massive queue I have ever been in watched nonplussed as that bus filled up and slowly made its way to the exit. There was no communication from organisers/marshalls as to where the buses were, how long they would be. After several attempts to get any information from a marshall we were informed that each bus would have its own destination: Queenstown, Frankton, Arrowtown etc so just hopping on a bus would not be a good idea. There were no signs. I sat down, knowing that if a bus was lucky enough to get to Queenstown and then come back for some of us it would be at least a 40 min trip. This was unreasonable. Take note please, Greenstone Entertainment.
Tempers began to flare, and rightly so. One guy became belligerant about the lack of buses and lack of communication. The marshall got flustered. Eventually a few more buses arrived but the crowd rushed the buses so that those who had been waiting at the head of the queue missed out. The crowd became more angry. Thirsty, tired and bored we waited for someone to sort it out but the bus drivers didn't have a clue. They should have driven to the front of the queue and only opened their doors when the bus in front was full. Instead we got a dangerous stampede. Mr Belligerant tried to stop people getting on buses until those at the front had seats but it was not to be. Punches were thrown, folks were shoved. It was getting nasty. What a disappointing lack of organisation and communication. It spoilt an otherwise happy day. Two hours later we eventually arrived back in Queenstown, too tired to eat or do anything but have a cuppa and head for sleep.
Last photo is taken off Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo's FB page. It gives you a good idea of the size of the audience and the great atmosphere during the concert.
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