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The beards. The sunglasses. The sex-obsessed boogie blues. 

They even had those fuzzy white guitars from the “Legs” music video.

After 50 years, not much has changed for ZZ Top. And that was just fine with Friday’s nearly sold out audience at Hertz Arena, where the headliner shared the stage with fellow rock legends Cheap Trick.

The blues-rock trio still knows how to get booties shaking and heads nodding. And they did just that as they played almost every hit you could ask for — from weirder, bluesier 70s tunes like “La Grange” to 80s pop-blues crossovers “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man” (both with the songs’  MTV videos playing behind the band on a giant screen).

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It was all part of ZZ Top’s 50th anniversary tour, along with the band’s classic choreography (I still love those in-sync guitar moves), a few familiar props, and photos of the band displayed on-screen (including a few of the guys WITHOUT the beards).

“We’ve been coming down to you guys for five decades,” singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons told the cheering crowd. “Same three guys, right here.” A pause for comedic effect. “Same three chords, right here.”

But ZZ Top worked magic with those three chords, thanks to Gibbons’ raspy-cool vocals and ferocious guitar playing; the irresistible rhythm section of drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill; and a deep catalog of hits about sex, drinking, partying and more sex.

Together, they locked into one rumbling blues-rock groove after another and had the packed Estero arena dancing and cheering throughout much of their 70-minute set.

Eighties hits like “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’” found a newfound heft without the dated 80s production of the original recordings. And the band’s raw 70s songs still burned with testosterone and primal blues power, including “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” the slide-guitar-fueled “Just Got Paid” and the slurring, drunken horniness of “La Grange.”

There was even a pair of unexpected covers: The Sam & Dave classic “Thank You” and the Merle Travis standard “Sixteen Tons.” Both went through the ZZ Top rhythm machine and came out sounding just like, yep, ZZ Top.

They weren’t the only band onstage Friday, though. The show opened with the relatively safe, Wallflowers-like sounds of rock band Whole Damn Mess. That was followed by one of the greatest musical acts of the 70s and 80s: Cheap Trick — a band that in a perfect world would have been headlining the arena on its own, frankly.

In case you didn’t know it, they even announced their greatness with a pre-show recording: “Introducing the best [beep]-ing rock band you’ve ever seen: Cheap Trick!”

Never mind that ZZ Top was still waiting to hit the stage. It was a line drawn in the sand, and Cheap Trick stood their ground admirably.

The Illinois greats played a hard-rocking 70-minute show bristling with melodious noise, catchy songs, edgy lyrics and guitarist Rick Nielson shredding in front of a checkered wall of speakers (and — toward the end — he even brought out one of his famous five-necked electric guitars. Why? Well, why NOT? It just looks cool).

The setlist skipped a few of the more obvious songs — they pointedly left out the ballad “The Flame,” Cheap Trick’s only No. 1 hit — and instead spent a good part of the show playing deeper cuts like “Big Eyes,” “Standing on the Edge,” “California Man” and a cover of Velvet Underground’s drug anthem “I’m Waiting for the Man.”

But most of the band’s bigger songs were there, too, including the paranoia-fueled “Dream Police,” “Surrender” and the irresistible “I Want You To Want Me” (just try not to dance to that driving drum beat).

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Singer Robin Zander — dressed in a sparkly white suit and a feathered top hat — still sounds great with a distinctive rock voice full of power, grit and just a touch of sarcasm. Plus he had one of the cheekiest song intros I’ve ever heard.

“Here’s something from … one of our records,” he said and grinned. Then they launched into the 1979 tune “The House Is Rockin’.”

Together with ZZ Top, Friday’s concert made for an exciting arena-rock combo with two great bands known for their unforgettable songs, guitar pyrotechnics and a their own unique take on rock music. 

Cheap Trick drew that line in the sand, but ZZ Top showed they were just as worthy of the title of “The Best [Beep]-Ing Rock Band You’ve Ever Seen.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)

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