Two of the bands - ZZ Top and The Pretenders - are inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while the Stray Cats play the kind of timeless music that never goes out of style. All three groups enjoyed significant commercial success in the '70s or '80s, but more importantly, all three are quite capable of throwing down a hot concert now, more than 20 years after their images filled MTV during the channel's early years.

The Stray Cats started with an inspired nine-song set full of the rockabilly rebellion and high-energy playing that helped them take the sounds of Sun Records and turn them into pop hits 30 years after Elvis Presley left Memphis.

Dressed in their rockabilly finest, the trio of guitarist Brian Setzer, standup bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom were tight throughout, tearing into songs like "Rumble in Brighton," "Runaway Boys" and "Gene and Eddie" like the band never took a break in the '90s.

With Setzer's stellar guitar work, Rocker's rapid bass-slapping and Phantom's rock-solid rhythms firing on all cylinders, it made one wonder why the Stray Cats ever went away. By the time they blazed through old hits like "Stray Cat Strut," "Sexy +17" and "Rock This Town," much of the crowd was on its feet and looking for more.

The Stray Cats 45-minute set was followed by a similar-length set by The Pretenders. Leader Chrissie Hynde displayed all the attitude that made her one of the original women in the punk scene of late-'70s London, but her still-stellar voice is too beautiful to ever be mistaken for that of a typical punk screamer.

With the Stray Cats watching from the side of the stage, Hynde and Co. tore into tracks like the bass-heavy "My City Was Gone," the jaunty pop of "Don't Get Me Wrong" and the anthemic "Day After Day," which the longtime animal-rights advocate dedicated to all the vegetarians in the crowd.

"It's a beautiful setting here," Hynde said midway through The Pretenders' set. "It's hard to concentrate with all these good-looking guys down front and the beautiful mountains. It's a hard job I have, you know, staying up all night, smoking pot, hanging out with ZZ Top."

"Back on the Chain Gang," "Brass in Pocket" and the seldom-played "Mystery Achievement" from The Pretenders' 1979 debut rounded out a too-short set.

Compared to the bare-bones stage set-ups of the Stray Cats and The Pretenders, ZZ Top's intricate light show and giant video screen was almost too much. Thankfully the Texas trio never let the technology take the lead during their show-closing set.

Guitarist Billy Gibbons, bass player Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard have been in the music game for at least part of five decades, and they're still dealing in dusty blues and monster hooks, as evidenced by an opening salvo that included "Got Me Under Pressure" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago."

Nearly every song in ZZ Top's set inspired a singalong in the audience, as well as a massive display of air guitar. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Pearl Necklace" and "Blue Jean Blues" all hit their respective marks, and Gibbons was an affable frontman, chatting up the crowd between nearly every song.

"We've been to Salt Lake City a lot over the years," Gibbons said. "Same three guys still with ya. Same three chords still with ya."

The crowd wouldn't have it any other way, erupting for the band's cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady," accompanied by massive flames engulfing the video screen behind the boys, and reveling in modern rock classics like "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and "Sharp Dressed Man."

Kudos to whoever put these three bands together this summer. If all retro-heavy tours were this strong, they'd have a lot better reputation.

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Who: ZZ Top, The Pretenders, Stray Cats

When: Wednesday

Where: Usana Amphitheatre, West Valley City

The Bottom Line: A triple-bill of classic acts proves that even rock and roll can get better with age.