Hollywood Blues Tour

Hollywood Blues Tour

Poster from the band's show at The Backyard in Austin, Texas on April 14, 2007
Concert tour by ZZ Top
Location United States, Canada
Start date February 11, 2007 (2007-02-11)
End date December 31, 2007 (2007-12-31)
Legs 2
Shows 104
ZZ Top tour chronology
Whack Attack Tour
(2005)		 Hollywood Blues Tour
(2007)		 El Camino Ocho Tour
(2008)

The Hollywood Blues Tour was a concert tour by rock band ZZ Top. The tour's concerts were performed in concert halls and nightclubs from February through December 2007. Much like the group's previous Whack Attack Tour, Hollywood Blues was simple, though decorative, in stage design, complete with a LED drape for a backdrop. Band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill dressed in black biker jackets, along with similar hats and boots.

The Hollywood Blues Tour consisted of five legs and 104 shows, and was to have European shows in June and July. They were postponed, however, due Dusty Hill's treatment for a benign tumor in the inner ear. The concert in Grand Prairie, Texas was filmed and released as Live from Texas.

Contents

Set design

After producing the band's previous tour, Whack Attack, lighting technician Chris Stuba aimed for some of the same physical designs, including truck exhaust pipes for microphone stands, and custom-made speaker cabinets on each side of the stage. The microphone stands had built-in electro-luminescent lights. Video sequences were supplied by XL Video, complete with four DL.2 Digital Lights from High End Systems[1], which were aimed at the speaker cabinets. Some visuals were also displayed on a Soft-LED video drapery from Main Light Industries.[2][3] Other lights were supplied by Bandit Lites, Martin Light, and Vari-Lite.[3] The tour's public address (PA) system was supplied by Clair Brothers.

Concert overview

Out of the 103 concerts performed during the Hollywood Blues Tour, each show had a similar set list, with 16-25 songs performed by the band. The concerts usually began with electropop music played through the PA system. The band members would walk on stage and begin the show.

Main set

Early shows began with performances of "Thunderbird" and "Francine." Following these songs, the band performed "Waitin' for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," and "Pincushion." As the show went on, the audience was bombarded with different visuals and lighting sequences, all setting the mood for a particular moment in a song. "Bang, Bang" and "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers" were played. "Cheap Sunglasses" was also featured in every show.

Blues songs like "Rollin' Stone" and "Brown Sugar" were part of the set list. "Pearl Necklace" and "Just Got Paid" became permanent concert staples. Hits from Eliminator were also performed, which included "Got Me Under Pressure," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs." The band also did a cover of "Viva Las Vegas."

In later shows, the set began with "Got Me Under Pressure" instead of "Thunderbird" and "Francine." "Bang, Bang," "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers," "Rollin' Stone," "Brown Sugar," and "Viva Las Vegas" were omitted. "Heard It on the X" preceded "Just Got Paid." "Rough Boy," "Blue Jean Blues," and "Foxy Lady" were added to the set list.

Encores

For earlier shows, the encores featured covers of "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "Jailhouse Rock." Sometimes, a medley of "La Grange," "Sloppy Drunk," and "Bar-B-Q" was also performed. In later concerts, "Tube Snake Boogie" preceded "La Grange." The end of the show closed out with "Tush."

Additional songs

A total of 32 different songs were played throughout the tour. The first show of the tour closed out with The Beverly Hillbillies theme song, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." The RodeoHouston concert included country songs like "Ring of Fire" and "Waltz Across Texas."

Post-tour

Live releases

In November 2007, the concert in Grand Prairie was filmed for future video and audio releases. In June 2008, Eagle Rock Entertainment released Live from Texas on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The film featured footage from the concert, and included all 17 songs performed at the show. Released months later was the audio recording of the same show in November 2008. In addition to the recordings from Grand Prairie, some footage of the Hollywood Blues Tour was shown on the DVD Double Down Live, released in October 2009.

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
Warm-up show
February 11, 2007 West Hollywood United States House of Blues
First leg
March 6, 2007 Biloxi United States Mississippi Coast Coliseum
March 8, 2007 Timmonsville Palmetto Arabians Farm
March 9, 2007 Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 10, 2007 Fort Myers Centennial Park
March 12, 2007 Boca Raton Count de Hoernle Amphitheater
March 13, 2007 Jacksonville Florida Theatre
March 14, 2007 Orange Beach Amphitheater at the Wharf
March 16, 2007 Thackerville WinStar World Casino
March 17, 2007 Durant Choctaw Casino Resort
March 18, 2007 Houston RodeoHouston
March 23, 2007 Corpus Christi American Bank Center
March 24, 2007 Belton Bell County Expo Center
March 25, 2007 Wichita Falls Kay Yeager Coliseum
March 30, 2007 Las Vegas Las Vegas Hilton
March 31, 2007
April 6, 2007 Kinder Coushatta Casino Resort
April 7, 2007 Beaumont Ford Park
April 11, 2007 Rio Rancho Santa Ana Star Center
April 12, 2007 Mescalero Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino
April 14, 2007 Austin The Backyard
April 15, 2007
April 18, 2007 Phoenix Dodge Theatre
April 20, 2007 West Wendover Wendover Peppermill
April 21, 2007 Kelseyville Konocti Harbor
April 23, 2007 Alpine Viejas
April 24, 2007 Prescott Valley Tim's Toyota Center
April 26, 2007 Santa Ynez Chumash Casino
April 27, 2007 Laughlin Aquarius Casino Resort
April 28, 2007
April 29, 2007 Pala Pala Casino Resort and Spa
May 2, 2007 St. Louis America's Center
May 4, 2007 New Orleans Jazz Fest
May 17, 2007 Pikeville Eastern Kentucky Expo Center
May 18, 2007 Youngstown Chevrolet Center
May 19, 2007 Columbus, Ohio Crew Stadium
Second leg
July 14, 2007 The Woodlands United States The Woodlands Pavilion
July 15, 2007 Dallas Smirnoff Music Center
July 19, 2007 Bridgeview Toyota Park
July 21, 2007 Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena
July 22, 2007 Wantagh Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
July 23, 2007 Atlantic City Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa
July 25, 2007 Sterling Heights Freedom Hill Amphitheater
July 26, 2007 Noblesville Verizon Wireless Music Center
July 28, 2007 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
July 29, 2007 St. Louis Scottrade Center
July 31, 2007 Pelham Verizon Wireless Music Center
August 1, 2007 Nashville Sommet Center
August 3, 2007 Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater
August 4, 2007 Lubbock United Spirit Arena
August 5, 2007 Selma Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
August 9, 2007 Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground
August 11, 2007 Las Vegas Orleans Arena
August 13, 2007 Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 15, 2007 West Valley City USANA Amphitheatre
August 17, 2007 Fresno Save Mart Center
August 18, 2007 Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 19, 2007 Chula Vista Coors Amphitheatre
August 21, 2007 Sacramento ARCO Arena
August 23, 2007 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
August 25, 2007 Puyallup United States Puyallup Fair
August 26, 2007 Ridgefield The Amphitheater at Clark County
August 31, 2007 Hidalgo Dodge Arena
September 1, 2007 San Antonio Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
September 6, 2007 Southaven Snowden Grove Amphitheater
September 7, 2007 Atlanta Chastain Park Amphitheater
September 9, 2007 Toledo Seagate Center
September 11, 2007 Merrillville Star Plaza Theatre
September 12, 2007 South Bend Morris Performing Arts Center
September 14, 2007 Council Bluffs Mid-America Center
September 15, 2007 Kansas City River Market
September 16, 2007 Peoria Peoria Civic Center
September 19, 2007 Niagara Falls Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel
September 20, 2007 Verona Turning Stone Resort & Casino
September 21, 2007 Uncasville Mohegan Sun
September 22, 2007 Gilford Meadowbrook
September 25, 2007 Bangor Bangor Auditorium
September 27, 2007 New York City Beacon Theatre
September 28, 2007
September 29, 2007 Boston Bank of America Pavilion
October 5, 2007 Fayetteville Randal Tyson Track Center
October 7, 2007 Knoxville Tennessee Theatre
October 10, 2007 Hollywood Hard Rock Live
October 12, 2007 Huntington Big Sandy Superstore Arena
October 13, 2007 Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium
October 14, 2007 Dayton Nutter Center
October 17, 2007 Fort Wayne Embassy Theatre
October 19, 2007 Harris Island Resort & Casino
October 20, 2007
October 21, 2007 East Lansing MSU Auditorium
October 23, 2007 Dubuque Five Flags Center
October 25, 2007 Thackerville WinStar World Casino
October 26, 2007 Goldsby Riverwind Casino
October 27, 2007 Miami Buffalo Run Casino
November 1, 2007 Grand Prairie Nokia Theatre
November 3, 2007 Reno Grand Sierra Resort
November 4, 2007 San Francisco The Warfield
November 9, 2007 Los Angeles Greek Theatre
November 11, 2007 Las Vegas Las Vegas Hilton
November 14, 2007 Coachella Spotlight 29 Casino
Post-tour shows
December 28, 2007 Hollywood United States Hard Rock Live
December 29, 2007 Melbourne King Center
December 30, 2007 Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall
December 31, 2007 Aspen Belly Up

References

  1. ^ "In the Spotlight - News & Events - High End Systems". Austin: Barco Lighting. 2007. http://www.highend.com/news_events/spotlight/?yid=2007. Retrieved December 7, 2010. 
  2. ^ Jennings, Steve (January 2008). "ZZ Top". Projection, Lights and Staging News (Las Vegas: Timeless Communications). http://www.plsn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2435&Itemid=54. Retrieved December 7, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Bluesrock with brilliance: grandMA accompanies ZZ Top trough the US" (Press release). MA Lighting. August 8, 2007. http://www.malighting.com/113.html?&tx_ttnews. Retrieved December 7, 2010. 

External links

ZZ Top
Studio albums
Compilations
Live albums
Tours
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Videos
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