XXX Tour explained

Concert Tour Name:XXX Tour
Artist:ZZ Top
Type:World
Album:XXX
Start Date:September 12, 1999
End Date:November 1, 2002
Number Of Legs:5
Number Of Shows:134
Last Tour:Continental Safari Tour
(1996–97)
This Tour:XXX Tour
(1999–2002)
Next Tour:Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour
(2003–04)

The XXX Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. Staged in support of their 1999 album XXX, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1999 to 2002. With five legs and 134 shows, the tour began in Denver, Colorado on September 12, 1999 and ended on November 1, 2002 in London, England. The first two legs took place in the United States before the next leg visited Australasia. After three legs, the band was initially expected to tour Europe, but the European leg was postponed until over two years later, which was branded as "Euro-Afrique". Although the tour provoked a range of reactions from critics, it was generally well received.

Background

ZZ Top's 1996 album Rhythmeen and the supporting Continental Safari Tour brought them to new audiences, particularly in South Africa. Unlike their previous tours, Continental Safari was a minimalistic, sparse production. According to a press release, guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons described the tour's production as a "no-frills, full-thrill presentation—streamlined and down and gritty", further acknowledging, "ZZ Top drives it home with a meaner rhythm than ever before." Although their 1997 Mean Rhythm Global Tour did not visit Europe, they performed over 170 shows in support of Rhythmeen.

Stage design and production

The XXX Tour stage was designed by Chris Stuba, ZZ Top's lighting director. To design the set, Stuba collaborated with longtime production manager Donny Stuart stage set. In place of ZZ Top's elaborate productions of the past, the XXX Tour stage was a simple setup, designed to be intimate. The set included a 48-by-30 foot (15 by 9 m) stage, and was supplemented by giant stretch fabric fixtures, known as Transformits, and were made into geometric shapes, which showed various visuals, including the "XXX" logo behind the stage; for any in-the-round venues, the Transformits were not used. Stuba faced the challenge of designing a lighting system to suit both ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the opening act for most of the tour; both bands used the same wash lights. The set used 87 automated luminaries and 180 PAR lamps, emitting much heat in which the band favored. Stuba explained:

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
DateCityCountryVenueOpening act(s)AttendanceRevenue
Leg 1: arenas in the United States
September 12, 1999DenverUnited StatesMcNichols Sports ArenaThe Groove Hawgsrowspan="22"
September 15, 1999PensacolaPensacola Civic CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
September 17, 1999OrlandoOrlando Arena
September 18, 1999Fort LauderdaleNational Car Rental Center
September 19, 1999GainesvilleO'Connell CenterLynyrd Skynyrd
September 21, 1999GreenvilleBi-Lo CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
September 22, 1999GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum6,822 / 23,500
September 24, 1999CharlotteCharlotte Coliseumrowspan="4"
September 25, 1999BirminghamBirmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena
September 26, 1999KnoxvilleThompson–Boling Arena
September 28, 1999AtlantaPhilips Arena
September 29, 1999RoanokeRoanoke Civic Center9,408 / 9,828
October 1, 1999HamptonHampton ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrdrowspan="10"
October 2, 1999PhiladelphiaFirst Union SpectrumLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
October 3, 1999PittsburghPittsburgh Civic Arena
October 6, 1999BuffaloMarine Midland Arena
October 8, 1999East RutherfordContinental Airlines Arena
October 9, 1999WorcesterWorcester's Centrum Centre
October 10, 1999FairfaxPatriot Center
October 12, 1999ClevelandCSU Convocation Center
October 13, 1999FairbornErvin J. Nutter Center
October 15, 1999Grand RapidsVan Andel Arena
October 16, 1999DetroitPalace of Auburn Hills13,896 / 13,896$476,361
October 17, 1999IndianapolisMarket Square ArenaLynyrd Skynyrdrowspan="9"
October 19, 1999MolineMARK of the Quad Cities
October 20, 1999MadisonKohl Center
October 22, 1999ChicagoUnited CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
October 23, 1999AmesHilton ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrd7,362 / 14,092
October 24, 1999FargoFargodomerowspan="4"
October 26, 1999MinneapolisTarget CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
October 28, 1999Kansas CityKansas City Municipal Auditorium
October 29, 1999St. LouisKiel Center
October 30, 1999MemphisPyramid Arena13,621 / 13,621$489,795
November 5, 1999New OrleansNew Orleans Arenarowspan="23"
November 6, 1999JacksonMississippi Coliseum
November 7, 1999NashvilleNashville Arena
November 9, 1999ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum
November 10, 1999Little RockAlltel Arena
November 12, 1999Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention Center
November 13, 1999TulsaTulsa Convention Center
November 14, 1999WichitaBritt Brown Arena
November 16, 1999OmahaOmaha Civic Auditorium ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd
November 17, 1999Rapid CityRushmore Plaza Civic Center
November 19, 1999Salt Lake CityDelta CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
November 21, 1999BillingsMetraPark Arena
November 22, 1999MissoulaAdams CenterLynyrd Skynyrd
November 24, 1999TacomaTacoma DomeLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
November 26, 1999SpokaneSpokane Arena
November 27, 1999PortlandRose Garden Arena
November 28, 1999BoiseIdaho Center
November 30, 1999RenoLawlor Events CenterLynyrd Skynyrd
December 1, 1999SacramentoARCO ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
December 3, 1999OaklandThe Arena in OaklandLynyrd Skynyrd, Sy Klopps Blues Band
December 4, 1999AnaheimArrowhead Pond of AnaheimLynyrd Skynyrd
December 5, 1999San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena
December 7, 1999Las VegasMandalay Bay Events CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
December 9, 1999TucsonTucson Convention Center7,379 / 8,962$258,265
December 10, 1999PhoenixAmerica West Arenarowspan="4"
December 11, 1999AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum
December 14, 1999OdessaEctor County ColiseumScreamin' Cheetah Wheelies
December 16, 1999LubbockLubbock Municipal ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies
December 17, 1999DallasReunion Arena14,654 / 14,654$579,290
December 29, 1999LafayetteCajundomeLynyrd Skynyrd, Jivin’ Sister Fannyrowspan="2"
December 30, 1999AustinFrank Erwin Center
December 31, 1999HoustonHouston Compaq Center11,777 / 11,777$681,372
Leg 2: arenas in the United States
January 14, 2000HersheyUnited StatesHersheypark ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, The Demonseeds
January 15, 2000CharlestonCharleston Civic Center11,423 / 11,423$379,891
January 16, 2000WheelingWheeling Civic Centerrowspan="3"
January 18, 2000Wilkes-BarreNortheastern Pennsylvania Civic ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, Laidlaw
January 19, 2000RochesterBlue Cross Arena5,147 / 10,877
January 21, 2000HartfordHartford Civic Center9,784 / 12,500$334,342
January 22, 2000ProvidenceProvidence Civic Centerrowspan="2"
January 23, 2000UniondaleNassau Coliseum
January 25, 2000AlbanyPepsi Arena8,899 / 10,000$297,211
January 26, 2000PortlandCumberland County Civic Center8,068 / 8,068$282,380
January 28, 2000UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arenarowspan="6"
January 29, 2000Atlantic CityTrump Marina
February 2, 2000TampaIce Palace ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, Laidlaw
February 4, 2000SavannahSavannah Civic Center
February 5, 2000TupeloTupelo Coliseum
February 6, 2000BiloxiMississippi Coast Coliseum
February 8, 2000LouisvilleFreedom Hall11,116 / 13,000$341,567
February 9, 2000HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic Center7,862 / 7,862$269,867
February 11, 2000Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic Center7,958 / 7,958$278,530
February 13, 2000Fort WorthFort Worth Convention Center11,923 / 11,923$492,155
February 16, 2000MaconMacon Coliseumrowspan="13"
February 18, 2000AlbanyAlbany Civic Center
February 19, 2000North CharlestonNorth Charleston Coliseum
February 20, 2000RaleighRaleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena
February 22, 2000ToledoSavage Hall
February 23, 2000KalamazooWings Stadium
February 25, 2000CincinnatiCincinnati Gardens
February 26, 2000ColumbusValue City Arena
February 27, 2000EvansvilleRoberts Municipal Stadium
February 29, 2000PeoriaPeoria Civic Center
March 2, 2000Terre HauteHulman Center6,086 / 10,200
March 3, 2000Cape GirardeauShow Me Centerrowspan="2"
March 5, 2000BeaumontMontagne Center
Leg 3: arenas and stadiums in Australasia
April 17, 2000PerthAustraliaPerth Entertainment Centrerowspan="9"
April 19, 2000AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment CentreOrianthi
April 21, 2000Byron BayRed Devil ParkRobert Cray Band, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones
April 22, 2000BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment Centre
April 24, 2000SydneySydney Entertainment CentreNever the Bride
April 26, 2000MelbourneMelbourne Park
April 28, 2000AucklandNew ZealandEricsson Stadium SupertopDelta
April 30, 2000ChristchurchWestpacTrust Centre
May 1, 2000WellingtonQueens Wharf Events Centre
Leg 4: arenas and stadiums in the United States ("Casino Tour")
May 4, 2002Atlantic CityUnited StatesEtess Arenarowspan="5"
May 7, 2002UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arena
May 9, 2002AlbuquerqueSandia Resort and Casino
May 11, 2002ParadiseAladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts
May 12, 2002AlpineViejas Casino
Leg 5: auditoriums and arenas in Europe ("Euro-Afrique")
October 1, 2002HelsinkiFinlandHartwall AreenaGary Moorerowspan="22"
October 3, 2002StockholmSwedenHovet
October 5, 2002AalborgDenmarkAalborg Stadion
October 7, 2002CopenhagenFalkoner Teatret
October 8, 2002HamburgGermanyAlsterdorfer Sporthalle
October 10, 2002BerlinVelodrom
October 11, 2002LeipzigArena Leipzig
October 12, 2002FrankfurtJahrhunderthalle
October 14, 2002ParisFranceZénith de Paris
October 15, 2002SaarbrückenGermanyE-Werk
October 16, 2002BrusselsBelgiumForest National
October 18, 2002EssenGermanyGrugahalle
October 19, 2002MunichOlympiahalle
October 20, 2002StuttgartSchleyerhalle
October 22, 2002ViennaAustriaSpark7 Halle
October 23, 2002BrnoCzech RepublicHala Rondo
October 24, 2002ZagrebCroatiaDom Sportova
October 26, 2002ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadionGary Moore
October 27, 2002MilanItalyPalaVobis
October 29, 2002AmsterdamNetherlandsHeineken Music Hall
October 31, 2002ManchesterEnglandManchester Apollo
November 1, 2002LondonCarling Apollo HammersmithHeadway

References

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "XXX Tour".

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