The XXX Tour was a worldwide
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
. 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
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado on September 12, 1999 and ended on November 1, 2002 in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 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
William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist, primary vocalist, and only constant member of ZZ Top. He began his career in Moving Sidewalks, who recorded '' Flash'' (1969) and op ...
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
Notes
References
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{{ZZ Top
1999 concert tours
2000 concert tours
2002 concert tours
ZZ Top concert tours