Exactly what they said (in Swedish)

Here is a kind-of funny translation that makes it clear that the Karlstad Sweden show and the Sweden Rock show are actually two different shows. I should have know that:


Published December 18, 2008 at 08:15 Tipsa en vän Tell a friend Skriv ut Print

ZZ Top - även till Sweden Rock
ZZ Top - even to Sweden Rock



ZZ Top att det skulle bli en exklusiv Sverigespelning på Löfbergs Lila Arena den 3 juni.
First ZZ Top announced that it would be an exclusive Sweden Playing on Löfbergs Lila Arena on June 3.

Nu står det klart att bandet också kommer att spela på Sweden Rock Festival i Sölvesborg.
Now it is clear that the band also will play at Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg.


Först meddelade ZZ Top att det skulle bli en exklusiv Sverigespelning på Löfbergs Lila Arena den 3 juni.
First ZZ Top announced that it would be an exclusive Sweden Playing on Löfbergs Lila Arena on June 3.

Men alla fans av skägg och veteranbilar som inte har möjlighet att ta sig till Karlstad kan andas ut.
But everyone is a fan of beards and vintage cars that have not been able to get to Chiang Mai can exhale.

Bandet kommer också att spela på festivalen Sweden Rock.
The band also will play at Sweden Rock festival.

Andra band som är klara för festivalen är Heaven and Hell, In Flames och Europe. Other bands that are ready for the festival is Heaven and Hell, In Flames and Europe.

Sweden Rock hålls i Sölvesborg den 3-6 juni.
Sweden Rock held in Sölvesborg on 3-6 June.

ZZ Top Tours Europe in Summer 2009 -- Headlining Sweden Rock Festival

Well, we might have to change our name to zztopeurope2009 now--because the Top is hitting the road in Europe again this year! We've been hearing rumors and getting e-mails about this summer tour for some time, and I guess it is now official.

Dates are starting to trickle in, check lowpft.com for the details.

The big news for us is that ZZ Top is now confirmed for the famous Sweden Rock Festival in June 2009. Other dates so far are in Germany, Norway, and Denmark. We expect more dates to be added beyond Germany and Scandanavia (Poland perhaps?) but nothing is confirmed yet.

Let us know through a comment or at zztopeurope2007@yahoo.com if you hear anything.

More info as we receive it.

Oh yeah, we are waiting to hear the lineup for the 2009 Houston Rodeo. The Boyzz haven't played there for a while and we hope they will be back this year...maybe on March 22? (That's just an educated guess, though.)

UPDATED: New ZZ Top Dates Announced for 2008/9

It looks like the Boyzz are going to do a short tour for the holiday season, just like they did last year in Florida. They are playing Aspen again (450 capacity venue) and they are playing their first-ever show at the Hard Rock Joint in Vegas.

Here is the info:

December 28, 2008 in Aspen.

December 29, 2008 in Aspen.

January 3, 2009 at the Joint.

UPDATED: January 1, 2009 in Oklahoma.

ZZ Jams with Dave Grohl and Duff McKagan

What's this--Billy is wearing a new hat?

And the band is jamming on LaGrange and Tush with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and Duff McKagan fron G'n'R.

On the way...

OK, now that ZZ Top's 2008 tour is coming to a close, we need some new content to keep people's interest.

Look here for some footage later this week that we shot of Deep Purple live tonight. We are also working on putting more old ZZ Top online, and hopefully will have some AC/DC footage this weekend.

Video from Milan 1994

Since we won't be seeing ZZ again until probably next year at the earliest, we are putting some rarer older tracks up on YouTube. First up will be parts of the November 24, 1994 show from Milan, Italy on the Antenna tour:

Opener-World of Swirl



AntennaHead:



Girls, girls girls on She Loves My Automobile:



Pincushion when it was new:



Anyone see Dharma here?



And when was the last time they played PCH?

Notice anything *different* in this video?

Report on the way from Nashville and Indianapolis

We are headed to the show at the Murat Theatre in Indy tonight, and will have a report from there and last week's Nashville show in a bit.

Until then, enjoy some Hendrix:

Some photos from the Ryman show

We will be adding a few more videos to YouTube and will try to write a fuller concert review later, but until them, here are some interesting photos to tide you over:

Billy and Sammy:

Billy reading the sign from 1973 that the guy standing next to me gave him:

Finally got some Frank photos, check out the killer John Douglas-designed kit:

Anyone want some beer???

Close-up of the "King Billy" guitar:

The Duster is in the house:

The planned set list:

Folsom Prison Blues live from the Ryman in Nashville

Set lists from Wichita and Tulsa

Here are the sets lists according to a post by a fan on zztop.com:

ZZ Top | Century II Concert Hall, Wichita | September 26, 2008

==Set List==
Got Me Under Pressure
Waitin for the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Chevrolet
Pincushion
I'm Bad I'm Nationwide
Heard it on the X
Cheap Sunglasses
I Need You Tonight
Catfish Blues ("Muddy Waters cover, 1950) (Dusty sang)
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix) (Billy sang)
Heard it on the X
Just Got Paid
Gimme All Your Lovin
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs
Encore:
La Grange
Tush

== Tulsa Set List ===
Got Me Under Pressure
Waitin for the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Chevrolet
Pincushion
Future Blues (Willie Brown cover, 1930)
Cheap Sunglasses
I Need You Tonight
Catfish Blues (Muddy Waters cover, 1950)
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix version cover, 1966)
Heard it on the X
Just Got Paid
Gimme All Your Lovin
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs
Encore:
Jail House Rock
La Grange
Tush

Billy Sheehan talks about BillyGibbons

Billy G. plays on one of the tracks on Billy Sheehan's new album, and Billy S. talks about it here:

http://www.werockcity.com/billy/studio/02.php

Request for ZZ Top Set Lists for 2008 In Your Face Tour

Hey everyone:

There is a huge amount of interest in what ZZ Top is playing on this tour. So if you wrote down a full set list, please post it here or send it to us at:

zztopeurope2007@yahoo.com

So far we have been hearing some complaints that the set list is not really that "special" for this tour. But we also hear that they are playing some rare stuff, including a cover of Hendrix' "Hey Joe," which we heard they were working on. (They played "Foxy Lady" last year and have also been working on "Purple Haze.")

So let us know what you see or hear at the shows. People are interested, and in fact the most popular search terms used by people that lead them to this site are "zz top set list 2008." So share the info and let us know. We're still looking for the full Wichita set list and for any feedback from Ft. Smith.

Why haven't we seen this before?

Billy tells the full story about that stupid African hat he always wears.

Not sure if it's true, but here it is:

In Your Face -- TODAY

Well, today, Friday September 26, 2008, is the big day. The start of ZZ Top's new "In Your Face" tour, a tour in which the band promises to dig deep ad pull out some golden oldies from their first four albums.

The tour kicks off today in Wichita, followed by shows in Fort Smith Arkansas, Tulsa, and St. Louis. We are trying to get to one of those first shows, but if we don't, we will for sure see them next week in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium.

The big question is, what will the set list be? And will any of the top choices from our little poll (see right-hand sidebar) make it into the set list?

And the results are in!

ZZ Top Fans Vote on Rare Tracks for Harley Show

Over the past few weeks, die-hard ZZ Top fans have been participating in an online poll to choose their favorite “rare” live tracks in the hope that the band will play one or more of those tracks live at the Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary show in Milwaukee on August 29th, or on the band’s upcoming “In Your Face” intimate theater tour. The results are in, and thousands of fans have spoken. The top-five tracks are: 1) Whiskey’n Mama; 2) She’s A Heartbreaker; 3) Balinese; 4) Beverly Hillbillies Theme; and 5) Pan Am Highway Blues.

The idea for the poll originated with long-time fan Ken Wysocki, who runs an unofficial fan blog at www.zztopeurope2007.blogspot.com. Wysocki, who has seen ZZ Top play live more than 40 times in at least 14 different states, first came up with the idea for the poll while discussing the band’s set list on an Internet mailing list. While the casual ZZ Top fan loves to hear their classic mega-hits like “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man,” hard-core fans have been clamoring for years to hear more obscure tracks played live. The Top’s legendary 1993 show at the 90th Harley Davidson bash featured a number of rare tunes, and Wysocki and other fans are hoping for a repeat this year: “I know that the band has always played the songs they wanted to play, but this is a great opportunity for fans to let the band know that we’d love to hear some really rare tunes at this show, just like we did 15 years ago,” said Wysocki. “And even if we don’t hear anything unusual at the Harley show, the band’s unique “In Your Face” theater tour, which starts in September, will be another opportunity to showcase some different tunes for us long-time fans.”

While other bands, such as the Scorpions, have formally asked their fans to help pick their set lists, this poll is purely unofficial. “Yeah, who knows if anyone will listen to us,” says Wysocki, “but it never hurts to try. And I hope the band appreciates how strongly its fans feel about some of the great older tunes. We love hearing ‘Legs’ and ‘LaGrange’ live, but hearing ‘Whiskey’n Mama’ or ‘Heartbreaker’ would blow our minds. Hell yeah.”

Hell yeah indeed!

For more information, please contact: zztopeurope2007@yahoo.com

ZZ Top Set List Poll To End This Week

OK, in order to get the results for the poll we are running to who we need to get them to, we have to end the set list poll this week. We have kept only the top 20 songs and the rules are still the same:

Vote as often as you want, for as many songs as you want.

We will name an official winner and will send the top five songs to the band.

Goin' Down to Mexico???

OK, we were just checking out the ZZ Top set lists at Pete Z's site and here is what he has listed for August 9:

Auburn, Washington - White River Amphitheatre (August 9 2008) - Got Me Under Pressure, Gimme All Your Lovin, Waitin for the Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide, I Need You Tonight, Goin Down to Mexico, Just Got Paid, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, La Grange, Tush, Tube Snake Boogie (w/Brooks & Dunn), Jailhouse Rock. (Thanks to the Tacoma Washington News Tribune)

Soooo, which one of these is not like the others? How about Goin' Down To Mexico? Seriously, did they actually play that? Because I don't think they've ever played that in, like, ever...if they're playing a song that we don't know the words to you know it's a rare one. Can someone please confirm that they played this? If so, let's hope they keep it in the set list.

Who started the ZZ Top International Fan Club (ZZTIFC)?

Well, according to this article, it was someone named Donna Greene!

Press release for ZZ Top Fall 2008 theater tour

Here is the official press release for the new tour. NOTE: These dates conflict with some dates that have already been announced, so either those dates are wrong, or this release is wrong. Or both. Anyway:

August 8, 2008
ZZ TOP IN YOUR FACE THIS FALL!!
INTIMATE VENUE TOUR RECONNECTS ROCK HALL OF FAMERS WITH THEIR ROOTS

ZZ Top -- Billy F Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill -- after touring and recording for the past 39 years and have decided to embark on a tour that will bring them even closer, literally, to their legions of fans. Kicking off in Wichita, KS on September 26, the ZZ Top In Your Face Tour will bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to the kind of intimate venues they played much earlier in their tenure as rock's the longest running band with original personnel intact. For six weeks this fall, the trio forswears stadiums, areas and festivals for small theaters where they expect to connect very directly with their audience.

Guitarist Billy F Gibbons explains, "Earlier this year, because of a routing quirk, we accepted a 'fill-in' date at a little old theater in Knoxville. That experience reminded us of our roots, both in terms of a stripped-down, gut-bucket musical approach and the direct connection with the people who came to see us. So we said, 'why not do this on a more extended basis and have some real fun?'"

Though they've just come back from Europe where they played to monumental crowds at festivals in eight countries, the band was game to revisit the experience and, as bassist Dusty Hill puts it, "We figured it would be a kick to, so to speak, get in people's faces and the idea for this tour was born."

Drummer Frank Beard added, "To actually be able to see whole audience and interact with them like this is a throwback to our early days and who wouldn't want to go back in time?"

Earlier this year, at the Nokia Theatre in Dallas, the band was shot for the Eagle Vision DVD release Live From Texas that went on to debut at #1 on Billboard's music DVD chart the week it was released. The title has since returned to the top slot on that chart where it has stayed for two consecutive weeks. They are currently touring the U.S. with Brooks & Dunn packing arenas and sheds around the country. On September 9th, the anniversary of their breakthrough album, Eliminator, will be celebrated with the release of a special Collectors Edition of the RIAA-certified Diamond album (over 10 million units) by Warner Bros. through Rhino Entertainment.

The ZZ Top In Your Face Tour runs for six weeks this fall and brings the band to some major markets including Minneapolis, Nashville, Cleveland, St. Louis, Denver, Indianapolis and Kansas City and some much smaller locales where they haven't played in many years, including Grand Forks, ND; Fort Smith, AR, Huntington, WV and Sioux Falls, SD. A complete ZZ Top In Your Face Tour itinerary follows.

September 26 - Wichita, KS - Century II
September 27 - Ft. Smith, AR - Convention Hall
September 28 - Tulsa, OK - SpritBank Event Center
September 30 - St. Louis - Fox Theatre

October 1 - Kansas City, MO - Midland
October 3 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
October 4 - Huntington, WV - Keith-Albee Theatre
October 5 - Cleveland, OH - Allen Theatre
October 10 - Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre
October 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Centre
October 12 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside
October 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum
October 18 - Grand Forks, ND - Chester Fritz
October 19 - Sioux Falls, SD - Great Hall
October 22 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Hall
October 23 - Pullman, WA - Beasley Performing Arts Center
October 30 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
October 31 - Denver, CO- Paramount Theatre

November 1 - Amarillo, TX - Civic Center Auditorium

How much does it cost to book ZZ Top???

OK, we're adding lots of news stories today, here is an interesting oen that talks about the economics involved in booking live concerts, including the current ZZ tour:

http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x469172886/Will-state-fairs-1-million-lineup-be-worth-it

Tall tales from Billy...

...about a forest fire he helped to extinguish. Also mentions a gig they played with Slash in Las Vegas???

http://www.idahostatesman.com/entertainment/story/457315.html

Encore!

It looks like ZZ and Brooks and Dunn are doing an encore together on this tour!

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/articles/2008/08/03/20080803brooksanddunn.html

Life on the road is not always exciting..

The ZZ Top/Brooks * Dunn tour has started, and we are anxious to get any reports of the set list the boyzz are playing on this tour.

In the mean time, here is an odd little blurb from Carson City, Nevada, with a photo of the back of Pablo's head, and Dusty hauling some luggage into the Marriott:

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080804/NEWS/965753734/-1/HEALTH

ZZ Top Set List Poll

OK, the European Tour is over. The Brooks & Dunn tour is next followed by a nice theater tour. Please keep voting in the set list poll at the right. We need as many votes as possible!!!!!

Rocklahoma videos wanted of Every Mother's Nightmare and XYZ

Hey, I have had some people connceted with XYZ and EMN ask me if I had any more video by those two bands. So if anyone out there has footage of these two groups please send me your contact info and I will pass it along to the bands.

Rocklahoma press release---"We're great, we didn't kill anyone!"

Well, those goobers (we are going to trademark that word as it applies to the management of Rocklahoma) that run Rocklahoma issued a lame and, frankly, arrogant and insulting press release today. We won't give it any space here, if you want to read it, go find it for yourself, we got it twice (typical for those geniuses in Pryor) on MySpace.

Anyway, the purpose of this press release was to assure everyone that the show would go on after the storm. Of course, issuing it nearly a day after the storm was over was nothing more than damage control. Through the power of the Internet, photos and video taken by us and by others (including Allyson at Bring Back Glam) got out there quickly.

The press releases are so stupid they would be funny if the situation weren't so serious. One of the bulletins was titled "Storm does not slow down Rocklahoma"; that bulletin then proceeded to explain in the very first sentence how the show was delayed -- one could even say slowed down -- 2 1/2 hours by the storm.

When the Rocklahoma people say there was nothing they could have done they are FULL OF SHIT. Look at the video we posted below of the storm approaching...any idiot could see it was going to be bad. There were numerous lightning strikes in the distance that could be easily seen by anyone. What did Rocklahoma do to evaluate this oncoming storm? Well, we saw their weather guy -- the big guy wearing an orange shirt that said something like "Weather Expert" on the back in huge letters --come out of backstage and look at the sky for about three seconds 10 or so minutes before the storm hit. At that point I actually called someone on my cell phone and had them look a the radar for Pryor online and they told me there were several lines of red (ie really bad) storm cells approaching.

Have they not gotten the Internet yet in Pryor Oklahoma?

After speaking with a bunch of people today who didn't get to their cars when I did, the way that Rocklahoma handled this is looking worse and worse. They denied people shelter, they gave no real warning of the storm, and those damn side stages should not have collapsed.

Rocklahoma, what happened here? Why did the stages collapse? Why weren't non-VIP people let into the VIP tent (the only shelter available) when the violent storm hit? What shelter was available for non-VIP attendees? Do you really think that this storm --- which, as seen on my video, was clearly visible long before it hit -- came out of nowhere?

Apparently, Rocklahoma was more concerned in its press release about boosting walk-up ticket sales for Sunday than with explaining what actually went wrong on Saturday.

Shame on you, Rocklahoma, are you more interested in making money than in the safety of your fans???

Rocklahoma 2008 is over--let the 2009 rumors begin!

OK, they are probably still partying in the campground, but ROK II is over for us. We can take off those stupid wristbands, and we don't have to carry that big fat mug around anymore.

We will put a few last videos up overnight with a full report to follow tomorrow. Highlight of Day 5, by far, was Steelheart. Not their set, but the killer intro video featuring their singer flying a fighter jet with the Steelheart logo, then landing the jet and hopping onto his motorcycle and then driving it onstage.

So metal.

The show must go on...but will anyone ask the hard questions?

So, we are about to leave for the fifth and final day of Rocklahoma, and we have a few questions for all of the "media" types who will be there today:

Will you be asking any questions about what the fuck actually happened yesterday? Can you ask Joe Mays or someone from Feverfest why both of the side stages went down? Was there suffcient medical attention for the people that went down because of the heat? Can you confirm whether anyone actually died yesterday? These are all questions that would be asked by a "real" journalist. There was a lot of real rock news happening this weekend...return of Triumph, return of Armored Saint, return of Lita Ford, etc etc, but the most significant event of the weekend was the storm. It is no exaggeration to say that someone could have been killed by those side stages. People were injured, and a lot of money was lost. We're just one guy with a shitty camrea that don't work no more. But someone needs to get the real story about what happened this weekend before everyone heads home.

So WTF happened?

Rocklahoma Report Day 4: Ridin' the Storm Out

Day 4 of Rocklahoma was supposed to be about reunion and rebirth. Instead, the oppressive mid-day heat, followed violent late afternoon thunderstorms, brought disaster to the Rocklahoma grounds.

First up was Pretty Boy Floyd with an 11 am set. They brought the largest crowd so far for an early-morning act to the stage. While lots of fans were bitching that they should have gotten a later time, their set did wake everyone up and bring folks into the show early. Here's one clip from their set:



Next up was Every Mother's Nightmare. While many of the bands booked for Rocklahoma spent a lot of time practing their set, preparing stage outfits (Lita), and polishing their chops, we are pretty sure that EMN just loaded the truck up with gear and beer on Friday night and drove down from Tenessee to Oklahoma. Hey, our favorite band is ZZ Top, so we love loud rednecks, and EMN certainly qualifies. They even did some Skynyrd.




Nice guys too. After their set they just sat down on the front of the stage and took photos with fans.

Here's where it started to get dicey. It was starting to get HOT. Eddie Trunk said that several people had heat-related problems, and we saw at least one person being worked on by medical personnel who were applying CPR.

Next up was Tora Tora. First performance in something like 12 years. TT are one of our favorite bands of all time and we rocked it from the front row. Even picked up the set list. Plenty of video is up on our YoutTube channel, here is just a taste:





Next up was Black-n-Blue. We thought we got some video but apparently didn't. This was about when we saw that person getting CPR so that prompted us ot get some rest in the tent and we missed a good part of their set.

Trixter followed with their first set in XX (13 or something?) years. Her's teir first song:


Again, more at YouTube.

This is where things *really* started to get dicey. There was cleary a long line of storms approaching.


We took shelter in our vehicle as soon as it started to rain so we missed most of the fun, but the storms came through like a Banshee. Our SUV was rocking back and forth from the wind, and we saw tents in the parking lot getting blown away as the rain was coming down horizontally. When the rain slowed, we saw several ambulances enter the grounds through the VIP area, and firefighters were driving through the parkings lots on ATVs. As we walked in, we saw one person being treated for a minor cut on her leg. (It's always a "minor" cut when it's somebody else's leg.) The grounds were pretty much trashed. The shokcer was both side stages were completey destroyed, they pretty much pancaked.





From a failure analysis standpoint, the fact that both stages came down in almost exactly the same way is troubling. That indicates a design or construction flaw. They're lucky no one was killed. Theyre was damage to the main stage area, and they lost both big screen tvs for most of the night. The storm also knocked out some power and the air conditioning in the VIP tent was down. Many of the smaller tents were also damaged or blown away.

After a delay, Lynch Mob ripped it up (with Fred Coury of Cinderlla on drums) in a short set:


Then the other act we had been waiting for:

KIX!!!!!

Kix killed the place. At this point in time it started to rain like hell again, and it pretty much contined for the rest of the night. While Eddie Trunk, most of the security guards, and a whole host of the so-called "press" scurried to the protection offered by the side of the stage, the real fans were getting soaked while those pussies were telling the rest of us how great we were for staying.

Anywa, Kix was awesome, as usual, and here is some shitty video. It was impossible to keep anything dry. More poor video on the Tube:



The only bad thing (besides the rain) was that Steve's vocals almost disappeared on a few songs. Obviously still a few technical glitches after all that rain. Talk about a Cold Shower:


Yeah, Eddie Trunk said that they set changes would only take 15-20 minutes, but the change between Kix and Lita still took almost 40 minutes anyway. Lita looked incredible, sounded great, and had a really good connection with the audience. Again, we have some poor video, better footage will show up soon from all those folks standing on the side of the stage:


Hungry?


Finally, Warrant came on at around 12:30 or so. Jani was not that bad, and it was amazing how many fans stuck around for their set.

Tomorrow (now today) will be a mess. Hot and rainy, and probably mud everywhere. Wish you were here!

Probably won't have much/any video tomorrow because the camera is still waterlogged. Stay safe Rocklahoma.

Rocklahoma Report: Day 4--Destruction

Rocklahoma Report: Day 3

OK, this will be quick since we have to run; PBF is supposed to start at 11 and they are predicting rain so it will be another long, wet, sloppy day.

Basically everyone yesterday was good. Our personal favorites were Extreme and Kingdom Come. XYZ started off the day and Terry and his band sounded great, much better than expected. Then a bit of a change of pace with a blistering set from Armored Saint. That was followed by the reutrn, after something like 15 years, of Lenny Wolf and Kingdom Come. OK, we are biased since they are on of our favorites, but KC rocked and sounded great.

Next was Living Colour...frankly, not one of our favorite bands, but they sounded really great and were very energetic. Hmmm, we are starting to forget things, next was Night Ranger a great band with some great songs. We were a bit underwhelmed, maybe because we have seen them before and most of the others bands that day were new to us.

After NR came Extreme. They were one of our favorites back in the day and they did not disappoint. Gary was all over the stage(at one point almost pulling a light tower down when he tried to climb it), Nuno was on fire, and it was great to see them back together after all these years.

Triumph closed out the night. Honestly, they are another of the bands that aren't a favorite, but it was still nice to see these legends in concert. They had a great light show, lasers, pyro, etc, although they did have some recurring sound issues. Highlight for us was a cover (!) of Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh. Didn't expect that.

Rocklahoma Report Day 3

It's 2am and tomorrow is and early day so we won't write much, just say that we will be uploading a few more vids (not nearly as many as yesterday) overnight. Check oru YouTube channel

Highlights for us tomorrow are, in order of preference, Tora Tora, Kix, Lita Ford, and Lynch Mob.

Sleep tight.

Rocklahoma Report, Day 2: Welcome to Lake Rocklahoma

OK, it was Day 1 for me but Day 2 for the festival.

We left the hotel in Tulsa and the weather was baaaaad. Raining like hell.



There were lakes all over...a big lake between the main stage and the south side stage (that eventualy drained)and smaller lakes everywhere, even at the ticket booths and wristband stations.



It was looking pretty grim for Jet Boy's set and the crowd was sparse.

They put on a hell of a show, though, and those who braved the rain to see them saw one of the best sets of the day.

Did I metion it was wet? Water and mud everywhere. And the whole place stank. Not a great way to start the festival. On the plus side, our VIP parking spot was right near the entrance, allowing easy access to the car between sets. Most of the Rocklahoma employees were friendly and very nice, but the whole thing seemed like a rock festival put on by a bunch of goobers. For example, when you issue a schedule of what bands are playing when, you ought to at least be able to spell the names of your main stage performers correctly. Seriously. And they made no efforts during the day to shore up any areas of the place that were treading water. I know they can't dry out that place in a day, but you'd think they would put some much in the merch tents (muddy as hell) so at least they could make a bit of money. Having said that, the place was still pretty impressive, especially the side stages. And the timing was almsot perfect...as soon as the main stage acts ended, the side stages started up. If you could get to them.

Back to the show. House of Lords was next. More rain. I was looking forward to seeing them, and they sounded great, but they weren't very exciting. I see HOL as more of an AOR-type band and after the glam/punk energy of JetBoy they just seemed a bit slow. It was still raining during their set and the crowd was still pretty thin.




Next up was Vain. Davy Vain seemed like a bit of an ass. Eddie Trunk liked them so they must be good, right? (sarcasm intended) They were mildly entertaining but it was the kind of set you won't remember in a day or two. No respect, eh?





Next up were our hometown buds from Blue Island, Enuff Z'Nuff. This is the first show we have seen with Donnie Vie back in the band and he was acting like, well, Donnie Vie. Donnie has said that he is now off of the "hard" drugs and we hope that's tru but he was acting pretty goofy during the set. And I thought Jake Lee was supposed to play with them but he never showed. Regardless, they put on a great set, highlighted by a kind of strange extended version of In the Groove that included Donnie accidentally kicking his shoe into the crowd, and a killer jam with Steven Adler, Joe LeSte, Tracii Guns, and a six year old kid.

One bitch: Why did their set get cut off? I know they're on a schedule but L.A. Guns was next and since Tracii was on stage I doubt he was going to complain. Note to Rocklahoma promoter goobers: When someone from GNR gets onstage and starts playing a GNR song you let him finish the song, schedule or not. And it was sad to see that although Steven played great he had to have a "body man", big guy with a goatee follow him around to make sure when that he went to the front of the stage he wouldn't fall off. Sad.

The EZN videos:













OK, we're running out of time here. Excuse the typos. Our camera started acting up because of the rain and we moved back into some crappier seats but we had a nice view of L.A. Guns. This is apparently their sixth show with Marty Casey (another Chicago guy)from Rockstar: INXS as their singer. We were skeptical of the whole thing, but to be fair, Marty did a hell of a job and they sounded really great. One of the better sets of the day. I'm not sure they should still be calling this version of the band L.A. Guns, but their performance was better than any other LAG shows (with any version of the band) I have seen in the last few years.




Saw some stuff on the side stages, all of the bands were pretty good but the mud hurt attendance at the side stages. Here's a cool AC/DC cover. (It sounded a lot better in person than on video.) Chicks dig bagpipes.




Dokken came on and at this point our camera died. They played a great set, all of the hits, I don't think they even played one song off of the new album. (Wwhich is pretty good, btw.) Another highlight of the day, Don sounded great and the crowd was really into it.

Seb Bach was next. He put on an energetic show, mixing Skid Row stuff with his solo stuff. A solid set but perhaps a bit underwhelming.

Bret Michaels was the closer, and he put on another energetic set with lots of Poison songs, some solo stuff, and some cool covers.

Everyone on the main stage was actually pretty good, but our highlights for the day would be Jetboy (check them out on iTunes!), EZN, L.A. Guns, and Dokken. We also like the little guys over the headliners!

Today is, in our opinion, a downer day. The show starts late and the only acts we are really excited about are Kingdon Come (really), Extreme, and possibly Triumph. Triumph is a great band and it will be nice to see their first US appearance in many years but they don't quite fit in at Rocklahoma.

More later if we survive.

Rocklahoma 2008

And now, for something completely different:

We are still covered in mud (and stuff worse than mud) from our first day at Rocklahoma. We will be bringing you reports and videos as time and our internet connection allow.

We ain't in Texas today!

Francine in Spanish!

From Spain:

Bilbao videos

Bilbao, let us know!

Not sure if that rhymes, but Spain, let us know how the show went.

Thank you again Portugal!

Thanks to Frank for sending us a set list (see comments to the post below) and for taking some more killer video:



Please continue to send us comments, set lists, videos, reviews, whatever you have from the 2008 European Tour.

Thank you, Portugal!

OK, we are still waiting for a full set list, but someone in Portugal has posted some nice videos from last night's show.

It looks like Under Pressure was the opener...no surprise there, but that was not the opener on the U.S. tour, so that's at least one change already:



Then it looks like Heard It on the X...the clips are numberede 1-5 but not sure if that is the actual order in which they were played or just the order in which they were uploaded. Anyway, X from Porto:



Video #3 is a bit of a solo with Billy goofin' around, followed by a killer version of I Need You Tonight:



Then #4 is Gimme All Your Loivn':



And of course Sharp Dressed Man:



So those aren't any new songs so far but the order seems to be a bit different.

Attention ZZ Top fans in and around Porto Portugal!

Hey, we know some folks in Portugal are checking out this web site...if you go to the show tonight (which, because of the time difference, should be starting right about now?), please give us a review. Fanzz in the U.S. are very interested in how the European tour is going, and I'm sure the European fanzz want to know what to expect. We are especially interested in reports on whether they have changed the set list at all.

So, Portugal, we are counting on you--let us know if you had a good time at the show:

Send us photos.

Get some video up on YouTube and send us the link.

Talk to us, Portugal, talk to us!

My Head's In Mississippi

Hey, the Boyzz played a bit of My Head's In Mississippi at one of their shows last month in (where else but) Mississippi, and someone was bright enough to capture video and put it onto YouTube.

Here it is:

And the leaders are...

After some overnight European voting, the leaders are now Humbucking Part 2 and Whisky'n Mama, followed closely by Prettyhead, Poke Chop, Rhythmeen, and our surprise of the day, Thug!

Keep voting, the more votes we get, the more likely we are to have the poll taken seriously!

New poll on ZZ Top's Set List!!!

First, let us make clear that this blog has *no* official connection whatsoever with ZZ Top.

However, just for fun, we have listed about 50 "rare" ZZ Top tracks in the poll on the right. We're asking our readers to vote for which songs they would like to see the Boyzz play at the 105th Anniversay Harley Davidson show on August 29, 2008.

While we can't guarantee that anyone will pay attention, we will make sure that the final results are sent to the band (or at least their management) a few weeks before the show.

In that true and time-honored Chicago tradition, you can vote as often as you'd like, and you can vote for as many songs as you'd like. We would like to have added more songs, but 51 choices is already pretty ridiculous, so we won't add any more choice. We do have a write-in box, though. The order of how the songs are listed in the poll is random. We are hiding the running vote totals so there is no bias but we will let you know every now-and-then how the voting is proceeding.

Maybe, just maybe, if we're lucky, one or two of these songs will resurface at a show in the next year or two. But in order for that to happen, you have to vote EARLY and OFTEN. If we only get 50 votes no one is going to give a shit. So vote VOTE please fucking VOTE for some of the songs in the poll.

So a blonde walks into a library...

There is some great footage of ZZ at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston for the dvd release party on YouTube. If anyone was there and has some stories for us, please comment below.

Billy unleashed:

Chevrolet live from the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut

Plus some Tush:



Planet of Women:

Take Us To The Showzzz!!!

Hell Yeah!

We are headed from Chi-Town to the East Coast for a couple of shows this weekend. Wish we could see mroe than two, but right now we will only have time for Wallingford CT and Rutland VT. Hey, when was the last time ZZ played in Vermont?

Anyhoo, we will have a full report next week, and in the meantime, if anyone is going to those two shows, give us a holler.

Hell Yeah!

ZZ Top Playing Poker.

Eagle Rock has released a few more clips from the new dvd to YouTube, here is a nice clip of the Boyzz playing poker, which will be an extra on the dvd:

ZZ Top on American Idol Finale!!!

The Boyzz played Sharp Dressed Man with Idol winner David Cook and, somewhat surprisingly, it did not suck; it actually rocked a bit.

Two observations: 1) This is probably the first time in a long time they have played SDM without recorded vocals; and 2) Frank has a new kit with what appears to be a big lip-print on it. Can't pick out any other details on YouTube.

Here it is:

First clip from the new DVD

OK, we've shown you the cover already, now here is the first clip from the new DVD.

We hope the whole dvd isn't full of the quick edits this clip has...this is supposed to be a "live" show, not a music video!!! Anyway, here it is...

Coming soon on DVD!

Where's Elwood???

So, has anyone seen Billy's long-time guitar tech Elwood Francis yet on this tour?

We have heard that Sammy Sanchez is on the ZZ Top tour instead of Elwood and that EF is back with the Black Crowes?

This is all just a rumor but we know Sammy did the Florida shows with the band and no one has reported seeing him yet on this tour...

ZZ Top 2008 U.S. Tour Set List

Here is an *unconfirmed* set list that has been flying around for ZZ Top's 2008 U.S. tour. Some real gems here:

1 Gimmie all your lovin'
2 I Thank You
3 Waitin' for the Bus
4 Jesus just Left Chicago
5 It's Only Love (A real treat!)
6 Bad & Nationwide
7 I need you tonite( I was floored when they played this one)
8 Cheap Sunglasses
9 Pincushion
10 Just got Paid
11 Chevrolet (Haven't heard this one live in years)
12 Planet of Women
13 Legs
14 Sharp Dressed Man
15 Tube Snake Boogie
16 La Grange BBQ Sloppy Drunk
17 Tush

Edited to add:

We know these set lists aren't 100% correct (X is listed twice) but it at least gives you the flavor.

ZZ Top Supports the Troops: And Billy Gets Close to Jessica Simpson (some guys have all the luck!)

Check out this story and rehearsal photos about the concert the Boyzz played in California for our servicemen and women his week:



So, if they soundcheck together, does that mean they played a few songs together???

UPDATE: Supposedly they did These Boots Are Made for Walkin' and it will be shown at some point on NBC???

It's (semi-) official: ZZ signs with Rick Rubin

Well, according to an interview with Billy conducted by BW&BK, the long-rumored collaboration with Rick Rubin is now officially a go:

http://www.bravewords.com/news/89037

Of course, that interview says they haven't been in the studio yet, which conflicts with other things Billy has said, but hey, that's the way ZZ does things.

Set lizzts for 2008 tour?

OK, does anyone out there have a set list for this tour yet?

The first two dates of the tour have already been cancelled for unknown reasons, so we need "proof of life" that this tour is actually happening. The A&M Gridiron Bash was cancelled for reasons that have nothing to do with the Boyzz, but we're not sure why the Beaumont show at Ford Park was cancelled. Anyone have any inside info??? Did the Bossier City, Louisiana show actually take place? Is anyone going to the California shows this week?

We will be back for a while.

Well, we had a great time at one of the Florida showzz over Christmas, and since the band is on tour right now, we may post irregular updates to this blog again.

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed;)