Five (5) Days and Counting; Set List live updates

Well, May 25th is rapidly approaching and with it the opening night of the Outlaws Tour. Dusty has indicated that the band spent several weeks rehearsing for the shows - this could be normal, or it could be a good indication that they actually pushed to be creative and try out some new stuff, as well as some "new" old stuff. They are the main band on the bill so a full set list should be featured. I already took a stab at a possible set list in a previous post, but to summarize here's hoping for:

- one or two new songs
- a revitalized classic like "Precious and Grace" or "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings"
- for the blues number maybe "Stockings" or "Just Got Back From Baby's"

While I will not be attending the opening night it is planned for the show to be recorded by a dedicated fan. I should be able to get a copy of the recording early next week and will publish a full review of the show on the blog.

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ZZ fans, make sure to check this page Friday 05/25 as our correspondent in the field Senor Volto will be providing live updates of the set list as it happens. I will open a new blog entry around 7:30 pm (EST) and will update with set list info and news through the evening.

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A second friend will be attending the May 27th show in Connecticut - I will again provide a set list and we can see if the show will possibly have any variation from night to night. Very unusual for ZZ to do this but you never know.

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I will be attending the June 5th show in Richmond, VA and will provide a full review of the proceedings in a future blog entry. Any readers going to this show?

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Stay tuned.....

More "news" and rumors about the new album

Courtesy of Clay G. here is a link to an interesting article. Appears ZZ was hesitant to return to Houston early this summer with nothing to show for it. Now ZZ's publicist states either the new album, or a big gig in Houston to celebrate it, will take place in the early fall.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/05/what_happened_to_that_zz_top_s.php

Any thoughts from the readers?

Clay G. "76 Shows and Counting"

Today we have a post from Clay G.,  a long time ZZ fan who has seen the band over 75 times. Number 77 will occur later this month when he catches the Outlawz tour. Clay has been most kind in providing some insight on his memories. If you like what you read then I urge you to comment - Clay might return the favor by sharing more memories.

 

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ZZ memories – here’s a couple for you.

First show – 1977 March Boston Garden. Worldwide Texas tour. I was a freshman in college sitting around the dorm on the afternoon of the show. The boys show up at the local Rock Radio Station and do a quick interview, give out some real Texas bbq sauce and play some tunes from their new album – Tejas. Never really heard of them but all sounds very intriguing and they say there are tickets remaining. So, why not, we take metro into Boston and go up to the box office. Well the tickets they had were behind the stage but we went for them anyway. We get in the arena and Santana is the opening band. They are sounding good so we wander over to some choice seats in the front. Plan is to stay there until someone kicks us out. As fate would have it nobody showed up during Santana and ZZ is about to hit the stage – still no one. To this day I consider it an act of faith. The WWTT is well documented but for a Northern boy the impact of seeing two huge Texas steers rising up on either side of the stage, the smell of the farm you can just imagine. I couldn’t believe they would go to such extreme measures for the show to big these animals around the country for a 30 second appearance at the start of the show. Needless to say I was hooked.

Favorite opening – Afterburner. The big reveal with the Sphinx snorting up the drum cover and Billy and Dusty up on the risers with Frank. Each step they took down together to the main stage the crowd noise just keeps audibly rising until they were on stage. Seeing Dusty peer around the corner to find Billy is just priceless.

Favorite song – performance category – Hands down – Sleeping Bag. The two step they did at the first solo blows me away every time.

Favorite song in concert – tube snake boogie – old style when Billy and Dusty played around with Frank on the intro with the shakers suspended from the ceiling before hitting the guitar parts.

Recent Memory – taking my 2 early teen nephews to the Beacon Theater in NY for their first rock concert and watching them watch the show in amazement.

Best shows nobody saw – The Antenna tour. The album has always been underrated and it was kind of sad to see ½ full stadiums. Last of the really big shows.

Best seats – front row at the Oakdale in CT. Got the tickets thru the old fan club and was front and center with my wife ( who btw loves Dusty and is now a veteran of 15 or more shows). My wife is an art teacher so she makes a sign for the show which we reveal during Tush. The sign says “Billy, may I please have a pic?”. Well Dusty sees it first and motions to Billy. He comes over and drops the pick he was using into my hands and finishes the song with just his thumb. WOW!! – Today pick resides in a frame with the ticket stubs and a signed picture I got from Billy during his book tour on the wall in my study.

Goin' Down....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZztYiIqx8XI

ZZ Top / Jeremiah Weed ad is up!

Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrS_BonASA


Random thoughts:

- Song sounds very similar to tracks from "Mescalero"
- I like the harmonizer on Dusty's voice (though many people may not)
- Cool that ZZ got a strong billing in this presentation of the ad
- I find "25 Lighters" to be a stronger track than "Flyin High" (which was all Billy in my opinion)
- Finding myself very excited to hear the new album
- August, August, August....

Dusty (in the field)

Today's entry is courtesy of blog contributor and good friend Senor Volto:

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So Dusty has just joined Facebook!  You can find his page at:

http://www.facebook.com/dustyhillzztop

Good stuff!  Dusty seems to get right to the point when he tells a story (or now in his posts) and you don’t really have to read between the lines.  I really hope he keeps up the good posting.  The posts so far seem to be genuinely from him, and I think he will be fun to follow.  Also, there are pictures of the Dust from 2006 without the shades on. 

But the best news is his post last Wednesday that said he was "On my way to rehearsal for the big summer tour". To me this implies a new show for this year, or at least some new songs or other elements, because they certainly dont' have to rehearse the 2010-2011 set again after playing it almost a hundred times.

Wonder if Frank joins Facebook....

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Addendum:

I (editor ZZ blues) will add that the band's often used videographer has recently traveled to Houston to shoot some new footage and publicity photos for the upcoming tour and (hopefully) new album. Looks like the band is doing it right.

"25 Lighters" - available May 8th??

Some fans may have noticed that search results for "25 Lighters" turned up an older rap song. It would appear that ZZ has indeed covered the song, giving it a rap-rock sound.

Article here:

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2012/04/11/battleship-press-conference-qa-with-rihanna-peter-berg-taylor-kitsch-brooklyn-decker/

It would seem that the soundtrack for the movie "Battleship" may feature the song. According to Amazon pre-orders are being accepted now for the soundtrack release date of 2012-05-08. I am checking online for any info, clips, etc. Nothing found so far. Please let me know if you find anything.
Thanks