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 Date City Country Venue Opening act(s) Attendance Revenue Leg 1: arenas in the United StatesSeptember 12, 1999DenverUnited StatesMcNichols Sports ArenaThe Groove Hawgsrowspan="6" rowspan="22" September 15, 1999PensacolaPensacola Civic CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesSeptember 17, 1999OrlandoOrlando ArenaSeptember 18, 1999Fort LauderdaleNational Car Rental CenterSeptember 19, 1999GainesvilleO'Connell CenterLynyrd SkynyrdSeptember 21, 1999GreenvilleBi-Lo CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesSeptember 22, 1999GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum6,822 / 23,500September 24, 1999CharlotteCharlotte Coliseumrowspan="4" September 25, 1999BirminghamBirmingham-Jefferson Civic Center ArenaSeptember 26, 1999KnoxvilleThompson–Boling ArenaSeptember 28, 1999AtlantaPhilips ArenaSeptember 29, 1999RoanokeRoanoke Civic Center9,408 / 9,828October 1, 1999HamptonHampton ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrdrowspan="10" October 2, 1999PhiladelphiaFirst Union SpectrumLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesOctober 3, 1999PittsburghPittsburgh Civic ArenaOctober 6, 1999BuffaloMarine Midland ArenaOctober 8, 1999East RutherfordContinental Airlines ArenaOctober 9, 1999WorcesterWorcester's Centrum CentreOctober 10, 1999FairfaxPatriot CenterOctober 12, 1999ClevelandCSU Convocation CenterOctober 13, 1999FairbornErvin J. Nutter CenterOctober 15, 1999Grand RapidsVan Andel ArenaOctober 16, 1999DetroitPalace of Auburn Hills13,896 / 13,896$476,361October 17, 1999IndianapolisMarket Square ArenaLynyrd Skynyrdrowspan="4" rowspan="9" October 19, 1999MolineMARK of the Quad CitiesOctober 20, 1999MadisonKohl CenterOctober 22, 1999ChicagoUnited CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesOctober 23, 1999AmesHilton ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrd7,362 / 14,092October 24, 1999FargoFargodomerowspan="4" October 26, 1999MinneapolisTarget CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesOctober 28, 1999Kansas CityKansas City Municipal AuditoriumOctober 29, 1999St. LouisKiel CenterOctober 30, 1999MemphisPyramid Arena13,621 / 13,621$489,795November 5, 1999New OrleansNew Orleans Arenarowspan="23" rowspan="23" November 6, 1999JacksonMississippi ColiseumNovember 7, 1999NashvilleNashville ArenaNovember 9, 1999ShreveportHirsch Memorial ColiseumNovember 10, 1999Little RockAlltel ArenaNovember 12, 1999Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention CenterNovember 13, 1999TulsaTulsa Convention CenterNovember 14, 1999WichitaBritt Brown ArenaNovember 16, 1999OmahaOmaha Civic Auditorium ArenaLynyrd SkynyrdNovember 17, 1999Rapid CityRushmore Plaza Civic CenterNovember 19, 1999Salt Lake CityDelta CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesNovember 21, 1999BillingsMetraPark ArenaNovember 22, 1999MissoulaAdams CenterLynyrd SkynyrdNovember 24, 1999TacomaTacoma DomeLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesNovember 26, 1999SpokaneSpokane ArenaNovember 27, 1999PortlandRose Garden ArenaNovember 28, 1999BoiseIdaho CenterNovember 30, 1999RenoLawlor Events CenterLynyrd SkynyrdDecember 1, 1999SacramentoARCO ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesDecember 3, 1999OaklandThe Arena in OaklandLynyrd Skynyrd, Sy Klopps Blues BandDecember 4, 1999AnaheimArrowhead Pond of AnaheimLynyrd SkynyrdDecember 5, 1999San DiegoSan Diego Sports ArenaDecember 7, 1999Las VegasMandalay Bay Events CenterLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesDecember 9, 1999TucsonTucson Convention Center7,379 / 8,962$258,265December 10, 1999PhoenixAmerica West Arenarowspan="4" rowspan="4" December 11, 1999AlbuquerqueTingley ColiseumDecember 14, 1999OdessaEctor County ColiseumScreamin' Cheetah WheeliesDecember 16, 1999LubbockLubbock Municipal ColiseumLynyrd Skynyrd, Screamin' Cheetah WheeliesDecember 17, 1999DallasReunion Arena14,654 / 14,654$579,290December 29, 1999LafayetteCajundomeLynyrd Skynyrd, Jivin’ Sister Fannyrowspan="2" rowspan="2" December 30, 1999AustinFrank Erwin CenterDecember 31, 1999HoustonHouston Compaq Center11,777 / 11,777$681,372 Leg 2: arenas in the United StatesJanuary 14, 2000HersheyUnited StatesHersheypark ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, The DemonseedsJanuary 15, 2000CharlestonCharleston Civic Center11,423 / 11,423$379,891January 16, 2000WheelingWheeling Civic Centerrowspan="2" rowspan="3" January 18, 2000Wilkes-BarreNortheastern Pennsylvania Civic ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, LaidlawJanuary 19, 2000RochesterBlue Cross Arena5,147 / 10,877January 21, 2000HartfordHartford Civic Center9,784 / 12,500$334,342January 22, 2000ProvidenceProvidence Civic Centerrowspan="2" rowspan="2" January 23, 2000UniondaleNassau ColiseumJanuary 25, 2000AlbanyPepsi Arena8,899 / 10,000$297,211January 26, 2000PortlandCumberland County Civic Center8,068 / 8,068$282,380January 28, 2000UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arenarowspan="6" rowspan="6" January 29, 2000Atlantic CityTrump MarinaFebruary 2, 2000TampaIce Palace ArenaLynyrd Skynyrd, LaidlawFebruary 4, 2000SavannahSavannah Civic CenterFebruary 5, 2000TupeloTupelo ColiseumFebruary 6, 2000BiloxiMississippi Coast ColiseumFebruary 8, 2000LouisvilleFreedom Hall11,116 / 13,000$341,567February 9, 2000HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic Center7,862 / 7,862$269,867February 11, 2000Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic Center7,958 / 7,958$278,530February 13, 2000Fort WorthFort Worth Convention Center11,923 / 11,923$492,155February 16, 2000MaconMacon Coliseumrowspan="10" rowspan="13" February 18, 2000AlbanyAlbany Civic CenterFebruary 19, 2000North CharlestonNorth Charleston ColiseumFebruary 20, 2000RaleighRaleigh Entertainment & Sports ArenaFebruary 22, 2000ToledoSavage HallFebruary 23, 2000KalamazooWings StadiumFebruary 25, 2000CincinnatiCincinnati GardensFebruary 26, 2000ColumbusValue City ArenaFebruary 27, 2000EvansvilleRoberts Municipal StadiumFebruary 29, 2000PeoriaPeoria Civic CenterMarch 2, 2000Terre HauteHulman Center6,086 / 10,200March 3, 2000Cape GirardeauShow Me Centerrowspan="2" March 5, 2000BeaumontMontagne Center Leg 3: arenas and stadiums in AustralasiaApril 17, 2000PerthAustraliaPerth Entertainment Centrerowspan="9" rowspan="9" April 19, 2000AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment CentreOrianthiApril 21, 2000Byron BayRed Devil ParkRobert Cray Band, Béla Fleck & the FlecktonesApril 22, 2000BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment CentreApril 24, 2000SydneySydney Entertainment CentreNever the BrideApril 26, 2000MelbourneMelbourne ParkApril 28, 2000AucklandNew ZealandEricsson Stadium SupertopDeltaApril 30, 2000ChristchurchWestpacTrust CentreMay 1, 2000WellingtonQueens Wharf Events Centre Leg 4: arenas and stadiums in the United States ("Casino Tour")May 4, 2002Atlantic CityUnited StatesEtess Arenarowspan="5" rowspan="5" May 7, 2002UncasvilleMohegan Sun ArenaMay 9, 2002AlbuquerqueSandia Resort and CasinoMay 11, 2002ParadiseAladdin Theatre for the Performing ArtsMay 12, 2002AlpineViejas Casino Leg 5: auditoriums and arenas in Europe ("Euro-Afrique")October 1, 2002HelsinkiFinlandHartwall AreenaGary Moorerowspan="22" rowspan="22" October 3, 2002StockholmSwedenHovetOctober 5, 2002AalborgDenmarkAalborg StadionOctober 7, 2002CopenhagenFalkoner TeatretOctober 8, 2002HamburgGermanyAlsterdorfer SporthalleOctober 10, 2002BerlinVelodromOctober 11, 2002LeipzigArena LeipzigOctober 12, 2002FrankfurtJahrhunderthalleOctober 14, 2002ParisFranceZénith de ParisOctober 15, 2002SaarbrückenGermanyE-WerkOctober 16, 2002BrusselsBelgiumForest NationalOctober 18, 2002EssenGermanyGrugahalleOctober 19, 2002MunichOlympiahalleOctober 20, 2002StuttgartSchleyerhalleOctober 22, 2002ViennaAustriaSpark7 HalleOctober 23, 2002BrnoCzech RepublicHala RondoOctober 24, 2002ZagrebCroatiaDom SportovaOctober 26, 2002ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadionGary MooreOctober 27, 2002MilanItalyPalaVobisOctober 29, 2002AmsterdamNetherlandsHeineken Music HallOctober 31, 2002ManchesterEnglandManchester ApolloNovember 1, 2002LondonCarling Apollo HammersmithHeadway
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