The El Camino Ocho Tour was a concert tour through North America and Europe, undertaken by American rock band ZZ Top. The tour's concerts were performed in casinos and fairs from May through September 2008. Band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill dressed in black biker jackets, along with baseball caps and boots. The El Camino Ocho Tour consisted of three legs and 60 shows. Some of the tour was depicted in the concert film Double Down Live.

Concert overview Out of the 60 shows performed, each had a similar set list, with 16–21 songs performed. The concerts usually began with techno music played through the PA system, during which the band would walk on stage and begin the show.

Main set The first leg of the tour opened with "Gimme All Your Lovin'", while the second and third legs opened with "Got Me Under Pressure". Following the opener, the band performed "Waitin' for the Bus", "Jesus Just Left Chicago", "Chevrolet", and "Pincushion". Every show featured "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", along with "Heard It on the X", "Just Got Paid", "I Need You Tonight", "Cheap Sunglasses", and "Planet of Women". "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" were also included.

Encores The encores typically started with "Tube Snake Boogie". This segued into a medley of "La Grange", "Sloppy Drunk Blues", and "Bar-B-Q". The encores usually closed out with "Tush". "Jailhouse Rock" was also occasionally performed.

Additional songs A total of 24 different songs were played throughout the tour. "My Head's In Mississippi" was featured as a snippet for a few shows. "I Thank You" was played for the first nine concerts. "It's Only Love" from the Tejas album was eventually dropped from the main set due to technical errors.

Reception Despite the fact that the band didn't have a new album to tour with, El Camino Ocho received generally positive reviews. Many reviews did state Gibbons' voice as being "gruff" or "throaty-sounding", and compared to "road gravel". His guitar playing, however, was well received by audiences. The Toronto Sun gave a rating of 4 out of 5 for the concert on August 24, 2008.

Post-tour

Double Down Live The tour was filmed for future DVD release by Jamie Burton Chamberlin. In October 2009, Eagle Vision released Double Down Live, which combined footage from the tour, and featured 4 of the 11 songs being filmed during the tour. An interview was included in the DVD, filmed before the concert at Zénith de Paris.

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) Leg 1: North AmericaMay 2, 2008Bossier CityUnited StatesHorseshoe Bossier CityMay 7, 2008TucsonAVA AmphitheaterRosie FloresMay 9, 2008DixonDixon May FairMay 10, 2008Valley CenterHarrah's RinconMay 15, 2008AustinThe BackyardRosie FloresMay 16, 2008Corpus ChristiAmerican Bank Center ArenaSun SalutationMay 22, 2008St. AugustineSt. Augustine AmphitheatreBlackberry SmokeMay 23, 2008Orange BeachThe Amphitheater at the Wharf38 SpecialMay 24, 2008RobinsonvilleHarrah's Casino TunicaMay 25, 2008Little RockRiverFest38 Special, Bucket of BluesMay 29, 2008PelhamVerizon Wireless AmphitheatreZac Brown BandMay 30, 2008Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic CenterJoe DiffieMay 31, 2008Fort KnoxGodman Army AirfieldBlackberry SmokeJune 3, 2008KnoxvilleTennessee TheatreJune 5, 2008MarksvilleParagon Casino ResortJune 6, 2008EnterpriseBamaJamTrace Adkins, Tracy LawrenceJune 7, 2008AtlantaChastain Park AmphitheatreZac Brown BandJune 8, 2008North CharlestonNorth Charleston ColiseumBlackberry SmokeJune 12, 2008ChattanoogaRiverbend FestivalSteel MillJune 13, 2008JacksonJubilee! JamBlind Melon, Eric ChurchJune 14, 2008ValdostaWild AdventuresBlackberry SmokeJune 17, 2008SolomonsCalvert Marine MuseumJune 19, 2008GilfordMeadowbrook U.S. Cellular PavilionJune 20, 2008WallingfordChevrolet TheatreJune 21, 2008RutlandVermont State FairgroundsJune 22, 2008AberdeenAberdeen Proving Ground Leg 2: EuropeJuly 4, 2008PortoPortugalParque da CidadeLove and Rockets, David FonsecaJuly 6, 2008BilbaoSpainBilbao BBK LiveRiders on the Storm, The Blues BrothersJuly 7, 2008CarcassonneFranceThéâtre Jean-DeschampsJuly 8, 2008LyonHalle Tony GarnierJuly 10, 2008ParisZénith de ParisJuly 11, 2008BonnGermanyMuseumsmeileJuly 12, 2008PotsdamLustwieseThin Lizzy, FreeJuly 13, 2008WeertNetherlandsBospopEurope, Ted NugentJuly 15, 2008DifferdangeLuxembourgAréna du CentenaireLance LopezJuly 16, 2008SingenGermanyHohentwielfestivalJuly 18, 2008CarhaixFranceVieilles Charrues FestivalChristophe Maé, Yael NaimJuly 20, 2008Six-Fours-les-PlagesFestival Les Voix du GaouSteve LukatherJuly 21, 2008Monte CarloMonacoSporting Summer Festival Leg 3: North AmericaAugust 1, 2008AlbuquerqueUnited StatesJournal PavilionBrooks & Dunn, Rodney AtkinsAugust 2, 2008PhoenixCricket Wireless PavilionAugust 3, 2008San BernardinoSan Manuel AmphitheaterAugust 5, 2008NampaIdaho Center AmphitheaterSteve RichardAugust 7, 2008SturgisBuffalo Chip CampgroundSugarlandAugust 8, 2008VancouverCanadaGeneral Motors PlaceRodney AtkinsAugust 9, 2008AuburnUnited StatesWhite River AmphitheatreBrooks & Dunn, Rodney AtkinsAugust 14, 2008LouisvilleFreedom HallAugust 15, 2008SpringfieldIllinois State Fairgrounds GrandstandBrooks & Dunn, Heidi NewfieldAugust 16, 2008OmahaQwest Center OmahaBrooks & Dunn, Justin MooreAugust 17, 2008Oklahoma CityFord CenterBrooks & Dunn, Rodney AtkinsAugust 23, 2008ClarkstonDTE Energy Music TheatreAugust 24, 2008TorontoCanadaMolson Canadian AmphitheatreAugust 25, 2008SyracuseUnited StatesMohegan Sun GrandstandBrooks & Dunn, James OttoAugust 26, 2008AllentownAllentown FairgroundsAugust 29, 2008MilwaukeeHenry Maier Festival ParkGary Allan, Fisher StevensonAugust 31, 2008Fort Leonard WoodFort Leonard WoodBowling for SoupSeptember 5, 2008CharlotteVerizon Wireless AmphitheatreRodney AtkinsSeptember 6, 2008RaleighTime Warner Cable Music PavilionBrooks & Dunn, Rodney AtkinsSeptember 7, 2008CharlottesvilleJohn Paul Jones ArenaRodney AtkinsSeptember 9, 2008YorkYork Fairgrounds Leg 4: North America ("In Your Face")September 26, 2008WichitaUnited StatesCentury II Concert HallBlackberry SmokeSeptember 27, 2008Fort SmithFort Smith Convention CenterSeptember 28, 2008TulsaSpiritBank Event CenterSeptember 30, 2008St. LouisFox TheatreOctober 1, 2008Kansas CityMidland TheatreOctober 3, 2008NashvilleRyman AuditoriumOctober 4, 2008HuntingtonKeith-Albee TheatreOctober 5, 2008ClevelandAllen TheatreOctober 10, 2008ColumbusPalace TheatreOctober 11, 2008IndianapolisMurat TheatreOctober 12, 2008MilwaukeeRiverside TheaterOctober 15, 2008PittsburghPost-Gazette PavilionBrooks & Dunn, Rodney AtkinsOctober 16, 2008Tinley ParkFirst Midwest Bank AmphitheatreOctober 17, 2008MinneapolisOrpheum TheatreBlackberry SmokeOctober 18, 2008Grand ForksChester Fritz AuditoriumOctober 19, 2008Sioux FallsWashington Pavilion of Arts and ScienceOctober 22, 2008PortlandArlene Schnitzer Concert HallOctober 23, 2008PullmanBeasley ColiseumOctober 26, 2008PomonaFairplexThe Tubes, Georgia SatellitesOctober 30, 2008Colorado SpringsPikes Peak CenterBlackberry SmokeOctober 31, 2008DenverParamount TheatreNovember 1, 2008AmarilloAmarillo Civic Center Auditorium

References

External links Peter Zurich's ZZ Top Gallery