El Loco-Motion Tour
| World tour by ZZ Top | |
 | |
| Location | North America, Europe |
|---|---|
| Associated album | El Loco |
| Start date | May 29, 1981 |
| End date | January 8, 1983 |
| Legs | 5 |
| No. of shows | 90 |
| ZZ Top concert chronology | |
The El Loco-Motion Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. The tour took place in North America and Europe from 1981 through 1983. Most of the venues were coliseums, though arenas were visited in later tour dates. Embracing the image of the El Loco album cover, band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill would typically perform in boilersuits with top hats. The El Loco-Motion Tour consisted of five legs and 90 shows. The set list included material from El Loco and their previous albums, along with several covers.
Concert overview
Out of the 90 concerts performed during the El Loco-Motion Tour, each show had a similar set list, with 18-22 songs played. An announcer would introduce the band and begin the show: "The best rock band in the world, from Houston, Texas, it's ZZ Top!" For the 10/28 – 11/01 shows ZZ Top was an opening act (along with The Fabulous Thunderbirds) for The Rolling Stones. Opener for ZZ Top in Europe was Rose Tattoo from Australia.
Main set
Each show began with "Groovy Little Hippie Pad." Following the opener, the band performed a cover of Sam & Dave's "I Thank You", "Waitin' for the Bus", "Jesus Just Left Chicago", "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", and "Don't Tease Me", and "Ten Foot Pole." Every concert featured "Manic Mechanic" during the middle of the set, and "Heard It on the X" was included in each performance. Those songs were typically followed by Freddie King's "I Love the Woman" and "A Fool for Your Stockings", in which Billy Gibbons would give a sermon and short guitar solo that brought the song to a close. "Pearl Necklace" and "Cheap Sunglasses" were also part of the main set. "Arrested for Driving While Blind" was played next and often segued into Funkadelic's "Hit It and Quit It." The end of the main set featured "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers" and "Party on the Patio."
Encores and additional songs
After a brief break, the band would return to perform "Tube Snake Boogie." Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" was sometimes played during the encore. "La Grange" and "Tush" always closed the show. A total of 29 different songs were played throughout the tour. Out of the 10 songs on El Loco, seven of them were performed in full at least once. "Francine" and Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" was sometimes played in the main set, the latter being included once during the encore. "Mexican Blackbird", Freddie King's "Going Down", and Ray Charles' "Let's Go Get Stoned" were also played once during the encore. In Stockholm they played "Just Got Paid" as the very last song.
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Tickets sold / available | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | |||||
| May 29, 1981 | Knoxville | United States | James White Civic Coliseum | ||
| May 30, 1981 | Birmingham | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center | |||
| May 31, 1981 | Nashville | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |||
| June 5, 1981 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | |||
| June 10, 1981 | Fort Wayne | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | |||
| June 12, 1981 | Louisville | Freedom Hall | |||
| June 13, 1981 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | 11,028 / 19,000 | $115,770 | |
| June 14, 1981 | Pittsburgh | Civic Arena | 12,300 / 16,000 | $119,925 | |
| June 19, 1981 | Landover | Capital Centre | |||
| June 20, 1981 | South Yarmouth | Cape Cod Coliseum | |||
| June 21, 1981 | |||||
| June 26, 1981 | New Haven | New Haven Coliseum | |||
| June 27, 1981 | Buffalo | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | |||
| July 5, 1981 | Calgary | Canada | Race City Motorsport Park | ||
| July 11, 1981 | Phoenix | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| July 12, 1981 | Albuquerque | Tingley Coliseum | |||
| July 15, 1981 | Odessa | Ector County Coliseum | |||
| July 16, 1981 | El Paso | El Paso County Coliseum | |||
| July 17, 1981 | Tucson | Tucson Convention Center | |||
| July 18, 1981 | Las Vegas | Las Vegas Convention Center | |||
| July 21, 1981 | Philadelphia | Spectrum | |||
| July 22, 1981 | Portland | Memorial Coliseum | |||
| July 23, 1981 | Spokane | Spokane Coliseum | |||
| July 24, 1981 | Seattle | Seattle Center Coliseum | |||
| July 25, 1981 | Vancouver | Canada | Pacific Coliseum | ||
| August 1, 1981 | Denver | United States | McNichols Sports Arena | ||
| August 2, 1981 | Rapid City | Rushmore Plaza Civic Center | |||
| August 4, 1981 | Salt Lake City | Salt Palace | |||
| August 5, 1981 | Madison | Dane County Coliseum | |||
| August 6, 1981 | Cedar Rapids | Five Seasons Center | |||
| August 7, 1981 | Saint Paul | St. Paul Civic Center | |||
| August 8, 1981 | Omaha | Omaha Civic Auditorium | |||
| August 9, 1981 | East Troy | Alpine Valley Music Theatre | |||
| August 12, 1981 | Sioux Falls | Sioux Falls Arena | |||
| August 13, 1981 | Kansas City | Kemper Arena | 11,544 / 18,000 | $109,668 | |
| August 14, 1981 | Rosemont | Rosemont Horizon | |||
| August 15, 1981 | St. Louis | St. Louis Arena | |||
| August 16, 1981 | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | 15,750 / 18,000 | $136,044 | |
| August 19, 1981 | Valley Center | Kansas Coliseum | |||
| August 20, 1981 | Tulsa | Expo Square Pavilion | |||
| August 21, 1981 | Little Rock | Barton Coliseum | |||
| August 23, 1981 | Shreveport | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | |||
| August 26, 1981 | Utica | Utica Memorial Auditorium | |||
| August 27, 1981 | Springfield | Springfield Civic Center | |||
| August 31, 1981 | Portland | Cumberland County Civic Center | |||
| September 5, 1981 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Center Arena | |||
| September 6, 1981 | Pembroke Pines | Hollywood Sportatorium | |||
| September 9, 1981 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | |||
| Europe | |||||
| October 2, 1981 | Stockholm | Sweden | Göta Lejon | ||
| October 6, 1981 | Nuremberg | Germany | Hemmerleinhalle | ||
| October 8, 1981 | Offenbach | Stadthalle Offenbach | |||
| October 9, 1981 | Heidelberg | Rhein-Neckar-Halle | |||
| October 10, 1981 | Hamburg | Congress Centrum Hamburg | |||
| October 11, 1981 | Berlin | Neue Welt | |||
| October 13, 1981 | Dortmund | Westfalenhalle 3 | |||
| October 14, 1981 | Munich | Circus Krone Building | |||
| October 19, 1981 | Düsseldorf | Philips Halle | |||
| October 25, 1981 | Paris | France | Pavillon Baltard | ||
| October 26, 1981 | London | England | Hammersmith Odeon | ||
| North America | |||||
| October 28, 1981 | Houston | United States | Astrodome | 65,000 / 65,000 | $1,202,500 |
| October 29, 1981 | |||||
| October 31, 1981 | Dallas | Cotton Bowl | 156,000 / 156,000 | $2,695,332 | |
| November 1, 1981 | |||||
| December 26, 1981 | Houston | The Summit | |||
| December 27, 1981 | Dallas | Wintergarden Ballroom | |||
| December 28, 1981 | Fort Worth | Billy Bob's | |||
| December 31, 1981 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | 11,704 / 11,704 | $146,300 | |
| January 15, 1982 | Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum | |||
| January 20, 1982 | Evansville | Roberts Municipal Stadium | |||
| January 21, 1982 | Columbus | Battelle Hall | 6,448 / 6,900 | $63,292 | |
| January 24, 1982 | Huntington | Huntington Civic Center | 3,864 / 8,000 | $36,785 | |
| January 26, 1982 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | 8,111 / 23,000 | $74,343 | |
| January 29, 1982 | Bethlehem | Stabler Arena | |||
| March 21, 1982 | Daly City | Cow Palace | |||
| March 24, 1982 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | 11,184 / 14,217 | $127,079 | |
| March 26, 1982 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 10,455 / 12,000 | $112,079 | |
| March 31, 1982 | Salt Lake City | Salt Palace | 10,445 / 13,000 | $104,450 | |
| April 1, 1982 | Denver | McNichols Sports Arena | 15,838 / 18,000 | $182,043 | |
| April 2, 1982 | Lincoln | Pershing Auditorium | 9,137 / 9,137 | $92,820 | |
| April 13, 1982 | Amarillo | Amarillo Civic Center | 7,850 / 7,850 | $73,378 | |
| April 14, 1982 | Lubbock | Lubbock Coliseum | 6,540 / 9,500 | $65,864 | |
| April 15, 1982 | San Antonio | Convention Center Arena | 11,564 / 12,500 | $116,443 | |
| April 16, 1982 | Austin | Frank Erwin Center | 17,700 / 17,700 | $176,481 | |
| April 17, 1982 | New Orleans | The Warehouse | 3,500 / 3,500 | $40,250 | |
| April 18, 1982 | Tallahassee | Leon County Civic Center | 6,068 / 10,035 | $59,010 | |
| Europe | |||||
| May 28, 1982 | Dortmund | Germany | Westfalenhalle | ||
| May 29, 1982 | Würzburg | Carl-Diem-Sportgelände | |||
| May 30, 1982 | Munich | Munich-Riem Airport | |||
| May 31, 1982 | Landgraaf | Netherlands | Pinkpop Festival | ||
| North America | |||||
| August 17, 1982 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||
| September 20, 1982 | Calgary | Stampede Corral | |||
| September 25, 1982 | Charleston | United States | Charleston Civic Center | 8,851 / 11,301 | $99,187 |
| September 28, 1982 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens | 8,894 / 16,000 | $106,566 |
| September 30, 1982 | Dayton | United States | Hara Arena | ||
| October 1, 1982 | Milwaukee | MECCA Arena | |||
| December 30, 1982 | Tucson | Tucson Convention Center | |||
| December 31, 1982 | Phoenix | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |||
| January 2, 1983 | Midland | Midland College | |||
| January 5, 1983 | Valley Center | Kansas Coliseum | |||
| January 8, 1983 | Baton Rouge | Riverside Centroplex | |||
