ZZ TOP
Le Zénith - Paris, France
July 10, 2008

Almost 6 years have passed since the last time I saw ZZ Top in Paris. It was here, at this same venue, le Zénith.

Summer of 2008 was just crazy! Everyone was on tour: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Poison, KISS, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Saxon... lots of old school bands I love! And to be honest, I hadn't a ticket for this show and it happened to be sold-out!

But I finally managed to grab a ticket and to get in, just in time before the begining of the show.

There was no opening act. ZZ Top started their show somewhere around 8:30pm.

The sound was excellent: all instruments could be heard perfectly. The lights were great too. There were few of them, but they used them very well.

ZZ Top are a great band on stage. It's simply a big party.
But the audience was quite calm, except for a few people. I got into the venue just before they started but managed to get really near to the stage very easily.

Just like when you go to a Rolling Stones concert, I had the impression that half of the auduence were "tourists" instead of long time fans.

Anyway, the band was in a pretty good mood and played a sort of oldies "best of" show. They had no new album to promote. They were touring to promote their DVD "Live From Texas".

The most recent songs we heard were from the 1985 Afterburner album... So it was definitely a concert to please every nostalgic fan around.

They even played two cover songs: "Sloopy Drunk" and "Jailhouse Rock".

A roadie came on stage and we head a voice asking questions in french to Billy: "Comment ça va? Viens-tu du Texas?. C’est très, très loin. " T’es venu en avion?" And then Billy answers "No, No… dans ma Twingo!".

I don't think you need a transaltion for that ;-)
It was a fun moment and a great way to thank the audience with a few words in French.
They started "Im Bad, I'm Nationwide" after this.

That same roadie came by the end of the show to light Billy's cigar on stage.

All ZZ Top gimmicks were here tonight: their choereographies, the John Bolin custom-made guitars, the Harley Davidson's clothes and roars... Maybe the only thing that was missing were the cactuses on stage!

It was a great evening, full of Rock n'Roll and blues.
ZZ Top don't tour often in Europe so I don't know if I'll have the chance to see them again. But I'll always keep a great memory from this gig.

Long Live ZZ Top!

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Setlist ZZ Top – Le Zénith - Paris, France – July 10, 2008

01. Got Me Under Pressure
02. Waitin for the Bus
03. Jesus Just Left Chicago
04. Chevrolet
05. Pincushion
06. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
07. Heard It On The X
08. Just Got Paid
09. I Need You Tonight
10. Cheap Sunglasses
11. Planet of Women
12. Gimme All Your Lovin'
13. Sharp Dressed Man
14. Legs
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15. Tube Snake Boogie
16. La Grange
17. Sloppy Drunk (BB King)
18. Bar-B-B Medley
19. Tush
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20. Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley)

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