ZZ TOP
Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy - Paris, France
October 16, 2010

Just two years after the last ZZ Top concert in Paris, the long beard Texas rockers were back in the French capital.

Surprise: this concert was announced at the 19 500 capacity Bercy Arena. The two previous ZZ Top shows in Paris were at the Zénith, which has a 7000 people capacity.

Moreover, ZZ Top toured France extensively in July 2010, with no less than 6 gigs in France (Aix Les Bains, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bayonne, Nîmes and Nantes) plus one in Monaco.
That means that we couldn't count on much people coming from outside Paris to see the gig.

Of course, and that was no suprise, The show at Paris Bercy wasn't sold-out.

The concert began with the howling of a wolf, followed by a disco / techno intro, during which I asked myself if I was at the right concert... But a couple of minutes later the guys from ZZ Top were on stage, playing their hit Got Me Under Pressure.

The sound was excellent during the whole show.

But I think the stage was too big for them... A few weeks earlier I saw 8 men at this same stage on Guns'n'Roses concert in Bercy.
With only 3 guys for ZZ Top, the stage looked almost empty.

But those guys know how to deal with this: First, there was a screen on each side of the stage broadcasting the show.
Second, a giant screen behing the stage displayed images during the songs, so people could have a bit more than the music.

Also Billy invited some very special guests on stage... A girl came and asked a few questions like "Billy, are you playing some Blues tinight?" ... and Billy replied "Oui!" (in French!).

But you know he needs a hat when it's Blues Time, so two other girls came on stage to bring him "Le Chapeau du Blues".

You can watch this scene on Youtube.

ZZ Top's setlist was quite classic, playing a collection of their best known hits for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The giant screen behind the stage displayed images during the songs. We saw some girls dancing and playing with a voodoo doll during Pincushion.

Later, there were some old fashion catch scenes during Party On The Patio.

Billy played almost the whole show with the same beautiful guitar. He tooked his Gibson Les Paul for Just Got Paid.

Of course, Billy and Dusty played Legs with their white haired guitar and bass.

Frank's drum was beautiful. It looked like a motorcycle, with lights on the bass drum that turned like a wheel.

So, everything went alright and ZZ Top did a good show, but... It was the least good ZZ Top concert I've seen.
And who's fault was it? The audience!

Not only Bercy was half empty, but most people in there didn't know the songs.
Usually, people on the sides stands up during the show. This was the first time I saw the people in their proper seats during the whole show, except during the encores.

It took more than one hour to wake up the audience.

Except for the first few rows, where the fans were moving and singing, most people looked more like they were watching a movie at a theatre than attending a rock concert.

This demosntrated that Bercy is a venue too large for ZZ Top, especially in France, which is not known for beaing a rock'n'roll country.

Even if the show was good, I was disapointed. I hope next time ZZ Top will come back and play at the Zénith. Or why not at the Olympia...

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Setlist ZZ Top – Bercy Arena - Paris, France – October 16, 2010

01. Got Me Under Pressure
02. Waitin' for the Bus
03. Jesus just left Chicago
04. Pincushion
05. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
06. Future Blues (Willie Brown)
07. Rock Me Baby (B.B. King)
08. Cheap Sunglasses
09. My Head's in Mississippi / I Need You Tonight
10. Hey Joe (Billy Roberts)
11. Brown Sugar
12. Party In The Patio
13. Just Got Paid (+ solos)
14. Gimme All Your Lovin'
15. Sharp Dressed Man
16. Legs
————————————
17. La Grange
18. Tush

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