El Loco-Motion Tour

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 105 shows. The set list included material from El Loco and their previous albums, along with several covers.

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 9, 1983
Legs	5
No. of shows	117 (118 scheduled)
ZZ Top concert chronology

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.

Set list

1. "Groovy Little Hippie Pad"
2. "I Thank You"
3. "Waitin' For The Bus"
4. "Jesus Just Left Chicago"
5. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
6. "Ten Foot Pole"
7. "Manic Mechanic"
8. "Heard It On The X"
9. "Francine"
10. "A Fool For Your Stockings"
11. "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings"
12. "Pearl Necklace"
13. "Cheap Sunglasses"
14. "Dust My Broom"
15. "Arrested For Driving While Blind"
16. "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers"
17. "Just Got Paid"
18. "Party On The Patio"
19. "Jailhouse Rock"
20. "Tube Snake Boogie"
21. "La Grange"
22. "Tush"

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 last song.

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, amount of available tickets and gross revenue

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)	Attendance	Revenue
Leg 1: North America
May 29, 1981	Knoxville	United States	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	Loverboy	N/A	N/A
May 30, 1981	Birmingham		Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum
May 31, 1981	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium
June 3, 1981	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum
June 4, 1981	Savannah		Savannah Civic Center
June 5, 1981	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
June 6, 1981	Charleston		Charleston Civic Center
June 7, 1981	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum
June 10, 1981	Fort Wayne		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		Pittsburgh Civic Arena		12,300 / 16,000	$119,925
June 17, 1981	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum		N/A	N/A
June 18, 1981	Binghamton		Broome County Arena
June 19, 1981	Landover		Capital Centre
June 20, 1981	South Yarmouth		Cape Cod Coliseum
June 21, 1981
June 24, 1981	Rochester		Rochester War Memorial
June 25, 1981	Niagara Falls		Niagara Falls Convention Center
June 26, 1981	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum
June 27, 1981	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
June 30, 1981	New York City		Pier 84
July 5, 1981	Calgary	Canada	Calgary International Raceway	Atlanta Rhythm Section, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Leg 2: North America
July 9, 1981	San Diego	United States	San Diego Sports Arena	38 Special, Loverboy	N/A	N/A
July 11, 1981	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Loverboy
July 12, 1981	Albuquerque		Albuquerque Sports Stadium	Loverboy, Point Blank
July 15, 1981	Odessa		Ector County Coliseum	Loverboy
July 16, 1981	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum
July 17, 1981	Tucson		Tucson Community Center Arena
July 18, 1981	Las Vegas		Las Vegas Convention Center
July 22, 1981	Portland		Portland Memorial Coliseum
July 23, 1981	Spokane		Spokane Coliseum
July 24, 1981	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum
July 25, 1981	Vancouver	Canada	Pacific Coliseum	The Payolas
July 29, 1981	Daly City	United States	Cow Palace	Loverboy
August 1, 1981	Denver		McNichols Sports Arena
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 Arena
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		N/A	N/A
August 15, 1981	St. Louis		Kiel Auditorium
August 16, 1981	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena		15,750 / 18,000	$136,044
August 19, 1981	Wichita		Britt Brown Arena		N/A	N/A
August 20, 1981	Tulsa		Expo Square Pavilion
August 21, 1981	Little Rock		Barton Coliseum
August 22, 1981	Oklahoma City		Myriad Convention Center	Joe Perry Project
August 23, 1981	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
August 26, 1981	Utica		Utica Memorial Auditorium	Crack the Sky
August 27, 1981	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center	Joe Perry Project
August 29, 1981	South Fallsburg		Music Mountain
August 31, 1981	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center	Joe Perry Project
September 1, 1981	Philadelphia		Philadelphia Spectrum	Joe Perry Project, Johnny Van Zant
September 2, 1981	Rochester		Rochester War Memorial	Point Blank
September 5, 1981	Lakeland		Lakeland Civic Center	The Dregs
September 6, 1981	Hollywood		Hollywood Sportatorium
September 9, 1981	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum	Joe Perry Project
September 11, 1981	Glens Falls		Glens Falls Civic Center
Leg 3: Europe
October 1, 1981	Oslo	Norway	Chateau Neuf	Sky High	N/A	N/A
October 2, 1981	Stockholm	Sweden	Göta Lejon
October 6, 1981	Nuremberg	Germany	Hemmerleinhalle	Rose Tattoo
October 8, 1981	Offenbach am Main		Stadthalle
October 9, 1981	Eppelheim		Rhein-Neckar-Halle
October 10, 1981	Hamburg		Congress Centrum Hamburg
October 11, 1981	Berlin		Neue Welt
October 13, 1981	Dortmund		Westfalenhalle
October 14, 1981	Munich		Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle
October 15, 1981	Zurich	Switzerland	Volkshaus
October 17, 1981	Arlon	Belgium	Hall Polyvalent
October 19, 1981	Düsseldorf	Germany	Philips Halle
October 23, 1981	Dijon	France	Parc des Expositions
October 25, 1981	Paris		Pavillon Baltard
October 26, 1981	London	England	Hammersmith Odeon	Girl
Leg 4: United States
October 28, 1981	Houston	United States	Houston Astrodome	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	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		N/A	N/A
December 27, 1981	Dallas		Wintergarden Ballroom
December 28, 1981	Fort Worth		Billy Bob's Texas	The BusBoys
December 31, 1981	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum	Grand Funk Railroad	11,704 / 11,704	$146,300
January 1, 1982	Mobile		Mobile Municipal Auditorium		N/A	N/A
January 3, 1982	Atlanta		Omni Coliseum
January 14, 1982	Greenville		Greenville Memorial Auditorium
January 15, 1982	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
January 20, 1982	Evansville		Roberts Municipal Stadium
January 21, 1982	Columbus		Ohio Center		6,448 / 6,900	$63,292
January 22, 1982	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum		N/A	N/A
January 24, 1982	Huntington		Huntington Civic Center		3,864 / 8,000	$36,785
January 26, 1982	Lexington		Rupp Arena		8,111 / 9,000	$74,343
January 29, 1982	Bethlehem		Stabler Arena		N/A	N/A
February 3, 1982	Evansville		Roberts Municipal Stadium	Taylor Bay Band
Leg 5: United States
March 21, 1982	Daly City	United States	Cow Palace	Prism, LeRoux	N/A	N/A
March 24, 1982	San Diego		San Diego Sports Arena	LeRoux, Prism	11,184 / 14,217	$127,079
March 26, 1982	Los Angeles		Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena		10,455 / 12,000	$112,079
March 30, 1982	Reno		Centennial Coliseum	Prism, LeRoux	N/A	N/A
March 31, 1982	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace	LeRoux, Prism	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 3, 1982	Rapid City		Rushmore Plaza Civic Center		N/A	N/A
April 10, 1982	Salisbury		Wicomico Youth and Civic Center	LeRoux
April 13, 1982	Amarillo		Amarillo Civic Center	LeRoux, Prism	7,850 / 7,850	$73,378
April 14, 1982	Lubbock		Lubbock Coliseum		6,540 / 9,500	$65,864
April 15, 1982	San Antonio		San Antonio Convention Center Arena	Point Blank	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	Jay Boy Adams	3,500 / 3,500	$40,250
April 18, 1982	Tallahassee		Leon County Civic Center	Zebra	6,068 / 10,035	$59,010
Leg 6: Europe
May 28, 1982	Dortmund	Germany	Westfalenhalle	Jethro Tull, Heart	N/A	N/A
May 29, 1982	Würzburg		Kickers-Stadion am Dallenberg	Saga, Spliff
May 30, 1982	Munich		Munich-Riem Airport
May 31, 1982	Geleen	Netherlands	Burgemeester Damen Sportpark	Mink DeVille, Saga
Leg 7: North America
September 14, 1982	Portland	United States	Portland Memorial Coliseum	38 Special	N/A	N/A
September 16, 1982	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum
September 17, 1982	Vancouver	Canada	Pacific Coliseum
September 19, 1982	Edmonton		Northlands Coliseum
September 20, 1982	Calgary		Stampede Corral
September 21, 1982	Butte	United States	Butte Civic Center
September 24, 1982	South Bend		Athletic and Convocation Center
September 25, 1982	Charleston		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		N/A	N/A
October 1, 1982	Milwaukee		MECCA Arena	Shooting Star
October 2, 1982	Rockford		Rockford MetroCentre
Leg 8: United States
December 28, 1982	Amarillo	United States	Amarillo Civic Center	Tommy Tutone	N/A	N/A
December 30, 1982	Tucson		Tucson Community Center Arena
December 31, 1982	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Tommy Tutone, Rose Tattoo
January 1, 1983	Albuquerque		Tingley Coliseum
January 2, 1983	Midland		Chaparral Center	Tommy Tutone
January 5, 1983	Wichita		Britt Brown Arena	Tommy Tutone, Rose Tattoo
January 7, 1983	Norman		Lloyd Noble Center	Tommy Tutone
January 8, 1983	Baton Rouge		Riverside Centroplex	Tommy Tutone, Grand Funk Railroad
January 9, 1983	Mobile		Mobile Municipal Auditorium	Tommy Tutone