Expect No Quarter Tour

Expect No Quarter Tour
Concert tour by ZZ Top
Location	North America, Europe
Start date	November 16, 1979 (1979-11-16)
End date	January 3, 1981 (1981-01-03)
Legs	3
Shows	79
ZZ Top tour chronology
Worldwide Texas Tour (1976-1977) Expect No Quarter Tour (1979-1981) El Loco-Motion Tour (1981-1983)

The Expect No Quarter Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. Launched in support of Degüello, the band performed in coliseums from 1979 through 1981. Unlike the previous Worldwide Texas Tour, the Expect No Quarter Tour's stage set was simple and featured a drum riser with an animated screen of the band's logo. The tour saw band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill sport chest-length beards.

The Expect No Quarter Tour had three legs and 79 shows. The tour took ZZ Top to Europe for the first time. The set list included material from Degüello and their previous albums, along with several covers. A concert in Essen, Germany was filmed as part of the Rockpalast German television series, and was included on the DVD Double Down Live released in October 2009.

Concert overview

Out of the 79 concerts performed during the Expect No Quarter Tour, each show had a similar set list, with 19-24 songs played. The concerts began with mariachi-style music, with which the band members would walk on stage and begin the show. The March 21, 1980 concert at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati was the first concert at the arena since 11 persons were killed in a crowd crush at The Who concert on December 3, 1979.

Main set

Each concert opened with a cover of Sam & Dave's "I Thank You," which often segued into "Waitin' for the Bus" and "Jesus Just Left Chicago." Following these songs, the band performed "Precious and Grace," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," "Manic Mechanic," "Lowdown in the Street," and "Heard It on the X." Every show included "A Fool for Your Stockings"; Gibbons gave a sermon leading into a short guitar solo that brought the song to a close. Many shows included "Arrested for Driving While Blind"; "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings," "El Diablo," and "Cheap Sunglasses," and "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers" were played at every show. "La Grange" was played at the end of the main set, often performed as a medley with a cover of "Sloppy Drunk Blues" and "Bar-B-Q."

Encores

After a brief break, the band would return to perform "She Loves My Automobile" and "Hi-Fi Mama." Both songs were performed with pre-recorded horn section parts; a video shown behind the stage featured Gibbons, Hill, and drummer Frank Beard playing saxophones. Gibbons introduced themselves as the "Lone Wolf Horns," a nod to their manager Bill Ham who was a part of the Lone Wolf Management Company in Austin, Texas. The rest of the first encore typically consisted of a cover of Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" followed, along with Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock." "Tush" usually closed the show.

Additional songs

A total of 26 different songs were played throughout the tour. An early version of "Tube Snake Boogie" and "Just Got Paid" were performed at the concert in Essen, Germany as a second encore. "Francine" and a cover of Robert Parker's "Barefootin'" were played only once.

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America
November 20, 1979	Shreveport	United States	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
November 22, 1979	Baton Rouge		Riverside Centroplex
November 23, 1979	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
November 24, 1979	Jackson		Mississippi Coliseum
November 25, 1979	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium
November 27, 1979	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
November 28, 1979	Lexington		Rupp Arena
November 30, 1979	Kalamazoo		Wings Stadium
December 1, 1979	Detroit		Cobo Arena
December 2, 1979	Lansing		Lansing Civic Center
December 5, 1979	Trotwood		Hara Arena
December 13, 1979	Norfolk		Norfolk Scope
December 14, 1979	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
December 15, 1979	Salem		Salem Civic Center
December 19, 1979	Omaha		Omaha Civic Auditorium
December 23, 1979	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum
December 29, 1979	Fort Worth		Tarrant County Convention Center
December 31, 1979	Atlanta		Omni Coliseum
January 4, 1980	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
January 5, 1980	Dallas		Dallas Convention Center
January 6, 1980	Fort Worth		Tarrant County Convention Center
January 17, 1980	Mobile		Mobile Civic Center
January 20, 1980	Lakeland		Lakeland Center
February 1, 1980	Denver		McNichols Sports Arena
February 5, 1980	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 10, 1980	San Diego		San Diego Sports Arena
February 14, 1980	San Bernardino		Swing Auditorium
February 15, 1980	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena
March 2, 1980	Madison		Dane County Coliseum
March 4, 1980	Milwaukee		Milwaukee Auditorium
March 8, 1980	Kansas City		Municipal Auditorium
March 9, 1980
March 14, 1980	Chicago		Aragon Ballroom
March 15, 1980
March 16, 1980
March 21, 1980	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
March 22, 1980	Cleveland		Public Auditorium
March 24, 1980	Saginaw		Wendler Arena
March 26, 1980	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
March 29, 1980	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
March 30, 1980	Landover		Capital Centre
April 1, 1980	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
April 3, 1980	Toronto	Canada	Maple Leaf Gardens
April 4, 1980	New Haven	United States	New Haven Coliseum
April 6, 1980	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center
April 9, 1980	Louisville		Freedom Hall
Europe
April 20, 1980	Essen	Germany	Grugahalle
April 21, 1980	Paris	France	Pavillon Baltard
April 24, 1980	London	England	Hammersmith Odeon
North America
May 1, 1980	Springfield	United States	Springfield Civic Center
May 2, 1980	Uniondale		Nassau Coliseum
May 4, 1980	Passaic		Capitol Theatre
May 8, 1980	Springfield		Prairie Capital Convention Center
May 10, 1980	Fort Wayne		War Memorial Coliseum
May 17, 1980	Houston		Summit
May 22, 1980	Edmonton	Canada	Northlands Coliseum
July 5, 1980	Orlando	United States	Tangerine Bowl
July 11, 1980	Salisbury		Wicomico Youth and Civic Center
July 16, 1980	Waterbury		Palace Theatre
July 18, 1980	Lebanon		Lebanon Valley Speedway
July 27, 1980	Biloxi		Mississippi Coast Coliseum
August 20, 1980	Clarkston		Pine Knob Music Theatre
August 30, 1980	East Troy		Alpine Valley Music Theatre
August 31, 1980
October 29, 1980	Pine Bluff		Pine Bluff Convention Center
October 30, 1980	Lake Charles		Lake Charles Civic Center
November 12, 1980	West Palm Beach		West Palm Beach Auditorium
November 16, 1980	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
November 23, 1980	Champaign		Assembly Hall
November 27, 1980	Mobile		Municipal Auditorium
November 28, 1980	Atlanta		Fox Theatre
December 5, 1980	Flagstaff		Skydome
December 27, 1980	Mobile		Expo Hall
December 28, 1980	Baton Rouge		Riverside Centroplex
December 29, 1980	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
December 31, 1980	Dallas		Reunion Arena
January 2, 1981	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
January 3, 1981	Biloxi		Mississippi Coast Coliseum

References