# El Camino Ocho Tour

The El Camino Ocho Tour was a concert tour through North America and Europe, undertaken by American rock band ZZ Top. The tour's concerts were performed in casinos and fairs from May through September 2008. Band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill dressed in black biker jackets, along with baseball caps and boots. The El Camino Ocho Tour consisted of three legs and 60 shows. Some of the tour was depicted in the concert film Double Down Live.

## Concert overview

Out of the 60 shows performed, each had a similar set list, with 16–21 songs performed. The concerts usually began with techno music played through the PA system, during which the band would walk on stage and begin the show.

### Main set

The first leg of the tour opened with "Gimme All Your Lovin'", while the second and third legs opened with "Got Me Under Pressure". Following the opener, the band performed "Waitin' for the Bus", "Jesus Just Left Chicago", "Chevrolet", and "Pincushion". Every show featured "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", along with "Heard It on the X", "Just Got Paid", "I Need You Tonight", "Cheap Sunglasses", and "Planet of Women". "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" were also included.

### Encores

The encores typically started with "Tube Snake Boogie". This segued into a medley of "La Grange", "Sloppy Drunk Blues", and "Bar-B-Q". The encores usually closed out with "Tush". "Jailhouse Rock" was also occasionally performed.

### Additional songs

A total of 24 different songs were played throughout the tour. "My Head's In Mississippi" was featured as a snippet for a few shows. "I Thank You" was played for the first nine concerts. "It's Only Love" from the Tejas album was eventually dropped from the main set due to technical errors.

## Reception

Despite the fact that the band didn't have a new album to tour with, El Camino Ocho received generally positive reviews. Many reviews did state Gibbons' voice as being "gruff" or "throaty-sounding", and compared to "road gravel". His guitar playing, however, was well received by audiences. The Toronto Sun gave a rating of 4 out of 5 for the concert on August 24, 2008.

## Post-tour
### Double Down Live

The tour was filmed for future DVD release by Jamie Burton Chamberlin. In October 2009, Eagle Vision released Double Down Live, which combined footage from the tour, and featured 4 of the 11 songs being filmed during the tour. An interview was included in the DVD, filmed before the concert at Zénith de Paris.

## Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue :
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening act(s) |
| Leg 1: North America |||||
| May 2, 2008 | Bossier City | United States | Horseshoe Bossier City | |
| May 7, 2008 | Tucson | United States | AVA Amphitheater | Rosie Flores |
| May 9, 2008 | Dixon | United States | Dixon May Fair | |
| May 10, 2008 | Valley Center | United States | Harrah's Rincon | |
| May 15, 2008 | Austin | United States | The Backyard | Rosie Flores |
| May 16, 2008 | Corpus Christi | United States | American Bank Center Arena | Sun Salutation |
| May 22, 2008 | St. Augustine | United States | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| May 23, 2008 | Orange Beach | United States | The Amphitheater at the Wharf | 38 Special |
| May 24, 2008 | Robinsonville | United States | Harrah's Casino Tunica | |
| May 25, 2008 | Little Rock | United States | RiverFest | 38 Special, Bucket of Blues |
| May 29, 2008 | Pelham | United States | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre | Zac Brown Band |
| May 30, 2008 | Johnson City | United States | Freedom Hall Civic Center | Joe Diffie |
| May 31, 2008 | Fort Knox | United States | Godman Army Airfield | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 3, 2008 | Knoxville | United States | Tennessee Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 5, 2008 | Marksville | United States | Paragon Casino Resort | |
| June 6, 2008 | Enterprise | United States | BamaJam | Trace Adkins, Tracy Lawrence |
| June 7, 2008 | Atlanta | United States | Chastain Park Amphitheatre | Zac Brown Band |
| June 8, 2008 | North Charleston | United States | North Charleston Coliseum | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 12, 2008 | Chattanooga | United States | Riverbend Festival | Steel Mill |
| June 13, 2008 | Jackson | United States | Jubilee! Jam | Blind Melon, Eric Church |
| June 14, 2008 | Valdosta | United States | Wild Adventures | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 17, 2008 | Solomons | United States | Calvert Marine Museum | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 19, 2008 | Gilford | United States | Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 20, 2008 | Wallingford | United States | Chevrolet Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 21, 2008 | Rutland | United States | Vermont State Fairgrounds | Blackberry Smoke |
| June 22, 2008 | Aberdeen | United States | Aberdeen Proving Ground | Blackberry Smoke |
| Leg 2: Europe |||||
| July 4, 2008 | Porto | Portugal | Parque da Cidade | Love and Rockets, David Fonseca |
| July 6, 2008 | Bilbao | Spain | Bilbao BBK Live | Riders on the Storm, The Blues Brothers |
| July 7, 2008 | Carcassonne | France | Théâtre Jean-Deschamps | |
| July 8, 2008 | Lyon | France | Halle Tony Garnier | |
| July 10, 2008 | Paris | France | Zénith de Paris | |
| July 11, 2008 | Bonn | Germany | Museumsmeile | |
| July 12, 2008 | Potsdam | Germany | Lustwiese | Thin Lizzy, Free |
| July 13, 2008 | Weert | Netherlands | Bospop | Europe, Ted Nugent |
| July 15, 2008 | Differdange | Luxembourg | Aréna du Centenaire | Lance Lopez |
| July 16, 2008 | Singen | Germany | Hohentwielfestival | |
| July 18, 2008 | Carhaix | France | Vieilles Charrues Festival | Christophe Maé, Yael Naim |
| July 20, 2008 | Six-Fours-les-Plages | France | Festival Les Voix du Gaou | Steve Lukather |
| July 21, 2008 | Monte Carlo | Monaco | Sporting Summer Festival | |
| Leg 3: North America |||||
| August 1, 2008 | Albuquerque | United States | Journal Pavilion | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 2, 2008 | Phoenix | United States | Cricket Wireless Pavilion | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 3, 2008 | San Bernardino | United States | San Manuel Amphitheater | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 5, 2008 | Nampa | United States | Idaho Center Amphitheater | Steve Richard |
| August 7, 2008 | Sturgis | United States | Buffalo Chip Campground | Sugarland |
| August 8, 2008 | Vancouver | Canada | General Motors Place | Rodney Atkins |
| August 9, 2008 | Auburn | United States | White River Amphitheatre | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 14, 2008 | Louisville | United States | Freedom Hall | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 15, 2008 | Springfield | United States | Illinois State Fairgrounds Grandstand | Brooks & Dunn, Heidi Newfield |
| August 16, 2008 | Omaha | United States | Qwest Center Omaha | Brooks & Dunn, Justin Moore |
| August 17, 2008 | Oklahoma City | United States | Ford Center | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 23, 2008 | Clarkston | United States | DTE Energy Music Theatre | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 24, 2008 | Toronto | Canada | Molson Canadian Amphitheatre | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| August 25, 2008 | Syracuse | United States | Mohegan Sun Grandstand | Brooks & Dunn, James Otto |
| August 26, 2008 | Allentown | United States | Allentown Fairgrounds | Brooks & Dunn, James Otto |
| August 29, 2008 | Milwaukee | United States | Henry Maier Festival Park | Gary Allan, Fisher Stevenson |
| August 31, 2008 | Fort Leonard Wood | United States | Fort Leonard Wood | Bowling for Soup |
| September 5, 2008 | Charlotte | United States | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre | Rodney Atkins |
| September 6, 2008 | Raleigh | United States | Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| September 7, 2008 | Charlottesville | United States | John Paul Jones Arena | Rodney Atkins |
| September 9, 2008 | York | United States | York Fairgrounds | |
| Leg 4: North America ("In Your Face") |||||
| September 26, 2008 | Wichita | United States | Century II Concert Hall | Blackberry Smoke |
| September 27, 2008 | Fort Smith | United States | Fort Smith Convention Center | Blackberry Smoke |
| September 28, 2008 | Tulsa | United States | SpiritBank Event Center | Blackberry Smoke |
| September 30, 2008 | St. Louis | United States | Fox Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 1, 2008 | Kansas City | United States | Midland Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 3, 2008 | Nashville | United States | Ryman Auditorium | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 4, 2008 | Huntington | United States | Keith-Albee Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 5, 2008 | Cleveland | United States | Allen Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 10, 2008 | Columbus | United States | Palace Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 11, 2008 | Indianapolis | United States | Murat Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 12, 2008 | Milwaukee | United States | Riverside Theater | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 15, 2008 | Pittsburgh | United States | Post-Gazette Pavilion | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| October 16, 2008 | Tinley Park | United States | First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre | Brooks & Dunn, Rodney Atkins |
| October 17, 2008 | Minneapolis | United States | Orpheum Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 18, 2008 | Grand Forks | United States | Chester Fritz Auditorium | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 19, 2008 | Sioux Falls | United States | Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 22, 2008 | Portland | United States | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 23, 2008 | Pullman | United States | Beasley Coliseum | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 26, 2008 | Pomona | United States | Fairplex | The Tubes, Georgia Satellites |
| October 30, 2008 | Colorado Springs | United States | Pikes Peak Center | Blackberry Smoke |
| October 31, 2008 | Denver | United States | Paramount Theatre | Blackberry Smoke |
| November 1, 2008 | Amarillo | United States | Amarillo Civic Center Auditorium | Blackberry Smoke |