# ZZ Top in Calgary Dec 1 - pics inside



## pickslide

Lucked out through the fan club and got first row dead center. Really fun show and Billy G's tone is outrageous. Just the best live tone I think I have ever heard.


----------



## pickslide




----------



## pickslide




----------



## pickslide




----------



## bagpipe

Great pics - looks like a a fun show. Who is cooler than The Rev? None ... none more cool! :smile:


----------



## Jeff Flowerday

Pics are broken.


----------



## Spikezone

DARN! I wanted to see those pics!
-Mikey


----------



## greco

Spikezone said:


> DARN! I wanted to see those pics!
> -Mikey


Mikey...I assure you, I saw them and they were FANTASTIC pics !!....9kkhhd

Cheers

Dave


----------



## pickslide

Darn...I will repost.


----------



## dwagar

great photos, thanks!

wow, you had a great seat. We were to the right of the stage.

gotta love ZZ Top.


----------



## ezcomes

sweet! those drums are awesome...the pic of Billy with the cigar is cool too!


----------



## passenger

Woow, some really great pics there. When are they coming to the east end?


----------



## Jeff Flowerday

ezcomes said:


> sweet! those drums are awesome...the pic of Billy with the cigar is cool too!


There's no smoking in the Saddledome. I'm telling!


----------



## Spikezone

Thanx Pickslide! Excellent pics! I love EVERYTHING about ZZ, EXCEPT that weird toilet roll cover that Rev. Willie G. wears on his head. To me it never was cool, and now, well, I have a good sense of humour, but I just think that that headgear is a worn-out bad idea. Is it just me? It wouldn't stop me from going to one of their shows, though! LOL!
-Mikey


----------



## greco

Spikezone said:


> Thanx Pickslide! Excellent pics! I love EVERYTHING about ZZ, EXCEPT that weird toilet roll cover that Rev. Willie G. wears on his head. To me it never was cool, and now, well, I have a good sense of humour, but I just think that that headgear is a worn-out bad idea. Is it just me? It wouldn't stop me from going to one of their shows, though! LOL!
> -Mikey


From the internet:

_"During a ZZ Top tour in Africa, Billy was introduced to a chief of Cameroon's Bamileke tribe. At the time, Billy was wearing a ten gallon Stetson, but it seems the chief wanted that Stetson very much. Billy was urged to promptly give his Stetson to the chief, however, Gibbons let the chief know that back in Texas there is a custom of "horse tradin'". The chief was more than happy to respond by presenting Billy with the hat we are so used to seeing him with today."_

Dave


----------



## mrmatt1972

greco said:


> From the internet:
> 
> _"During a ZZ Top tour in Africa, Billy was introduced to a chief of Cameroon's Bamileke tribe. At the time, Billy was wearing a ten gallon Stetson, but it seems the chief wanted that Stetson very much. Billy was urged to promptly give his Stetson to the chief, however, Gibbons let the chief know that back in Texas there is a custom of "horse tradin'". The chief was more than happy to respond by presenting Billy with the hat we are so used to seeing him with today."_
> 
> Dave


Interesting. I though the Rev was bald and was overcompensating with the hat. kqoct

Great pics BTW. Thanks for posting them. Has anyone else been inspired to try playing slide with the middle finger because of Billy?


----------



## gtone

Thanks for the seriously cool pics. Hard to beat these guys for a great show. :bow:


----------



## keto

Any clue what amps he was using?

I know you stole that Explorer for me, when can I pick it up kksjur


----------



## Spikezone

greco said:


> From the internet:
> 
> _"During a ZZ Top tour in Africa, Billy was introduced to a chief of Cameroon's Bamileke tribe. At the time, Billy was wearing a ten gallon Stetson, but it seems the chief wanted that Stetson very much. Billy was urged to promptly give his Stetson to the chief, however, Gibbons let the chief know that back in Texas there is a custom of "horse tradin'". The chief was more than happy to respond by presenting Billy with the hat we are so used to seeing him with today."_
> 
> Dave


Thanx for that Dave. It's a cool story and I guess as good a reason as any for wearing it. Neat that Billy puts that much importance on the gesture of the trade with someone from another land, and I respect that! (I still think it looks goofy though! LOL!)
-Mikey


----------



## Spikezone

mrmatt1972 said:


> Has anyone else been inspired to try playing slide with the middle finger because of Billy?


I've always used my middle finger for slide. Don't know why, but it makes it easier to play the rhythm part in TUSH with the slide on.
-Mikey
P.S. As a matter of fact, I just realized that that tiny little avatar pic of me was taken by a friend on his cellphone while I was on stage jamming out TUSH with some friends.


----------



## Jim DaddyO

Cool pics....Thanks for sharing!


----------



## WCGill

Great shots, great location. I saw them way back in 1977 in Dallas, also front row centre, took some great pics too. They looked somewhat more conventional-cowboy then. Thanks.


----------



## pickslide

keto said:


> Any clue what amps he was using?
> 
> Billy does not use an amp per se live. He uses a couple of Marshall JMP preamps as well as some Valvestate power amps among other things. I have heard this info before, but I was chatting with a guy who actually opened for them in BC, so he saw the rig personally. Amazing tone!


----------



## Cdn_Cracker

pickslide said:


> keto said:
> 
> 
> 
> Any clue what amps he was using?
> 
> Billy does not use an amp per se live. He uses a couple of Marshall JMP preamps as well as some Valvestate power amps among other things. I have heard this info before, but I was chatting with a guy who actually opened for them in BC, so he saw the rig personally. Amazing tone!
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I am aware.. they key to Billy's tone lies in stacking a whackload of original Expandoras, which is damn near impossible now with the lack of them on the market and price they are demanding.
> 
> I am not sure how the new re-issues stand up against the originals.
> 
> Great pics by the way!!!
Click to expand...


----------



## pickslide

Cdn_Cracker said:


> pickslide said:
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I am aware.. they key to Billy's tone lies in stacking a whackload of original Expandoras, which is damn near impossible now with the lack of them on the market and price they are demanding.
> 
> I am not sure how the new re-issues stand up against the originals.
> 
> Great pics by the way!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Yes the old Expandora is supposedly better than the new ones, but I hear the new ones are good. I have an old one that I like lots and was really not that hard to find.
> 
> The chain of 6 Expandoras is for show more than anything. Again, I was just talking to a guy who had a first hand look at Billy's setup and spoke to him too and the Expandoras were not even in the chain...at least at the most recent shows.
Click to expand...


----------



## Spikezone

Cdn_Cracker said:


> pickslide said:
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I am aware.. they key to Billy's tone lies in stacking a whackload of original Expandoras, which is damn near impossible now with the lack of them on the market and price they are demanding.
> 
> 
> 
> Probably the price they are demanding nowadays is partly due to the fact that the Rev. Willy G. was praising them so highly! LOL!
> -Mikey
Click to expand...


----------



## pickslide

I got my original in very good condition just this year for $140.


----------



## CocoTone

Who can you believe these days??!? I heard that he actually has a Mojave head and an isocab mic'd to FOH, and the JMPs and Valvestates are for stage vol. Personally, I don't believe he uses those Expandoras. Its just a gimmic.

CT.


----------



## pickslide

I definitely believe the guy I was just talking to about this because he just opened for them on this tour. He said that there is a Mojave head in the rack (scorpion I believe) which is not being used much at this point, but they said they were going to be working it in more.


----------



## Gunny

I also got to seem them from Row 1 in Toronto several summers ago. Fantastic experience. Man, those photos are top quality!!

I was in (now closed) Songbird music store when Billy pulled up in the limo to check out the vintage gear. That was in the afternoon prior to the show. That same night, after the show, he went to Tundra (when it was on Yonge St) and traded an old SG for some other guitar. Ed McDonald showed me the guitar. The case was falling apart. Stupid me, I could have played it, but instead I just looked it over. Ed was NOT selling it.

I guess there's not too many places for the Rev to check out vintage gear in Toronto any more. Those stores are both history.

Love ZZ Top. Fun to play their songs too.


----------



## Pepper_Roni

saw them Edmonton and they were amazing


----------

