Associated album Rhythmeen No. of shows 91 Leg 4 | Legs 4 Period 1996 – 8 March 1997 | |
Location Europe, Africa, North America Start date June 14, 1996 (1996-06-14) End date March 8, 1997 (1997-03-08) | ||
Zz top interview stockholm continental safari tour
The Continental Safari Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band ZZ Top. Launched in support of the group's 1996 album, Rhythmeen, the tour's shows were performed in stadiums and arenas from 1996 through 1997. The tour consisted of four legs and 91 shows, and took ZZ Top to South Africa for the first time.
Contents
Concert overview
Out of the 91 shows performed during the Continental Safari Tour, each show had a similar set list. There were 19-22 songs performed by the band at each show. The concerts typically began with African drum/electronic music played through the PA system, during which the band members would walk on stage.
Main set
During the first European leg, each show opened with a performance of "I Thank You." Following "I Thank You", the band performed "Stop Breaking Down", "I Walked from Dallas", "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings", "Mexican Blackbird", "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", "Brown Sugar", "What's Up with That", and "She's Just Killing Me." "Blue Jean Blues" was featured during the middle of the set, as well as "Heard It on the X." "Pearl Necklace", "Cheap Sunglasses", and "Just Got Paid" were played at most of the early European shows. Those songs were followed by the trio of hits from the Eliminator album, which included "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man", and "Legs."
For the rest of the tour, the band's set had small changes, opening with "Got Me Under Pressure." "Mexican Blackbird" was omitted, adding the songs "Pincushion" and "Party on the Patio." Songs from Rhythmeen were performed, including "Vincent Price Blues", "Rhythmeen", and "Bang, Bang."
Encores
The band would walk from backstage to perform old fan favorites like "La Grange" and "Tush." In later shows, "She's Just Killing Me" was featured in the encore instead of the main set. This was followed by another brief break, and the show would close with "Tube Snake Boogie" and a cover of "Jailhouse Rock."
A total of 25 different songs were played throughout the tour. Out of the 12 songs on Rhythmeen, only five of them were played in full at least once.