Published: August 20, 2008 10:37 pm            

ZZ Top plans fall tour of small, ‘intimate’ venues, including Indy

Insisting they’re revisiting their roots, ZZ Top has planned a fall tour of smaller, more “intimate” venues, including a stop at the Murat Centre in Indianapolis.

That Texas trio — guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill — is scheduled to play the Murat on Oct. 11. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 5, according to the group’s publicist Bob Merlis.

Their In Your Face Tour opens Sept. 26 in Wichita, Kan.

“Earlier this year, because of a routing quirk, we accepted a ‘fill-in’ date at a little old theater in Knoxville. That experience reminded us of our roots, both in terms of a stripped-down, gut-bucket musical approach and the direct connection with the people who came to see us,” Gibbons said in a press statement. “So we said, ‘Why not do this on a more extended basis and have some real fun?’”

Though they completed a tour of Europe before larger festival crowds in eight countries, the band decided to revisit the Knoxville experience and, as Hill put it, “We figured it would be a kick to, so to speak, get in people’s faces and the idea for this tour was born.”

Beard added, “To actually be able to see whole audience and interact with them like this is a throwback to our early days and who wouldn’t want to go back in time?”

Earlier this year, at the Nokia Theatre in Dallas, the band was shot for the Eagle Vision DVD release “Live From Texas” that went on to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s music DVD chart the week it was released. The title has since returned to the top slot on that chart where it has stayed for two consecutive weeks. They are currently touring the United States with Brooks & Dunn. On Sept. 9, the anniversary of their breakthrough album, “Eliminator,” will be celebrated with the release of a special Collectors Edition of the RIAA-certified Diamond album (over 10 million units) by Warner Bros. through Rhino Entertainment.

ZZ Top’s six-week fall tour features some major markets, including Minneapolis, Nashville, Cleveland, St. Louis, Denver, Indianapolis and Kansas City, as well as smaller cities the band last played years ago, such as Grand Forks, N.D.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Huntington, W.Va.; and Sioux Falls, S.D.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.