Hammer Of The Gods

August 31, 1969 - Lewisville

2011-03-06T22:42:00.007+01:00

August 31, 1969

Texas International Pop Festival
Motor Speedway
Lewisville, TX

Audience Recording:

101. The Train Kept A Rollin
102. I Can't Quit You Babe
103. Dazed and Confused
104. You Shook Me
105. How Many More Times
106. Communication Breakdown

Taper: Reggie the Bullet
Soundboard Recording:

201. Introduction
202. The Train Kept A Rollin'
203. I Can't Quit You
204. Dazed And Confused
205. You Shook Me
206. How Many More Times
207. Communication Breakdown

An excellent show, perfectly consolidating all of the great playing that this tour had produced, from the powerful opener to the extended end of show medley, complete with Plant doing his best adlibs yet. An easy choice for one of the very best shows of the year. As if the performance wasn't enough, a superb soundboard, as well as a near-excellent audience sources circulate for this show. Plant mentioned about the cancelled August 4th concert: "It's very nice to be back in Texas. Last time we were here it was a near disaster when we said we weren't doing the festival and everything. This is the last date before we go back to England, so we'd really like to have a nice time ... And you can help us." Plant also apologised for cutting the set short: "We've got to say goodnight according to the programme. Unfortunately, the programme has got a little delayed but there's nothing we can do about it!" Pages amps act up during a few spots in the show, producing brief crackling sounds, as if his guitar cable or a connection somewhere was coming loose. Although not at all a distraction for the listener, this makes for a funny moment during Dazed And Confused and How Many More Times, when Page's amps can be heard briefly picking up the sound of the festival security staff speaking on their radios.

Texas International Pop Festival was full of surprises for artists, fans, onlookers August 30, 2009 By MICHAEL E. YOUNG and ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News

After Woodstock, where most attendees walked in for free, organizers of the Lewisville festival knew they needed better security.

So they hired men like James Polser, then 28 and selling Chevys at Huffines before taking over his family's Lewisville Feed Mill in 1978. Handy on horseback, Polser and others patrolled the perimeter of the property, and saw some sights that still shock them 40 years later:

"I was out there on my horse, riding the fence line, and there was a man and a woman and a little baby, and they asked if they could put the baby on my horse and take a picture of him," Polser recalled.

"I said that was fine. The only thing was that the woman – and she was a good-looking woman – she had her pants on and that was all.

"And nobody paid any attention, except for me and my heart attack. Gosh almighty, we saw things that would blow your mind."

Led Zeppelin
gets the news

Even among the stellar lineup at the Lewisville pop festival, none was hotter in the summer of '69 than Led Zeppelin. So when the band came to perform at the Fair Park Coliseum on Aug. 4, three weeks before the festival, Angus Wynne III and his partners saw a chance for some publicity.

"We found their road manager, and we said we wanted to make sure the band recognized the festival from the stage," Wynne said. "And he said, 'Well, the fellows think they're going to be on vacation then. They don't know about it.'

"The band gets on stage, and after a couple of songs, Robert Plant says, 'Anyone heard of the Texas International Pop Festival? We got into town today and saw the posters with our name on them. We've never heard of it. It's a classic ripoff, and if you have tickets, you need to get your money back.' "

Furious, the producers found the road manager locked inside a limousine.

They pounded on the windows and almost tipped the car over before the manager emerged.

"He ran out there and he pulls Plant over to the side and whispers in his ear," Wynne said. "Then Plant grabs him by the lapels and starts shaking him.

"At the end of the song, Plant goes to the microphone and says, 'Yeah, we're going to play [at the festival]. Our weasel road manager just told us.' "

How Wavy Gravy got his name

He arrived in Lewisville as Hugh Romney, the gentle, gravel-voiced jokester who'd promised the crowd at Woodstock "breakfast in bed for 400,000."

But after a brush with blues royalty at the Texas International Pop Festival, Romney would forever be Wavy Gravy.

Exhausted from hours spent around Lewisville Lake urging nude festivalgoers to cover up, Romney collapsed on the free stage at a lakeside campground.

"They had these conga drummers on the stage, and I said, 'Don't dance on the wavy gravy,' " he said. "Then someone announced that B.B. King was there, and he was going to play for free.

"I started to get up, and I felt this hand on my shoulder and it was B.B. King. And he said, 'Are you Wavy Gravy?' and I just said, 'Yes, sir,' and he said, 'Wavy Gravy, I can work around you.'

"And he stood me up next to his amplifier, and Johnny Winter comes from the other side, and they played all night long.

"I was Hugh Romney at Woodstock, but I've been Wavy Gravy for 40 years."

'Lewd and loose in Lewisville'

A Dallas Morning News editorial helped whip up the fear and loathing for all those hippies coming to hear all that music.

An Aug. 30, 1969, editorial headlined "Nausea at Lewisville" told readers:

"Young people assembling to hear music is one thing. Young people assembling in unspeakable costumes, half-naked, barefooted, defying propriety and scorning morality is another.

"... We hope readers of this newspaper will realize this weekend that the great majority of youngsters in this area are at home where they ought to be – mowing yards, working at part-time jobs and preparing for useful lives.

"In the meantime, the lewd and loose at Lewisville will swing and sway. They are to be pitied."

Lu Mitchell remembers the heat, the refreshing water hose, leaflets dropped from an airplane, the friendly crowd and enjoying the music, particularly Janis Joplin, until 5 a.m.

A singer-songwriter herself, now living in Farmers Branch, Mitchell didn't care much for the editorial stance. "I got so upset over that that I wrote this song," she said. It's a song she still performs at age 85.

We were lewd and loose in Lewisville, we had us a time

Lewd and loose in Lewisville covered with dirt and grime

We were unsanitary and full of fleas

Some had beards clear down to their knees

Lewd and loose in Lewisville

The Dallas News told you so.

Freak meets west Pop fest Texas style
Texas Magazine, Sunday, Sept. 21, 1969
By Jeff Millar
That's it. That's all. I've seen everything. The entire staff of Mt. Palomar could say Uranus
has traded orbits with Mercury and I'd yawn.A headline in The Chronicle could say
WALKING CATFISH LEARN SHUFFLE-OFF-TOBUFFALO and I’d say so what.
I saw a small-Texas-town cop walk out or, a stage, shoot the peace sign to about 35,000
hippies and plastic hippies -- a good 10 percent of them zonked on some kind of drug or
another -- and say: "Any time you want to come back, you're welcome."
How're ya gonna top that Armageddon? This happened -- I swear it did -- Labor Day
weekend at the Texas International Pop Festival at Lewisville (pop. 10,000). Little
Bethel. Son of Woodstock. Freak Meets West 18 miles north of Dallas at a motor speedway
and five miles away at the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir campground.
I: Pop Protocol
Pop festivals have been around only a couple of years and it wasn't until Woodstock, up in
New York, that the pop festival protocols really solidified. Previously, pop festivals had been
like jazz festivals; one undergoes a certain amount of privation -- crowding, uncomfortable seating,expensive tickets, scarcity of housing -- to be able to hear a lot of artists back to back. At Woodstock, however, where 400,000 turned up when the promoters expected maybe 150,000 tops, the whole festival environment became the thing. The music was secondary. You probably couldn't hear it because you couldn't sit close enough, or you never got there to begin with. But you were part of the Experience, part of the Presence. The more freaks the better. You were there at the Gathering. Great God Almighty, for one time there was more of You than there was of Them. The national press thought this was an epochal event. Big spreads in Life. Huntley-Brinkley. The Festival Style was set. So the people coming to Lewisville knew what to do. The main thing was no hassles that would upset the fuzz. I.E., no breaking up things, beating up on each other or the local yokels. The idea is to keep the cops out of the festival area so that no one will get busted for pot or hard stuff. The cops know that people are using drugs. The people know the cops know. And the people know that the cops are willing to trade drugs for no hassles. If there are 40,000 people there, the cops can't handle the hassles. So no hassles.

II: Freaks Meet Cowboys
If the pop festival wasn't enough, the Lewisville Rodeo was in town that weekend. By Sunday, the road from IH 35E to the campgrounds, where a good 2500 festival goers had crashed, was half-and-half with psychedelic VW buses and bashed-up Chevy pickups with gun racks and U.S. flag decals. The cowboys were coming to eyeball the freaks.
Out on the water, a good 100 freaks were skinnydipping. There had been nude swimming at Woodstock, so there had to be nude swimming at Lewisville. The cops weren't doing anything. A Department of Public Safety helicopter was circling, looking mildly disapproving, but there were no hassles. More of Us than there are of Them.
Up on the bank, two cowboys from the rodeo were watching. They were drinking Pearl and watching. There weren't as man}' girls swimming nekkid as you'd like, but it was better than TV back at the motel. "Get the cowboys"' cried one of the skinnydippers, and about 15 naked, giggling freaks emerged from the water and began to take off the cowboys' clothes. The cowboys kept their bottles of Pearl and walked into the water. They were grub white from the waist down. The ground hurt their feet. Later, it was reported, the cowboys arm-wrestled on the campground free bandstand. They had the strobe lights on them, and the rock band was playing "God Bless America." The sky was black with Cessnas buzzing within 15 feet of the freaks. The water offshore was black with outboards. It seemed every square inch of campground not occupied by a freak was occupied by a '68 Fairlane. The motor was running, the windows were up, the air-conditioner was running, the doors were
locked, and the people inside had the same look of passivity and awe that they would have if they were parked on a bluff watching the Trinity River rage two feet from flood crest.
Down by the bank, a whole family had turned up in a Chevy quarter-ton. They had lawn chairs for the truck bed, a Styrofoam cooler full of beer and Cokes-and binoculars. A girl sunbathing naked had her back to them. When another freak told her she was being watched, she turned around to face them.

III: Get Stoned Just Sitting There
At the festival grounds, they liked Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter and Led Zeppelin, but they were crazy over B. B. King. There weren't any badges inside the festival grounds. There were freaks with little orange badges that said SECURITY. Near the infirmary, there were two girls with Red-Cross armbands. They had on bikinis. Sometimes they wore the armbands on their legs. If you cut your foot or got too much sun, they took you to the first aid tent. If you'd taken drugs and were getting zapped bad by it, they called over somebody from the Hog Farm and took you to the trip tent. The Hog Farm is the New Mexico commune which got good display space in Life when they ran the trip tent and free kitchen at Woodstock.
Nobody was ducking behind anything at either the festival grounds or the campgrounds to take drugs. A festival spokesman was giving the press a statement that he knew of no drug use while somebody was leaning against the fence behind him rolling a joint of marijuana. Sweet smoke. More of Us than there are of Them.
Near the body-painting tent, a guy in cut-offs, a Jimi Hendrix hat, and shower slippers, looking hot and hassled, asks:
"Hey man, do you know where I can buy a straight cigaret?"

J. Millar | HOUSTON CHRONICLE 8/13/1989
I wasn't at the "Woodstock" Woodstock. But I was at the "Texas "Woodstock.

Less than two weeks after the tribes left Max Yasgur's farm, they regathered in the heart o' Texas. And I was there. The Chronicle sent me to Lewisville, a prototype of a little North Texas town near Dallas. On Saturday, Aug. 30, 1969, I was standing on the banks of a reservoir at a Corps of Engineers campground watching rednecks watching the early arrival hippies skinny-dipping. An editorial in the Dallas Morning News that morning greeted the tribes:

"Young people assembling to hear music is one thing. Young people assembling in unspeakable costumes, half-naked, barefooted, defying propriety and scorning morality is another.

"Who and where are their parents? Where do these young people get the money to loaf around the country in their smelly regalia?"

There were three days of music, through Monday, Labor Day. The crowd estimates averaged about 100,000. I don't remember who was positioned as the headliner. At this distance, the only performer I remember is Janis Joplin. I watched from a plywood sound booth at the side of the stage. She did everything in exact concordance with the legend: screeched, spoke unintelligibly between songs, swigged from a bottle of liquor.

As they had at Woodstock, members of the Hog Farm, a New Mexico commune, set up a trip tent at Lewisville and escorted those who were having a bad trip or needed medical attention.

Whatever went on up in New York has now become known as "Woodstock." The Texas International Pop Festival was known as "Lewisville" for the length of time it was remembered, which, stretching it, may have been as long as Sept. 21, 1969, when my story appeared in Texas magazine.

We called the story, "Freak Meets West." Excerpts are printed here:

Popfest Texas style: That's it. That's all. I've seen everything. A small-Texas-town cop walked out on a stage, shot the peace sign to about 35,000 hippies - a good 10 percent of them zonked on some kind of drug or another - and said: "Any time you want to come back, you're welcome."

This happened - I swear it did - Labor Day weekend at the Texas International Pop Festival at Lewisville (population 10,000). Little Bethel. Son of Woodstock. Freak Meets West 18 miles north of Dallas at a motor speedway and five miles away at the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir campground.

Pop festivals have been around only a couple of years, and it wasn't until Woodstock that the pop festival protocol was really solidified. Previously, pop festivals had been like jazz festivals; one undergoes a certain amount of privation - crowding, uncomfortable seating, expensive tickets, scarcity of housing - to be able to hear a lot of artists back to back. At Woodstock, however, where 400,000 turned up when the promoters expected maybe 150,000 tops, the whole festival environment became the thing. The music was secondary. You probably couldn't hear it because you couldn't sit close enough, or you never got there to begin with. But you were part of the Experience, part of the Presence. The more freaks the better. You were there at the Gathering. Great God Almighty, for one time there was more of You than there was of Them.

The national press thought this was an epochal event. Big spreads in Life. On Huntley-Brinkley. The Festival Style was set. So the people coming to Lewisville knew what to do.

The main thing was no hassles that would upset the fuzz: No breaking up things, beating up on each other or the local yokels. The idea was to keep the cops out of the festival area so that no one would get busted for pot or hard stuff. The cops were willing to trade drugs for no hassles. With that crowd, the cops couldn't handle the hassles. So no hassles.

Freaks Meet Cowboys: If the pop festival wasn't enough, the Lewisville Rodeo was in town that weekend. By Sunday, the road from IH 350 to the campgrounds, where a good 2,500 festival goers had crashed, was half-and-half with psychedelic VW buses and bashed-up Chevy pickups with gun racks and U.S. flag decals. The cowboys were coming to eyeball the freaks.

Out on the water, a good 100 freaks were skinny-dipping. There had been nude swimming at Woodstock, so there had to be nude swimming at Lewisville.

Up on the bank, two cowboys from the rodeo were watching. They were drinking Pearl and watching. There weren't as many girls swimming nekkid as you'd like, but it was better than TV back at the motel.

"Get the cowboys!" cried one of the skinny-dippers, and about 15 naked, giggling freaks emerged from the water and began to take off the cowboys' clothes. The cowboys kept their bottles of Pearl and walked into the water. They were grub white from the waist down. The ground hurt their feet.

The sky was black with Cessnas buzzing within 15 feet of the freaks. The water offshore was black with outboards. It seemed every square inch of campground not occupied by a freak was occupied by a '68 Ford Fairlane. The motor was running, the windows were up, the air-conditioner was running, the doors were locked, and the people inside had the same look of passivity and awe that they would have if they were parked on a bluff watching the Trinity River in a raging flood.

Down by the bank, a whole family had turned up in a Chevy quarter-ton. They had lawn chairs for the truck bed, a cooler full of beer and Cokes - and binoculars. A girl sunbathing naked had her back to them. When another freak told her she was being watched, she turned around to face them.

Get stoned just sitting there: At the festival grounds, they liked Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter and Led Zeppelin, but they were crazy over B.B. King.

Near the body-painting tent, a guy in cut-offs, a Jimi Hendrix hat and shower slippers, looking hot and hassled, asked:

"Hey man, do you know where I can buy a straight cigarette?"

August 18, 1969 - Toronto

2011-03-06T22:10:00.007+01:00

August 18, 1969

The Rock Pile
Toronto, ON

Early Show

101. Train Kept a Rollin
102. I Can't Quit You
103. Dazed and Confused
104. You Shook Me
105. How Many More Times

Late Show

201. Train Kept a Rollin
202. I Can't Quit You
203. Dazed and Confused
204. White Summer
205. You Shook Me
206. How Many More Times
207. Communication Breakdown

The first show was a great opening set that would be nothing when compared to the scorching second show here! The recording has many volume fluctuations but is fairly clear. The playing here is hot, though. Dazed And Confused is short, compact and powerful, and You Shook Me and How Many More Times are breathtaking in power and playing, and short to work to a maximum effect. Just wait until the next show! What an excellent show in front of the best crowd you'll ever hear! The band is just brilliant here and plays their guts out for this great audience. The band is so exciting to be in Canada after a bad reception from the side of Texas audience few days before what caused of Plant's long comments: "It's very nice to be back, but we've got a lot of problems. We've just come from San Antonio in Texas, wjere all the geezers thought we should get our hair cut, and we've been through that and everybody's been feeling rather bad, so we're very pleased to be here one way or ranother. It's nice to be back. We'd like to say hello to anybody from the British Isles, including Scotland and two geezers who used to come from Birmingham in a group called The Yellow Rainbow. Nice to see you're still nicking gear! And so, if everybody can feel free and easy, we'd like to see what we can do." How Many More Times is filled with some tense drama that is broken by Robert laughing when he can't hit the highest note. A very hot reception caued Plant to introduce the band in a verry funny mood: "We'd like to try to draw a conclusion to what's been a very hectic day. We'd like to tell you that Texas is still as it was when you last read about it and that England is still what it always will be, and we'd like to see you very shortly again, but if not you could all move to the Bahamas or something ... on bass guitar, Hammond organ, and throne ... King John Paul Jones, on drums John Henry Bonham and on lead guitar and as many chicks as he can find ... Jimmy Page!" Then Bonham took the microphone and inctroduced Plant as "straight from the Labour club at Cradley Heath." Communication Breakdown is a blistering version for an encore.

Review: Led Zeppelin Soars to the Pop Stratosphere

With the exception of the Toronto Pop Festival, last night’s Led Zeppelin concert at the Rock Pile was the most significant pop event this year. Not only were the two shows completely sold out in advance, but at least 2,000 were turned away, the management reported.

They missed out on one of the finest shows ever to pour sweat onto the Rock Pile stage. Led Zeppelin proved itself not only to be one conceivable replacement for Cream, but at times I doubt if even Clapton, Bruce and baker could have topped what Zeppelin offered.

At its tightest, Cream was the most exciting band of musicians in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, yet the Zeppelin came close to equaling it.

Six months ago, this four-piece band was unknown, save for lead guitarist Jimmy Page, who had gained an impressive reputation with the Yardbirds.

Two concert tours later, the band has become the most popular English group on the scene, with the exception of Beatles and possibly Rolling Stones.

But it’s not surprising. When the Zeppelin plays blues, it plays them as few white men ever have. Judging by last night’s concert, I’d even go as far as to say that very few colored bands could touch it. Certainly there are better individual musicians then the members of Led Zeppelin but, together it’s difficult to imagine a more cohesive and colorful team.

Led Zeppelin was not a band for the chicken-hearted or the people who want subtlety and soft messages in their music. It lays it all out, hard and heavy, and it was the sort of thing that only a dyed-in-the-groove rock ‘n’ roller can take.

I don’t want to sound overawed, but I do believe it is the strongest, tightest band to emerge from the current vogue of white blues groups.

The most amazing thing was the improvement in the group since its first appearance here last February, when it was a fledgling blues band. It had the ideas and the dynamics, but the expertise was yet to develop.

Now it has, and as the band says in one of its best known songs, Led Zeppelin leave one feeling dazed and confused. (R. Yorke, G&M ‘Pop Scene’, Aug. '69)

Ben Burnett said:
I was 13, a farm boy in Toronto for the CNE with my worldly 15 yr old buddy. We had tickets for the later show, $4.00, incredible!
As we lined up outside a firetruck came by and turned the hose on the crowd, welcome relief from the heat. When Edward Bear finished we wormed our way to the front right of the stage, Jimmy Page was right in front of us. I too remember Page and Plant matching each other, voice to guitar and vice versa. That changed my life forever, I instantly become the grooviest guy in school. To this day, when people talk about the best concert they have ever been too, they clam up when I tell them about this!!!!!!
Now in the radio business, on-air guy, every now and then I bring up the concert, after a Zepp song. I always say "Did I mention I saw Led Zepp in '69?" This webpage brought back so many memories of that night, 40 years ago yesterday. Thankyou for the pictures

Eagle Jackson said:
I was 15 when I saw this show. Forty years later, this is still one of the most memorable concerts I've ever attended. It was a hot, sweaty summer night in Toronto and the Rockpile was packed in, standing room only -- I'm sure far beyond the legal capacity. I was standing in the back, neck craning to see the stage. I still have the image of Jimmy Page bowing the guitar and Robert Plant's wailing voice and the wall of sound. An incredible, rocking performance.

August 8, 1969 - San Bernardino

2011-03-06T21:39:00.003+01:00

August 8, 1969

Swing Auditorium
San Bernardino, CA

01. Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. I Gotta Move
04. Dazed And Confused
05. White Summer
06. You Shook Me
07. How Many More Times
(included school days,hail hail rock n'roll)

"This show has two distinctions to it, besides being a great show. First, is that this is the first recorded performance of the band headlining in a large auditorium, with this show having taken place at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California. The second, is that this show contains the first instance of the band using a cover-filled medley as a show-closer. This happens when they insert a full rendition of Chuck Berry’s "School Days" into the end of "How Many More Times", with Page also playing guitar lines straight from Freddie King’s instrumental classic, "Hideaway".

The Venue...

While other dates on this tour still had the band playing as a supporting act at various pop and rock festivals, and in clubs and theaters across the country as headliners, in Southern California the band was now able to play in the larger venues in town. In this week alone, the band headlined not only this show at the Swing Auditorium, but also at the Convention Center in Anaheim, and the Sports Arena in San Diego. Quite an accomplishment considering that this was only the band’s third tour of the US, with the first having been spent largely as an opening act, and the second as headliners in small clubs. To have made the jump to arena headliners so quickly has to be looked at as impressive, especially considering that it was accomplished mainly on the word of mouth hype surrounding their live shows, and the strength of their first album on the radio. Nothing short of amazing, that after having spent only 5 months on the road in the US, the buzz of the clubs had already begun to spill into the arenas.

The Medley...

To be fair, the band may have actually debuted what we now know as "the medley" before this show in San Bernardino. Between this date and the last recorded date before it in Milwaukee on 7/25, there are 10 shows that remain uncirculated. So, it’s possible that any one of those dates (and even possibly others before that) saw the real debut. As it is, the inclusion of the Chuck Berry cover here seems to fit in naturally and somewhat spontaneously. So, on that merit alone, perhaps it’s not such a big deal. On the other hand, this was the beginning of what would soon become a hallmark of nearly every Zeppelin show through to the end of 1972 (or 1973, depending on your viewpoint). Those 20 and 30 minute versions of "How Many More Times" and, later, "Whole Lotta Love", of which many would be what we remember most about so many of these shows, all these years later.

The groundwork for this had actually begun as early as the band’s first tour of the US, when they would improvise on riffs and melodies during "As Long As I Have You" and "How Many More Times". But in those cases, they never went so far as to stop the song they were in to feature a complete note-for-note cover, and especially not in this way. The furthest they ever went to covering another band’s music (besides their set in general) came in the form of Plant singing the lyrics to other songs while the rest of the band were already in the process of stretching the arrangements out. For instance, take his singing of the vocal lines to "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" on 4/27, or the impromptu performance of parts of "For Your Love" during the bow solo on 1/26 in Boston.

The first real hint at what would eventually become the medley would be in the form of a minor re-working of "How Many More Times" in the UK in June, where Page’s bow solo was dropped from the song, and the "Squeeze My Lemon" lyrics from Robert Johnson’s "Traveling Riverside Blues", that Plant had previously been inserting into the band's version of "Killing Floor", were added as a wind-down into the song’s finale. This new arrangement can be heard most notably on the 6/27 BBC recording, and it would be this rendition of the song that the band would use on their subsequent third tour of the US, with recordings from the shows on 7/6 in Newport, 7/20 in Cleveland, 7/21 in New York and 7/25 in Milwaukee all having the song played the exact same way. With this show in San Bernardino, the band decided to do something different. From here, the next recorded date in Toronto on 8/18 would feature the band doing covers of Big Bill Broonzy’s "Trucking Little Woman" (which Plant will have re-worded as "Trucking Little Mama"), the song "Bottle Up And Go", made famous by bluesmen like Tommy McClennan and Lead Belly, and Plant’s variation on the song "Think You Need A Shot (The Needle)" by Walter Davis. The final night of the tour at the Texas Pop festival on 8/31 would show the band doing variations on Howlin’ Wolf’s "Shake For Me" and Sonny Boy Williamson’s "Eyesight To The Blind". From there, the band would return to England, and when they reappeared in October with a set featuring songs from the upcoming second album, "How Many More Times" will have kept the trait of featuring various cover songs within it.

As for this recording, it’s similar in sound to the tapes from Boston on 1/26 and New York on 5/30, with the recording being completely dominated by Page’s guitar. This out of balance sound is usually due to the proximity of the taper to the stage, specifically the guitar amps. In this show’s case, the tape isn’t as bright and manageable as Boston 1/26, but also not nearly as rough as the 5/30 New York tape. It can be a challenge to listen to, but once you find your bearings there is still enjoyment to be had. The title "Summer of 69" on the Rubber Dubber label was the first appearance of the tape, supposedly resurrecting that vintage label from it’s long silence since the vinyl days of the 70s. Since then, the Empress Valley label has released their take on the recording, as a bonus disc on their release of the 7/21 New York show on the title "Live In Central Park". As far as I’ve read, it’s supposed to be an improvement. I’d be interested to hear how much of an upgrade one could actually give this particular tape, though.

As far as the gig itself, the show is very good. After a solid performance of "Train Kept A Rollin" and "I Can’t Quit You Baby" the band pause for Page to change a string, which prompts the rest of the group to get into another "I Gotta Move" jam, like they had done in March on the radio. But, before they get into it, something seems to happen in front of the stage, which causes Plant to laugh and comment:

"How we doin? You must bear with me. I’m of slight coordination, right? So, if you’re ready to take it, I can give it."

At which moment a girl can be heard near the recorder yelling out in true "summer of 69" hippy spirit:

"Get high!...And get with meeee!"

With a nearby audience member responding to her in like manner:

"Be free!"

Funny how quickly the California audiences would change.

Photos from this show have Bonham using two kick drums onstage, which you may, or may not, be able to faintly hear in use during the drum intro to "Train", and the drum solos at the end of "I Can’t Quit You", "You Shook Me", and "How Many More Times". There are also photos from this date showing Plant backstage with his then-wife Maureen. Which, when taken with the photos of Bonham’s double-bass drums, and the significance of the venue, perhaps suggests that this show, along with the other California dates, was indeed a big deal for the band. The type of occasion where they broke out new gear and had their families flown in to see them. Who knows?

Unfortunately, the show is cut-short, as Plant describes before "How Many More Times":

"Uh, according to the guys, what run this place, the place is gonna close in about a quarter hour or something. So we’ve gotta do our last number. This is a thing called How Many More Times."

Since the tape ends right after the band’s wonderful performance of the song, perhaps that really was the end of the show. It is a little hard to believe that they wouldn’t have come back onstage to do their typical encore of "Communication Breakdown". But, given the time restraint, perhaps that was indeed the case.

Given the sound of this tape, it’s much easier to recommend any of the earlier festival tapes from July. Although, the real gems from this tour are the tapes of the second show in Toronto on 8/18 and the Texas Pop performance on 8/31. In those cases, both for the performance and the sound. Nevertheless, given the various bits of significance involved with this show, it rightfully keeps it’s place. If only that taper was just a little further back from the stage."

G.L left this message on my old blog:

G.L. said...
Greetings,
I've just recently happened on your Led Zeppelin blog... extraordinary doesn't begin to describe the joy in discovering these unearthed Zeppelin gems.

Would it be possibly to re-post the San Bernardino 1969 Led Zeppelin performance?

When I attempted to download the file, I received a message that the file doesn't exist.

Interestingly enough, I was at that performance. The opening acts were TRAINE [a local Southern California band with great potential], and JETHRO TULL [wish a tape of TULL would turn up as well].

There was no air conditioning [if there was it wasn't operating] and the stadium seats [basically very long boards screwed to supports] had recently been painted [green, at least where I was seated].

If you stayed seated very long, you might find that you were somewhat stuck to the seats. The indoor temperature was over 100 degrees with very high humidity [all the people of course]. Didn't dampen any of the performances!

TRAINE was energized enough to get the audience up and moving [the main floor was without seating].

JETHRO TULL was truly amazing, with Ian Anderson in superior form. A befitting opener for LED ZEPPELIN.

As the back of the CD states - "this performance oozes the urgency and ruthless energy that they {ZEPPELIN] possessed during this time." In truth, LED ZEPPELIN simply exploded!

I would love to relive this classic early LED ZEPPELIN concert.

I appreciate your consideration of my request.

Much thanks.
G.L.

July 25, 1969 - West Allis

2011-03-06T21:29:00.003+01:00

July 25, 1969

Mid-West Rock Festival
State Fair Grounds
West Allis, WI

01. Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. Dazed and Confused
04. White Summer > Black Mountain Side
05. How Many More Times
06. Communication Breakdown

A super-charged festival set! The band plow through this material with one of the best versions of The Train Kept A Rollin' ever and frenzied playing throughout. Bonham plays some really inventive patterns and Jonesy is flying as always. Robert's voice is gutsy and Jimmy is great as always ... every song is excellent, and the vibrant recording make this a kicking show!

Mike Mueller said:
Great description of one of the best times of my life. Even with rain and no music everybody gathered into the covered grandstand and had fun and shared whatever any of us had. It was really one of the only times I felt I belong to a community of like minded people and was very comfortable. I also remember the Bob Reichtman ( 1st. FM underground radio DJ's in Milw.) co-signed a note to get Johnny Winter on the stage. They tried to cover the stage with clear plastic sheeting to protect the performers. It did to a point, Joe Cocker came on and was outstanding until the water build up burst right over his head, He continued to complete his set. Blind Faith and Led Zepplin, just blessed to be there.. $15.00 in today's money would convert to 1500.00 easy.

July 21, 1969 - New York CIty

2011-03-06T21:07:00.003+01:00

July 21, 1969

Schaefer Music Festival
Wollman Rink Theater
Central Park
New York City, NY

01. Train Kept a Rollin
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. Dazed and Confused
04. You Shook Me
05. White Summer
06. How Many More Times
07. Communication Breakdown

A wild show! The great recording gives a vibrant atmosphere and the show is outstanding! Plant's voice is just amazing, and the instrumental machine is exquisite, soaring and roaring through every song with a vengeance! I love listening to the Zeppelin festival sets from 1969 because they had a set time to play and they put everything they have into it and it leaves you breathless! Robert apologized to the audience for the lack of new material: "We've got an album coming out in the second week in August, but at the moment there's a bit of delay in us getting the numbers together really for stage, because we're still doing the old ones." Some wacky and exciting surprises in How Many More Times add to the fun and excitement!

Norina said:
Hot, dark, sweaty Central Park. I remember that night like it was last week. I have the ticket stub but don't remember that there was any real entrance. You could see and hear just fine from a distance. Those Schaefer Concerts were very cool. Just that one summer I think.

July 20, 1969 - Cleveland

2011-03-06T20:40:00.004+01:00

July 20, 1969

Musicarnaval
Cleveland, OH

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You
03. Dazed And Confused
04. White Summer
05. Black Mountain Side
06. You Shook Me
07. How Many More Times

A very intense and powerful show but plagued with some PA problems. Plant: "Once again, as last time in the State of Ohio, we find that the PA system is completely inaudible; but, nevertheless, we'd like to carry on ... I think I'd better get out of the way ... If we go up with a flash and a bang..." The first two songs are very powerful and Robert's voice is simply devastating. Page is playing great and the rhythm section is unalterable in Dazed And Confused and incendiary and dynamic in How Many More Times, steering the group through the changes.

Press Review: Zeppelin Lands To Big Cheers At Musicarnival

CLEVELAND - The Led Zeppelin made a four-point landing at Musicarnival here during the Eagle movement on the moon. The British quartet had a sold-out audience of 2,574 stomping, clapping and dancing in the aisles during their five song stint.

Jimmy Page, former anchor man for the Yardbirds, received a standing ovation for his bluesy solo "White Summer." But the group hit their highest stride in the last part of their 10-minute "Dazed and Confused" when Page, singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bass guitarist John Paul Jones sailed in a tight, together jam.

Plant shakes and bumps like a burlesque headliner, swings the mike like a lariat, comes across with the funky finesse of a male Janis Joplin.

The Atlantic group scored with encore "Communication Breakdown." A local group, the James Gang, also received a standing ovation.
(JANE SCOTT / Billboard)

Cleveland Rocks with Led Zeppelin Musicarnival July 20, 1969 by Michael Pierson
"The year was 1969. Location, Musicarnival, a tent in the round in Warrensville Heights. The draw is Led Zeppelin featuring Jimmy Page.

Opening act, the James Gang: “When they played Musicarnival, we had front-row seats. It seemed like a medium-sized venue, enclosed by a large tent. "The James Gang opened the show—Joe Walsh was wearing bright pants. They didn’t move around a whole lot, but Joe showed what a great guitarist he was, performing from the first two albums—“Funk #49,” “The Bomber,” etc. When they played “Lost Woman,” I wondered if Jimmy Page could hear it. During the break, I was looking to my left and could see some people coming in our direction. Suddenly it was Jimmy Page carrying his famous Les Paul, walking right by us to get to the stage.

They got up and played I think pretty much their first album. Sounded great. Page’s guitar solos were amazing. They played at least one Yardbirds song, “White Summer,” and of course the violin bow was used during a song or two. At the time it seemed extremely cool to see them—and in retrospect, it was something to see them before they got really big. "My friend and I were waiting for our ride, standing in the parking lot, when we saw some cool-looking guys walking toward us. Then we realized, wow, it was the group. I pulled out my camera and took a picture of Page as he was walking by. I should have asked before taking it, but he didn’t seem to mind. We watched them walk to a small house in the middle of the parking lot and go in. We stood outside one of the windows, hoping for a peek inside, but no such luck.

Headed home in the car, we realized that we were missing the telecast of man first walking on the moon, on July 20, 1969. We also realized that Led Zeppelin were probably inside that little house watching it themselves. [It was the home of Herman Spero, head of Upbeat.] "A couple months later, Led Zeppelin announced they were coming back to Cleveland again, this time playing the huge Public Hall. Grand Funk opened for them and played a lot of songs from their album with “I’m Your Captain” on it. They also played their anti-drug song and tried to rally the crowd with it.

It was October 24, 1969. "With “Whole Lotta Love” on the radio all the time, the crowd this time was huge. When the group came on, Robert Plant was running around, wearing a construction worker’s hardhat with an American flag design on it. I remember they did songs from their first two albums. Our seats were, as I recall, about thirty or so rows back, on the main floor. Sounded great. —Michael Pierson, fan (Chicago)" Reprinted from "Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories," by Carlo Wolff (2006) copyright.

July 6, 1969 - Newport

2011-03-06T18:20:00.003+01:00

July 6, 1969

Newport Jazz Festival
Newport, RI

01. Train Kept a Rollin
02. I Can't Quit You
03. Dazed and Confused
04. You Shook Me
05. How Many More Times
06. Communication Breakdown
07. Long Tall Sally

Led Zeppelin closed out the final night of the festival with this extremely gutsy and intense performance. The audience was rowdy after as the Zeppelin was reported to be not performed and Plant announced: "A lot of people though that we weren't gonna come here today. There was a lot of talk thtat everyone was ill and bad. There was nothing wrong with us at all and we intended on playing. That's what we've come to America for. We were coming in the first place so don't get any hassles about what we were gonna do and what we weren't. We hope you'll enjoy everything we do tonight and have a ball". Robert's voice is so powerful it wreaks havoc on the recorder! The band is definitely on and Jones and Bonham hit some unreal highs throughout the show, as does Jimmy as well. Some great harmonica soloing from Robert as well and two riotous encores cap this great show.

The recording used for this release is good, clear and close to the speakers. It is an outdoor recording, so the sound does "breathe" in places. There is also a fair amount of high end tape hiss emitted from the left channel. Plant's vocals are very prominent for most of the recording with Page's guitar pushed to the rear and the rhythm section somewhere in the middle. The beginning of The Train Kept A Rollin' includes shouts of "sit down" from the audience. Shouts of "louder" are also heard throughout, especially before You Shook Me. The PA is finally fixed in the middle of You Shook Me. The volume of the recording increases slightly at this point, but it's due to the better balance of the instruments. From this point through How Many More Times the recording is very good. The balance of the instruments change during Communication Breakdown and Long Tall Sally. The drums are up-front with the guitars in the middle and the vocals pushed to the rear. (Brian Ingham April 97)

Review: Great Zeppelin Closed Newport, Despite Ban!

For the first and last time, British groups may have suffered as a result of the 16th annual Newport Jazz Festival, held last weekend in Newport Rhode Island.

The three day event attracted a record crowd of some 80,000, the heaviest attendance figures of 25,000 coming on Friday night, which was devoted entirely to heavy rock. It also attracted the attention of the local authorities who, because of the tension and near riotous situation which prevailed on the same Friday night, demanded that Led Zeppelin be cancelled from the final bill on Sunday, and subsequently revoked the permission given for the opening concert on the Blind Faith tour.

Getting down to the festival itself for the first time, promoter George Wein was persuaded to run rock acts. If I recall, the first show he booked into this category was English – Jeff Beck, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, John Mayall and Led Zeppelin - was the count of UK acts.

Beck, Ten Years and Jethro all appeared Friday, along with Roland Kirk and Blood Sweat and Tears. Beck had the responsibility of closing an incredible show which was literally a six-hour swing through the best in rock.

Excitement caused tension, tension provokes trouble with the local authorities and Newport, hardly used to rock, told George Wein to cancel Led Zeppelin’s appearance on Sunday, “in the interest of public safety”!

Wein announced the Zeppelin would not appear owing to the illness of one of the group. They showed up on Sunday anyway, following a knockout performance at the Atlanta Pop Festival and at 1am Monday morning, proceeded to go on stage and completely destroy the audience.

It was a strange situation for the Zeppelin to be in. Jimmy Page told me: “You don’t blow a date like this one. Not after all that. The Newport Jazz Festival was far too important to us to just cancel out and I’m very upset at the whole thing. Wein should never have announced once of us was ill.”

That wasn’t all. Johnny Winter was given an hour and a half on stage .Other acts ahead of Jimmy seemed to ignore the time limit set on their performances. Page was uptight, but when he went on stage, that crowd out there was ready and waiting, and Led Zeppelin was prepared to sock it to me – regardless of the unfortunate set of circumstances.
With the Zeppelin’s close, so the 16th annual Newport Jazz Festival came to an end.
(J. Harris, July '69)

Richard Peck said:
BETTER than Woodstock! Smaller, GREAT bill, all three nights rocked!! Newport was a beautiful venue, more so than being in the woods! Led Zeppelin was the perfect ending. THIS type of show will never happen again, EVER!

June 27, 1969 - London

2011-03-06T18:11:00.002+01:00

June 27, 1969

Playhouse Theatre
London, UK

01. Alan Black Intro
02. Communication Breakdown
03. I Can't Quit You
04. Interview
05. Dazed & Confused
06. Liverpool Scene Sketch
07. White Summer/Black Mountain Side
08. You Shook Me
09. How Many More Times
(includes The Hunter,The Lemon Song)

This show was recorded for the BBC to broadcast the entire show, and here it all is. An incredible, compact, tight show that features some of the best playing ever, with Jones and Bonham shining throughout and quite possibly the best recording of Plant's voice ever. Add Jimmy's dazzling guitar work and you have a classic show.

Clive Woodward Said:
I attended the June 1969 Playhouse Theatre concert as a young 14 year old. As I was waiting in the queue outside the band came out and talked to us. My memory of them is of crushed velvet flares, grandad t-shirts and lots of hair! Inside the theatre I remember seeing plenty of afghan coats even though it was a summer's evening! As for the music, it was the loudest I had ever heard and my ears were still ringing the following morning. Jimmy's guitar and Robert's voice totally blew me away. 40 years later it is as vivid in my mind as if it were yesterday - quite simply the most memorable concert I have been to. If only there were film of it...

June 20, 1969 - Newcastle

2011-03-06T17:49:00.002+01:00

June 20, 1969

City Hall
Newcastle, UK

01. Train Kept a Rollin
02. I Cant Quit You
03. Dazed and Confused
04. White Summer
05. Harmonica Solo
06. You Shook Me
07. Pat's Delight
08. How Many More Times
09. Communication Breakdown

A truly powerful show just a week before as the band took BBC Playhouse Theatre's venue on June 27th, 1969. The performance is superb and the curiosities such as the harmonica/drums/bass interlude before You Shook Me and some frenetically delivered lines from Donovan's There Is A Mountain during How Many More Times are priceless. The band and the audience seem to be having a great time. "You know we do a lot of work in America but I think this is the best night we've ever had in England," says Robert near the end.

Gordon Wilkinson Said:
This was the 1st time I saw Zeppelin. I had always been a fan of the Yardbirds and they were reported in the NME as being the "new yardbirds". So a mate and I went along out of curiosity and WOW were we blown away.I have never been the same since and I am PRIVILEDGED to have seen the guys on 4 occasions.

May 30, 1969 - New York City

2011-03-06T17:37:00.004+01:00

May 30, 1969
Fillmore East

New York City, NY

01. Train Kept a Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. Dazed and Confused
04. You Shook Me
05. White Summer / Black Mountainside
06. How Many More Times
(medley includes: Roll Over Beethoven, Move On Down The Line)
07. Communication Breakdown.

A short, intense and excellent show in front of a crowd who has fallen under Led Zeppelin's spell. Robert's voice is fantastic and the band plows through the set with intensity and fire and Dazed And Confused and How Many More Times have great performances from all four band members. Check out Jimmy's mind-blowing solo in You Shook Me ... another triumph! Still a mystery from which show exactly this recording comes from.

Review: Led Zeppelin Makes Triumphant Return

Led Zeppelin once again shook the foundation of the Fillmore East when they made their appearance a few weeks ago. Their explosive performance was reminiscent of their Fillmore debut in January with the exception that they are now recognized as the best blues oriented group around. And that’s some accomplishment considering the fiercely competitive group scene today! Even before they approached the stage , the audience stood and widely applauded. The mounting tenseness was an indication that this was going to be one of those “exceptionally stimulating performances”.

Then they took the stage amid a thundering ovation and broke into their soaring rendition of “Train Kept a Rollin’”. Led Zeppelin has succeeded in fusing musicianship and showmanship to produce one of the most exciting stage performances ever! Page and Plant almost immediately began to get into each other’s phrases and kept together throughout the entire set. It’s almost impossible to describe in the exact words, but anyone who has seen one of their concerts knows what I’m talking about!

They continued with an electrifying version of “I Can’t Quit You Baby”, a slow blues tempo. “Dazed and Confused” with Page’s guitar and Plant’s vocals answering and mimicking each other in perfect time really gets things going. Page went into a fantastic solo using his violin bow.

Along with Plant’s fiery vocal and suggestive movements, this number can certainly be considered one of the high points of their act.

Plant announced Jimmy’s solo “Black Summer”, combining two songs he composed, “White Summer” and “Black Mountainside” from their LP. This number holds the audience spellbound as Page switched to acoustic guitar style to play soft, melodic passages. It received a standing ovation. Page has been described as being “The most progressive guitarist on the scene today with a very versatile and inventive style.

They continued with Babe I’m Gonna Leave You and You Shook Me with some of the best instrumental work and vocals I’ve ever heard.

How Many More Times brought the roof down. Plant’s performance was extraordinary, along with Page’s guitar, it sounded as if it were one. The applause was deafening as they left the stage and though they were on stage nearly two hours, they were called back to do an encore. Of course, it was a dynamic version of Communication Breakdown.

The following evening (May 31), I went to the second performance again and had a few words with them before the show. They are in England now working on their new LP to be released shortly and they will do several appearances including the Royal Albert Hall.

Their performance was to say the least just as spectacular as the night before. John Bonham did a fantastic drum solo. He is really something else to watch perform. During How Many More Times they broke into some early rock numbers, Roll Over Beethoven, and Move On Down The Line by the fabulous Jerry Lee Lewis. They received a tremendous ovation as usual and left the Fillmore audience paralyzed. (Denise Kelly – World Countdown, June 1969)

My brother and a couple of our friends drove into the city in a beat up old maroon colored Saab. St Marks Place was more alive than I'd ever seen it before or since.Then into the Fillmore. Bonnie and Delany opened up then Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd. Woody was booed off stage. Unreal unruley New York crowd. Bill Graham came out on the stage at the end of Woodys set and gave the audience a hard time ; "you dont know shit".My brother told me that part of the story on the phone the other day. I was only 15. I sure hope I wasent one of the rude boys. OK then Led Zep took the stage and blew the roof off the joint. Jimmy Page used a bow with his guitar at one point. I dont remember much else that night but made it back to the Fillmore for quite a few amazing concerts over the next two years. I still think Led Zepplins first album was thier best. How about Winterland Productions release all three sets from that night. Perhaps the most amazing triple bill I've ever seen.And now 40 years later, where do all the years go.
Love, Peace, Strider Brown

May 27, 1969 - Boston

2011-03-06T17:30:00.003+01:00

May 27, 1969
Boston Tea Party
Boston, MA

101. As Long As I Have You
(medley incl. Fresh Garbage, Shake, Mockingbird)
102. I Can't Quit You Baby
103. Dazed And Confused
(medley incl. Move On Down The Line)
104. You Shook Me

201. Pat's Delight
202. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
203. How Many More Times
(medley incl. For Your Love, The Hunter)
204. Communication Breakdown

An excellent and wild show in front of a rather dull and unresponsive crowd. Robert's voice is simply perfect and the band is so on! The improvisations in Dazed And Confused, As Long As I Have You, and a very long How Many More Times are truly outstanding and the whole show is a great 1969 Led Zeppelin energetic, loud, powerful, raw, and wonderful document.

May 25, 1969 - Columbia

2011-03-06T17:21:00.004+01:00

May 25, 1969

Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, MD

01.Whole Lotta Love

This is only the encore for the show and all that exists from the show. It also happens to be the second time ever (see April 26th, 1969 for the first) time Whole Lotta Love was played live. A very different version that is excellent, with a long guitar solo in the middle and great vocals from Robert. A very interesting comment about that evening comes from one of the Who's crew: "I had the unenviable task of throwing Zeppelin off the stage," recalled Jeff Wolff. "They were playing over time, stringin' it out, and there was a curfew, so I was saying, "I've got to get you off!" I had to pull the plug on them, otherwise we were never going to go on!"

I was there by Dana Thompson
I knocked down the fence at Merriweather to see the Who. My buds and I spread out on the lawn. I thought Led Zeppelin was a local band called Coyote until I heard "How Many More Times" then I stood up and started paying attention. The sound was unbelievable. To this day that is my favorite Led Zep song. I said "Who are these guys?" just like Butch Cassidy said to the Sundance Kid later that year. The next day I called a friend of mine, Debbie Pierce, and told her about this band I had heard at Merriweather. She said that was Led Zeppelin silly. Thay have an album out with a blimp on the front. Straight to the record store I went. I bought the 8-track and wore it out. The rest is history. I still get chills when I retell the story. Those Merriweather concerts were the greatest. Hendrix, Janis, CCR, the Doors, the Who. It was a rock n roll hall of fame in 1967-1970

zeppelin/who at merriweather 1969 by richard pfleiderer
Living in Baltimore, this concert was something my friends and I were not going to miss, although Led Zeppelin was still in its infancy. I'd been listening to their first LP for a few months, over and over again. There wasn't another band which played like that. But the prime reason for going to the show was The Who. they'd been around for a number of years and had proven themselves live and on record. I remember being blown away at Zeppelin's act--unpretentious with no frills, but played like madmen. I was even more hooked. And, then, to have The Who finish up the night (with a selection or two from their "upcoming" rock opera, Tommy) was something I'll never forget. When I tell folks about seeing both bands at the same show, they find it hard to believe, as I still do after all these years.

It's March again...

2011-03-02T14:25:00.001+01:00

Howdy people... all download links have been updated...and new stuff will be posted really soon

April 27, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-16T13:33:00.004+01:00

April 27, 1969

Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You
03. As Long As I Have You
Fresh Garbage
Shake
Cat's Squirrel
No Money Down
I'm A Man
04. You Shook Me
05. How Many More Times
The Hunter
Mulberry Bush
06. Communication Breakdown
07. The Lemon Song
08. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
09. Sitting And Thinking
10. Pat's Delight
11. Dazed And Confused

Excellent Stereo Soundboard
Best Sound Quality So Far Any Version Any Format

This show is just blistering. The first set has the group firing on all cylinders and playing their hearts out. The second set is more bluesy and laid back, but that never means less enjoyable. The only live version of Sittin' and Thinkin', a Buddy Guy number, is here and the completely different song list for each set make this a great show to have. Dazed And Confused is really dark here. The group's excitement to be so anticipated by Californian audience found their way in Plant ad-libbed lyrics of I Can't Quit You Baby: "I'm so glad you came tonight ... but I think we're gonna leave this town for a little while ... I don't want to leave you people ... but I think we've got to leave San Francisco for a little while". Also some member of the audience is calling for You Shook Me, what makes a quick and quite funny response from Plant: "Right! Don't worry by that! Just one before that!"

April 26, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-16T13:26:00.002+01:00

April 26, 1969

Winterland Ballroom
San Francisco, CA

101. Communication Breakdown
102. I Can't Quit You
103. Dazed And Confused
104. You Shook Me
105. How Many More Times
Smokestack Lightening
Roll Over Beethoven
The Hunter
Girl From The North Country

201. White Summer/Black Mountain Side
202. Killing Floor
The Lemon Song
That's Alright
203. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
204. Pat's Delight
205. As Long As I Have You
Fresh Garbage
Shake
Hush Little Baby
306. Whole Lotta Love

his is Led Zeppelin as acid/psychedelic hard rock, pioneering a new, original sound in the process. The concert itself is a pure magic. Everything that made Led Zeppelin an amazing live act is here and these two sets were so revolutionary in their time that even now, I am dumbstruck by the power and performance. "I think last night we said that it was nice to be back. Well, there seems to be a lot more people here, so I hope the message is carrying on" said Plant after I Can't Quit You Baby. Jimmy plays like a man possessed, hitting everything with such fluency and accuracy and with such emotion. Bonham is thunderous, Jonesy is all over the place, inventing lead lines to counter Jimmy's, and Robert's voice is incredible, higher than any notes Jimmy can get on his guitar! The power and performance are staggering. Also, the first appearance of the Theremin (Dazed And Confused) and the first ever time Whole Lotta Love was played live! Hearing this first recorded version, it’s amazing how much the song had already been worked out. Plant’s lyrics are mostly the same as what would appear on the album, with the exception being that he doesn’t once sing the chorus "Wanna whole lotta love". That aside, the song remains pretty much the same as the one we all know and love. During the middle section, Page doesn't use the theremin. The spot where it would be featured in the song instead features Bonham doing the same steady high-hat and clicking accompaniment that he would do on the album, but with Page doing a slide solo, sounding pretty much like the one he had just done a few songs earlier in Killing Floor. After Bonham and Jones join in with a rushing beat and the song comes to a slow down, Page then plays some of the solo portions he had just played in As Long As I Have You. As Page keeps soloing, Jones jumps in with parts of the backing bass line from "You Shook Me", and then the band get into the formal return solo that would lead back to the main riff in the song. For Plant's last solo line, he hadn’t yet gone so far as to change the original Dixon lyric into "Woman, you need IT", so instead sings the original "You need love". As the band crash in and the song heads towards the ending, Plant then repeats the line "Baby you need love" over and over. And the song fades out.

April 25, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-16T13:14:00.002+01:00

April 25, 1969

The Winterland
San Francisco, CA

01. Train Kept A Rollin'
02. You Shook Me
03. Communication Breakdown
04. As Long As I Have You
05. Applause

Sounding very similar to the tape from January 9th at Fillmore West, this tape from the band's second gig of their second visit to the city (and their first performance at the Winterland Ballroom), is much longer in length, being just under 25 minutes. The taper was close to the stage, likely on the floor of the venue, and the resulting recording is a nice listen of an excellent performance. Unfortunately, the last song on the tape, As Long As I Have You, ends after only six minutes. Cuts are present between all four songs, which masks the fact that there are almost certainly songs missing in-between these cuts. This is a given for the simple reason that the entire tape is less than half an hour long, yet it starts with Bill Graham introducing the band, and ends with Plant giving the audience a sincere farewell for the evening. Whether or not the Graham introduction is from the beginning of the 1st set or the beginning of the 2nd set isn't known. But given Plant's farewell, we can assume that the taper was present from the start of at least one of the sets through to the end of the night, save for any additional encores the band may have done. Again, just like that January 9th Fillmore West tape, there is also confusion as to what the actual date of this recording is. And, again, the confusion here is caused by the words that Plant says to the audience. Just before that incomplete version of As Long As I Have You, he says the following: "Last time when we came here was the first ... it was the second gig we ever did in America ... and ... we'd been together about three months, and we were really pleased with the way we went down. If we hadn't have done well here I think we would've shitted ourselves and ran home. And you've done the same for us this time as you did last time. We'd like to say thank you very much, and good night." A simple fact-checking of his statement about the town being the second gig the band ever did in America would effectively rule out San Francisco. The first US gig was on December 26th, 1968 in Denver, with the second in Seattle on December 27th. After those first two, the band played Vancouver and Spokane, with Portland said to have been played as well during that week. From there, in the first week of the new year, the band headed south to California for four nights at the Whisky in Hollywood, before heading up to the Fillmore West in San Francisco the following week. So, unless this tape is from Seattle, Plant's words don't make sense. Thankfully, the mystery here is helped by the fact that this tape starts with that aforementioned introduction by Bill Graham: "...welcome them back from England, this is Led Zeppelin." Graham's introduction on the tape weighs in heavy on this debate. In fact, so heavy, that even though we can never be entirely sure about these types of things, it pretty much settles the date. During this era, Graham had yet to begin promoting concerts outside of his own venues in the Bay Area and New York. So, for his voice to appear on this tape immediately identifies San Francisco or New York as the location. However, the sound of Page's guitar on this tape matches with the echo-heavy and fuzzed-out sound he used in San Francisco in April. By the time the band reached New York in May, Page will have gotten rid of that constant echo and fuzz sound, and will have switched over exclusively to his Les Paul. So, that's two points for this tape being from San Francisco. Not definitive proof, but pretty close. As for which day in San Francisco, April 26th and 27th are automatically out due to the fact that we already have complete recordings from both nights. As well, the first night back in town, April 24th, is also out, as that show starts with As Long As I Have You, which the band can be heard playing on this tape from April 25th. Unlike shows at other venues on the tour, where the band played to separate audiences at separate early and late shows, at Fillmore West and Winterland, the band played to the same audience the entire night. And during this period, we have no record of them repeating any songs within the same night at any of the other dates they played in town. Which ultimately asks the question as to why Plant would make such statement. The easiest answer probably being that he was merely being sentimental and appreciative to the audience. San Francisco was an important town for the band during this period. The gigs that the band gave there, especially during that week of April, are among the finest that they ever gave. So, given that connection, what's wrong with a little white lie amongst friends? So, I think this recording is indeed from San Francisco, at Winterland, April 25th, 1969. Even though the recording is so short and fragmentary, it is still a wonderful slice, highlighting a caliber of playing that is right up there with the other nights of the run. Plant's voice is fantastic, in glorius high range, and Page's playing actually sounds even better than it would the next night.

Hopefully, one day more of this tape will circulate (if there indeed is any more).

April 24, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-16T13:07:00.001+01:00

April 24, 1969
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA

"The Dancing Avocado"
dadgad prod.

01. leader / tuneups
02. As Long As I Have You
03. Killing Floor
04. White Summer
05. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
06. Pat's Delight

We don't know if this recording comes from single ser or it's just a mix of both sets. The sound is so good it has been often mistaken as a soundboard. In fact it comes from PA monitors. Quite possibly the best version ever recorded of As Long As I Have You, competing madly with the April 27th, 1969 version. Halfway through the number, Jones' bass cabinet exploded and Plant ad-libed new lyrics: "I think we've got some trouble with our equipment, yeah ... I think we're gonna get it together, yeah ... I think we're gonna have a good time ... I think we'd better the right key!" After the song Plant commented: "We seem to have a cock-up every time we've been here!" Killing Floor contains some great bass/guitar/drum interplay and Robert's voice is in incredible shape.

March 19, 1969 - London

2010-01-07T23:37:00.004+01:00

March 19, 1969
Maida Vale Studios
London

01. Alexis Korner Intro
02. What Is And What Should Never Be
03. I Cant Quit You
04. You Shook Me
05. Sunshine Woman

Probably one of the rarest Zeppelin studio recording ever discovered. What makes this tape more attractive is group's attempt to the song called Sunshine Woman. It shares the "I've got a mortgage on my body/I've got a lean on my soul" and "When she walks/she walks just like a willow tree" lyrics and is an interesting coincidence Plant recycles those lyrics since Rod Stewart was using them in the Jeff Beck Group at the same time. The tapes were wiped by BBC crew and supposedly the only remainder master copies are somewhere in Eastern Europe but if they really exists, they are in the hands of tape hoarders or persons who have no idea what they have! It is also reported that these masters have a complete version of Sunshine Woman and obviously a Polish pirate flexi-card must be sourced from one of low gen copies.

March 17, 1969 - Copenhagen

2010-01-07T23:32:00.002+01:00

March 17, 1969
TV Byen
Copenhagen

01. Communication Breakdown
02. Dazed And Confused
03. Bebe I'm Gonna Leave You
04. How Many More Times

March 16, 1969 - Copenhagen

2010-01-07T23:22:00.003+01:00

March 16, 1969
Tivolis Concertsal
Copenhagen
Denmark

Audience Tape:

01. Train Kept A Rollin
02. I Gotta Move
03. I Can't You
04. Dazed And Confused
05. White Summer
06. How Many More Times

Prebroadcast Soundboard Master:

01. I Can't Quit You
02. I Gotta Move
03. Dazed And Confused
04. How Many More Times

Cassette Master taped from FM:

05. I Can't Quit You
06. I Gotta Move
07. Dazed And Confused
08. How Many More Times

March 15, 1969 - Denmark

2010-01-07T23:06:00.004+01:00

March 15, 1969
Denmark

Teen Club,Egegaard Skole
Gladsaxe
Denmark

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You
03. As Long As I Have You (includes Fresh Garbage)
04. You Shook Me
05. Communication Breakdown

An incredibly powerful concert! The band is really ripping through everything tonight. As Long As I Have You is a shortened, compact and brutal version. Dazed And Confused is missing here, only the second time known (so far, see February 1st, 1969 for the other). Page checks the guitar-tuning with a bossa nova riff, quickly followed by the other two instruments for a few seconds, Plant says: "We'll try to carry on despite Che Guevara" much to everyone's amusement. You Shook Me and Communication Breakdown are massive as well.

Brondby Pop Club
Norregard Hallen
Brondby
Denmark

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You
03. Dazed & Confused
04. You Shook Me

1969 - The Lost BBC Sessions

2010-01-07T22:36:00.003+01:00

The Lost BBC Sessions

March 3,1969 BBC-Top Gear with John Peel

1. You Shook Me
2. I Can't Quit You (incl. Nineteen Years Old)
3. Communication Breackdown
4. Dazed And Confused

Debut radio appearance and a great delight for ears! A classic, early Zeppelin in the best form. Robert hints some incredible notes during I Can't Quit You Baby. All songs were played very close to the album versions what caused powerful and raw sound.

June 16,1969 BBC-Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae

5. Interview
6. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Hair
7. Communiction Breakdown
8. What Is And What Should Never Be
9. Something Else

Another brilliant broadcast and a truly one of the best studio versions of Communication Breakdown with snippets of Just A Little Bit thrown in. But this show is reserved for two never before played songs: The Girl I Love and Something Else. The first one has similar guitar structure to the later used on Moby Dick instrumental intro while the second is a superb rendition to Eddie Cochran's classic tune and Zeppelin's own hymn to one of their rock 'n' roll heroes.

June 24,1969 BBC-Top Gear with John Peel

10. What Is And What Should Never Be
11. Whole Lotta Love
12. Communication Breakdown
13. Traveling Riverside Blues

Another studio session that needs no recommendation. During this short British tour the band was absolutely on peak form and it can be easily heard on this amazing recording. A fury, power and energy are present on all the tracks. Whole Lotta Love is psychedelic stand-out and Robert's yelling during theramin battle is thrilling. Communication Breakdown is devastating and What Is And What Should Never Be is one of the most dramatic versions the band ever played. A real pearl, Traveling Riverside Blues is Zeppelin's bow to the talent and magic of Robert Johnson and Plant sings some of his "lemon" lyrics.

February 14, 1969 - Miami

2010-01-07T22:24:00.004+01:00

February 14, 1969
Thee Image Club
Miami, FL

101. The Train Kept A Rollin'
102. I Can't Quit You
103. Dazed And Confused
104. Killing Floor - You'll Be Mine - Needle Blues
105. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Reflections On My Mind
106. How Many More Times - Roll Over Beethoven

201. White Summer- Black Mountain Side
202. As Long As I Have You - Fresh Garbage - Shake - Hush
203. You Shook Me
204. Pat's Delight

Two very high powered sets with different moods and feels to them. Both feature a band playing with fiery intensity! Robert hits some of the highest screams and is raw emotion, ranging from the primordial wails of How Many More Times and As Long As I Have You to the pain and suffering of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. The band's assault is relentless as well. This was the second to last show from the first US tour of 1969.
Again, the group ended with Bonham's drum solo.

February 2, 1969 - Toronto

2010-01-07T22:11:00.005+01:00

February 2, 1969
The Rockpile
Toronto
Canada

01. Intro
02. Train Kep't A Rollin'
03. I Can't Quit You Babe
04. Dazed And Confused
05. You Shook Me
06. Killing Floor
07. How Many More Times

I acquired this recording almost 10 years ago from the person who purchased the master tape of the show. The tape is in fragile condition. There may be different edits of this tape in the trading circles as it is possible that more than one transfer from the master tape may have been done.
I decided to post this source of the tape as someone had posted the Totonka boot CD source of this show and that source is missing Killing Floor. My theory on why Killing Floor was ommited from the boot CD was because it was part of a tape hoarder's game to keep the full tape to himself. Just a guess though. The recording is rough, so be warned of that.

A very compact, complete and powerful set. Ritchie York announced the show: "Led Zeppelin is going to be doing two sets tonight ... in between we've got Tee Garden and Van Winkle. Next Friday and Saturday night - Albert King, don't forget and B.B. King at Massey Hall on February 14th ... but right now ... their first Canadian appearance, and there's going to be a lot more of them ... Atlantic recording stars - Led Zeppelin!" The band is smoking and Robert's voice is unbelievable! The highest note he reaches in How Many More Times is simply amazing.

My friend Jim McRae and I attended that show on that cold February night in 69. Part way through their first song I looked at my friend and I thought his eyes were going to pop out..they were that wide open. I recall the stage being filled with speaker cabinets. When Page played the intro to "How Many More Times" all by himself I felt the cement floor vibrate. I wish someone would post pics of that first Toronto show.
I think it was the previous summer that I saw, again with my friend, the New Yardbirds playing in Huntsville(Hidden Valley) with Jimmy on guitar. That was the first time I've ever seen a guitar played with a violin bow. (Ed Haier)

February 1, 1969 - New York City

2010-01-07T21:52:00.006+01:00

February 1, 1969

Fillmore East
New York City, NY

01. White Summer
02. Train Kept a Rollin'
03. I Can't Quit You Baby
04. Pat's Delight
05. How Many More Times (includes Dazed & Confused and The Hunter)
06. Communication Breakdown

A really good, but uptight and confused gig. The show starts with an announcement from Robert Plant: "We're sorry about the delay but because we're all a bit stupid, we forgot the bass player's guitar! Would you believe that! So we're gonna open up without the bass player. We're gonna feature Jimmy Page. This is a thing that was very popular when he was with The Yardbirds." After a nice early version the band breaks into an extremely powerful The Train Kept A Rollin'. Then the show starts properly and is excellent, except they forget to play Dazed And Confused before the last song ... so they insert it in the middle of How Many More Times! A blistering show where the audience's reaction would mirror mine were I there: "Who gives a shit about the Butterfly?" This was an opening slot for Iron Butterfly ... and indeed who does give a shit?

I was at the Early show that night. As mentioned, Robert Plant came out and said tha bass guitar was left behind at the hotel. Page came out sat on a stool and played White Summer and Black Mountainside. My friend and I were thrilled at this unexpected treat. We had been Yardbird fans and knew White Summer. I have to say at the time. we thought the "bass back at the hotel" story was false. They were on the bill with Porters Popular Preachers, and Iron Butterfly. I'm sure they could have borrowed a bass. But who cares, It was a great surprise to hear these acoustic songs.

When the whole band hit the stage storming they opened with Train Kept a Rollin'. Another blast because it was a Yardbirds tune. The rest of the show was spectacular. Page and Plant doing the call and response, the violin bow, it was all so new. The entire audience were right there at the point where the riff comes back in at the end of How Many More Times. A big yell from everyone, and right on cue. A true Fillmore moment. We were there to see Zep, not Iron Butterfly. The crowd went wild at the end of the set calling for more. This was Zep's night. They stole the night from Butterfly. I still have my stub and program too! (Michael Czarnomski)

January 31, 1969 - New York City

2010-01-07T03:58:00.005+01:00

January 31, 1969
Fillmore East
New York City, NY

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Babe
03. Dazed And Confused
04. Pat's Delight
05. How Many More Times
06. You Shook Me

An opening set for Iron Butterfly and a very intense and show stealing one at that! Zeppelin was infinitely better than the Butterfly as this set amply shows. Robert's voice in all of its high pitched, amazing 1969 glory and the band playing as well as ever thus far in their short time together. Jimmy is on fire!

Wow. I can't believe I saw them so long ago. The show was amazing. They were the lead in group for Iron Butterfly, but when they played, it was clear the music was going to stay with us a long, long time. I went to the midnight show. Awesome. (Dorothy)

January 26, 1969 - Boston

2010-01-07T03:33:00.003+01:00

January 26, 1969
Boston Tea Party
Boston, MA

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Baby
03. Killing Floor
04. Dazed And Confused
05. You Shook Me
06. Communication Breakdown
07. White Summer/Black Mountain Side
08. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
09. Pat's Delight
10. How Many More Times

The Tea Party held about a thousand people. It was a place where lots of hippie bands played during the 60s. They had a mirror ball and strobes and those oil and colored-water projectors, first created by the Joshua Light Show, making trippy liquid designs on the wall next to the stage. The place itself used to be a synagogue, a big rectangular room with the stage at the end, huge high ceiling, no seats except a few folding chairs along the side and the bolted down seats in the balcony. It was like a hippie high school auditorium. On other nights I saw The J. Geils Band there, Jethro Tull, Sons of Champlain and some more obscure bands I can’t recall at the moment. But the Led Zep show was a big thing.

The first album was out and “Communication Breakdown” was an FM Radio hit. The music was so different than what we’d been hearing, so new and hard and driving, crunching guitars, pounding drums, high, screaming vocals. There’s wasn’t even a name for it back then, but soon it would come to be known as the future institution, hard rock. The record had only come out in stores the week before, nobody knew anything about the band, who looked so girlish on the back record cover, with their big heads of puffy hair and pale English skin, that it embarrassed me and most of the guys I knew – I was 17 and back then, anything ‘faggy’ was to be positively shunned, but the band was so good, we decided to let it slide. And they were singing about girls, in a way that raw and sexual, so we figured they were probably all right with us.

When Led Zeppelin went onto the stage that night, they walked through the crowd to get to it. Like kings, like conquering heroes parting the masses, it was a theatrical move and it worked. Jimmy Page and Plant were about two feet away from me as they made they royal way through. I’d never seen anyone that close who was so skinny and pale. And they had all that hair. And they also had that air, of knowing that they were about to be big. Very big. Nobody knew any details about the band but we knew the buzz was that they were going to be huge and the proof of it was there in the grooves, because the record sure as hell rocked.

They jumped up on stage and fiddled with their guitars and amps for a while. John Bonham thumped his drums, tested the foot pedal. That’s what bands did in those days, it wasn’t orchestrated down to the minute the way it is now. Bands would even stop to tune up onstage if they needed to and the audience didn’t seem to mind. It was all part of the thing. They didn’t play football stadiums then. Led Zeppelin would soon create that, ushering the rock world into arenas, giant money and legendary excesses. But this night, they were just four guys on a relatively small stage. Big Marshall amps. Bonham’s big Chinese cymbal. One guitar, one bass, drums, and a singer.

When they started playing, the sounds that came out of the amps and house speakers was deafening. Bands usually played loud, but not this loud. The vibrations hit your chest with physical force. It was... it felt... what’s the word? Heavy. They started with a song the Yardbird’s used to cover, “Train Kept a Rollin’” later claimed as a live signature song by Boston boys, Aerosmith. Zep had formed out of the ashes of the defunct Yardbirds. Their original name sounded like a Spinal Tap joke, “The New Yardbirds.” “Train” was the first song the band played together, when they first met and rehearsed in London.

"As soon as I heard John Bonham play,” John Paul Jones later said, “I knew this was going to be great. We locked together as a team immediately.” And the band was locked together that night as well, in an organic, often loosely spontaneous way, but it was like they could read each other’s minds. Page’s long solo on “Dazed and Confused” was appropriately jaw dropping, playing with a violin bow, getting sound and feedback that was as radical as anyone had heard since Hendrix. Page’s guitar playing was obviously rooted in the blues and was light years beyond most of the solo guitarists of the hippie type bands, who tended to be self-indulgent and noodled endlessly when they soloed.

This was different, his solos were as well constructed as a bluesman’s while at the same time full of room for improvisation and letting the spirit take over. Whatever spirit that happened to be. His guitar playing was rife with power that seemed to come from some elemental source, some ancient time of pre-history, drawing up volcanic turbulence, witches’ wails, storms from the mystic.

They did a stunning “You Shook Me,” showcasing the acrobatic, elastic voice of Plant. Here was another reason to absolutely love this band, the guy could hit notes that weren’t even written. They did “Communication Breakdown,” which was stunning, which we cheered for because we’d heard it on the radio already. The rhythm section of Jones and Bonham was crunching and fat, that metal sound of deep base and drums like thundering hooves.

The second set included the acoustic style guitar work of “White Summer” and the heavy metal meets folk “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” Ending out on “How Many More Times,” leaving the audience gasping, wanting more but no encore, wondering what the hell we’d just seen, exactly. To repeat Jon Landau before he’d said it, we’d seen the future of rock and roll. Music got heavier, hundreds of bands tried but never came all that close to doing what Zep did.
(W. Brennan)

January 23, 1969 - Boston

2010-01-07T03:20:00.003+01:00

January 23, 1969
Boston Tea Party
Boston, MA

01. Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You
03. As Long As I Have You
04. Dazed And Confused
05. You Shook Me

Jimmy Page: After the Yardbirds...Comes Led Zeppelin
By BEN BLUMMENBERG
Boston Phoenix February 5, 1969

The Led Zeppelin landed in Boston, Thursday Jan. 22, and for four consecutive evenings virtually blew an overflow Boston Tea Party crowd clear into the Charles River. Playing long sets, well over an hour in length, the Zeppelin lived up to its advance billing as a group of exceptional power and drive. What also emerged, however, is that the L. Z. possesses extraordinary complexity as well.

Both the official publicity on the band, and the unofficial rumor mill, told of a blues rock unit built around the guitar genius of Jimmy Page. (Jimmy Page is the last of the three exceptional lead guitarists produced by England’s amazing Yardbirds. The other two are Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.) This description just scratches the surface. The Led Zeppelin is launched from a blues-rock base but is no means limited by it. Furthermore, the L.Z. is truly a talented and diversified unit, not just a backup group for Jimmy Page.

In concert, the L.Z. went through most of the material on their first album (Atlantic 8216) plus some newer, unrecorded songs. The titles and lyrics may be basic blues, but the approach and performance is of a much wider scope. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Zeppelin is that they employ three or four major instrumental concepts in almost every song. The impression, to say the least, is staggering! Indeed the L.Z.’s only fault is a tendency to compress too much into a short space of time.

Rhythm changes abruptly, time patterns change abruptly, volume levels change abruptly, yet melodic line and chord skeletons manage to merge kaleidoscopically as each member of the band feeds one another and in turn plays off the idea thrown out. The entire approach is very loose and very improvisational. The result is a surprising intricacy developed out of a form that is usually considered to be quite simple. Yet the basic power is never lost. In one sense, the Led Zeppelin represents the best of two worlds.

A few things that particularly got me: 1) At various times during “You Shook Me” Robert Plant (vocals) and Jimmy Page (lead) play riffs off against each other with Plant’s voice frequently acquiring the electrical qualities indistinguishable from Page’s guitar. 2) A 5-minute drum solo by John Bonham that includes some fantastic and hysterical hand drumming but really defies description. 3) The Frequent quiet passages in “Black Mountain Side” by Jimmy Page, which approach the best of pure mountain music.

For my taste, the Led Zeppelin really gets it all together on “How Many More Times,” with which they like to close an evening. This ten-or-more-minute master-piece has one of the most infections rhythmic cores I ever heard. If you don’t want to jump, dance, and smile after hearing this, you must be dead. This core, which involves everybody, provides the departure point for extended individual solos by each member of the band. The technically impressive pile driving bass of John Paul Jones is a spiritual gift. Plant’s amazing vocal power is at its best. Jimmy Page’s virtuosity runs the gamut from explorations into abstract electronics to down-home funk. “How Many More Times” is one of those rare rock developments that could literally never end. The wild, screaming reception accorded The Led Zeppelin certainly bears this feeling out.

I expect the Led Zeppelin to be flying high for some time. They and the Jeff Beck Group are to rock what Formula One cars are to road racing. Their raw power is compelling and hypnotic while their complexity makes repeated exposure a pleasure. The L.Z. vary the arrangements of the same song on successive nights quite widely. As Jimmy Page who has little sympathy with complicated studio effects said to me: “If we can’t do it live, we won’t do it.” That idea hits me just right, as does the entire Led Zeppelin from stem to stern. (Boston Phoenix)

This is all that is known to exist from this show. The band sunds really strong and Robert's voice is in its most primitive and powerful stage. Dazed And Confused is a very powerful and excting version. I only hope the rest of this great show comes out someday! The band stopped after The Train Kept A Rollin' because Jimmy Page had troubles with his guitar. "It's great to be in Boston. According to Jimmy it's one of the best places he's even played! I think, right now, in the shops there's an album called Led Zeppelin. I don't know whether it's out here yet. Is it out? You see, in one place it comes out one day and another place three weeks later. On this album we've tried to do a cross section of everything we've got into and we've included some blues because that's where it all comes from!" said Plant while Jimmy was preparing a guitar string.

January 12, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-07T03:10:00.002+01:00

January 12, 1969
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA

01. As Long As I Have You
02. I Can't Quit You
03. Dazed and Confused
04. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
05. Communication Breakdown
06. You Shook Me
07. White Summer
08. Train Kept a Rollin
09. Pat's Delight
10. How Many More Times
11. Killing Floor

January 11, 1969 - San Francisco, CA

2010-01-07T02:56:00.004+01:00

January 11, 1969
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA

Earliest known soundboard recording of Led Zeppelin.

01. I Can't Quit You
02. Dazed And Confused
03. You Shook Me
04. How Many More Times
05. Communication Breakdown

The coup-de-grace is Bonzo's drumming throughout the whole tape! "Communication Breakdown" has Plant substituting his "banshee-scream" before the solo w/ a growl. I can't really do it justice, here you just have to hear it for yourselves. I really like the intro to "CB" slow intro and then before you know what hit you----a rainstorm of drums and guitar! Incidentally the same arrangement was used in the 1/26 concert---but you wouldn't know it, b/c the way they were playing then, was so fresh, and innovative! Back to "Communication Breakdown" Plant actually loses his cool and yells at the audience to "HANG ABOUT!!" They were begging for an encore, but he thought they'd be cutting into the 2nd set! It turns out that they got the okay, and off they went! A vivid reminder of the early, ramshackle days of Led Zeppelin! Where there were four musicians on stage, and little else! What more could you ask for!
-Underground Uprising

This is all that is known to exist of this show, and it is a shame ... this is great one! Robert is hoarse with a sore throat but his singing is still gutsy and the band is unreal, especially on Dazed and Confused. The group experienced some of equipment problems which caused the long delays between the songs so Robert leading to request the audience, "Has anybody got a Les Paul? Jeff who? Tell him to bring it here then!" As the band took the stage for the encore, Plant saying "I tell you what! This is the third night and we've decided that we're gonna come and live here, 'cos you're so nice! If we don't make it, then the police in England would rather we'd stay there!"
-Argenteum Astrum

January 10, 1969 - San Francisco

2010-01-07T02:47:00.005+01:00

Led Zeppelin
1969-01-10
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA

01. The Train Kept A Rollin'
02. I Can't Quit You Babe
03. As Long As I Have You (including: Fresh Garbage, Shake)
04. Dazed And Confused
05. How Many More Times (including: The Hunter)
06. White Summer / Black Mountain Side
07. Killing Floor
08. You Shook Me
09. Pat's Delight
10. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
11. Communication Breakdown
12. For Your Love

I was there! I was 18 years old and stood with my arms resting on the stage. The band was only a few feet in front of me. I had listened the Zeps first LP at Wallachs Music City in Hayward, California. That very evening, my girlfriend and I drove to SF and went to the concert. I was completely blown away by the band, and of course, Page. I have been a fan ever since and have seen the Zep in concert several times since. Those were the days when a fan could actually get close to the bands.(Gary Schneider)

A classic, early, primitive monster show that is amazing from start to finish! Stand-outs, among this entirely excellent show, are the great riffing intro to The Train Kept A Rollin', the epic As Long As I Have You and How Many More Times medley, and an incredible, 10 minute version of For Your Love that surpasses the original version by leaps and bounds. The song was introduced by Plant as "a thing Keith Relf had something to do with. Do you remember him? Works for Hammersmith Council now!"

January 5, 1969 - Los Angeles, CA

2010-01-07T02:19:00.005+01:00

Led Zeppelin
1969-01-05
Whisky A Go Go
Los Angeles, CA

01. As Long As I Have You
02. I Can't Quit You
03. The Train Kept A Rollin'
04. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
05. Dazed And Confused
06. Killing FLoor
07. For Your Love

The group is billed with Alice Cooper as opening act, which lists them as: "Led Zeppelin featuring Jimmy Page, formerly of the Yardbirds". Upon their arrival to California, Page suffers from a fever and is forced to eliminate the 2nd set from these series of shows.

We can certainly feel that the performance of the band captured by the tape is one of its earliest, since most of the tunes are played in more compact manner than they became in later stages. Here, improvisations are confined to minimum levels. However, the brutality of Bonzo's drum playing and the wide range of Robert's voice is incredible. Jimmy also seems to have been doing some experimental guitar works here. For Your Love rounds out this performance and the band play it as it should have been originally. It doesn’t get more psychedelic than this version.

December 30, 1968 - Spokane, WA

2009-12-26T14:02:00.004+01:00

December 30, 1968

The Gymnasium

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

01. Train Kept A Rollin'

02. I Can't Quit You

03. As Long As I Have You

04. Dazed And Confused

05. White Summer

06. How Many More Times

07. Pat's Delight

Spokane was an early step on 'Len Zefflin's' stairway to stardom
How obscure was the opening band for Vanilla Fudge at Gonzaga University on Dec. 30, 1968? Well, the ads in both The Spokesman-Review and Chronicle read, "The Vanilla Fudge, with Len Zefflin."
The ad copywriter misheard the name and thought it was some guy named "Len Zefflin."
Little did anybody know that old Len would turn out to be Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular and influential rock bands of all time, whose reunion concert this month made worldwide news.
That 1968 show at Gonzaga's Kennedy Pavilion would later assume a historic status in Zeppelin lore – all because a student brought a small tape recorder.
Today, this tape – bootlegged and distributed all over the world and the Web – is widely considered the first Led Zeppelin concert ever captured on tape; the earliest live recording of Led Zeppelin ever.
Here's how lead singer Robert Plant introduced one of the songs: "This is off an album that comes out in about three weeks time on the Atlantic label. It's called 'Led Zeppelin.' This is a tune … called 'Dazed and Confused.' "
So their first album wasn't even out yet. The album would not make a mark on the charts until February 1969.
This concert was only their fifth in the U.S. The band had done tours of the U.K. and Scandinavia a few months before, many of them as The New Yardbirds, the band's short-lived original name. Some of these dates were actually leftover bookings for the Yardbirds, guitarist Jimmy Page's earlier band. Page and his new mates Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones had taken over some of these concert bookings.
So the band was mostly an unknown quantity. Yet at least one concertgoer, Bob Gallagher – a record store 4,000 Holes – was aware that he wasn't going to see some guy named Len Zefflin.
"We knew who Jimmy Page was, from the Yardbirds, and we heard it was his band," said Gallagher, who was a teenager at the time. "I was a big Vanilla Fudge fan because psychedelia was really happening then. … But we were excited about seeing Jimmy Page."
Spokane was experiencing a severe cold snap that week, with temperatures dropping to 10 below. Apparently, the Kennedy Pavilion (Gonzaga's gym) wasn't well-heated either, because many fans remember it as being icy inside, as well.
But when Led Zeppelin launched into the first song, the place heated up.
"Bonham came out and started drumming on 'Train Kept a-Rollin',' and everybody went, 'Holy crap,' " said Gallagher. "There's never been a drummer like him. He was awesome. Then they all started playing and they were totally amazing."
Plant said, between songs, "You won't believe this, but I don't think that either ourselves or our equipment is quite used to the temperature. It's taken about three hours of gas stoves under the equipment to get everything going."
A little later Plant said they were now "getting warmed up properly," and you can hear the crowd response building after each song. By the evidence of the recording, the band's sound was already fully formed, distinguished by Plant's wailing voice – at one point he sounds like a siren – and Page's virtuoso guitar.
"What I mostly remember is when Jimmy Page took out a violin bow and began bowing his double-neck guitar," remembered Jeff "Tor" Nadeau. "The house was universally mind-blown. It was the most stunning and awesome sound ever."
"It took about a half a song before everybody was blown away," remembered David Priano. "When Plant harmonized to Page's pipe-wrench riffs, the audience went nuts. The other thing I remember was the drum solo (during 'Pat's Delight'). As a rule I don't like them. This was the exception. When he threw away his drum sticks and finished with his bare hands – far out."
"We were hoping that the first band wouldn't stay on stage too long," said Kerry Whitsitt of Spokane. "Little did I know that by the end of Led Zeppelin's set, I would be reeling in my seat, transfixed by Robert Plant's voice, body language and raw sexuality (I just knew he was looking straight through me most of the night). … It was electric in every sense of the word. We didn't want them to leave the stage – ever!"
Whitsitt recalls that Vanilla Fudge "paled in comparison," even though that band was riding high at the time with a hit version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Mike and Dorothy McMurtery said they left the show more impressed with Led Zeppelin, "whose hard rock music was ahead of its time for Spokane."
Dave Cole said he was startled, at intermission, to see who was standing in line behind him at the concession stand.
"Right behind me were Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, waiting to order," said Cole. "I thought it was pretty cool at the time. Several months later, when their first album was released and they got a lot more famous, I began to think it was even cooler."
Gallagher described the show as a turning point in his musical life. He said that he and his friends were simply "flabbergasted" by the time Led Zeppelin left the stage.
"Then when Vanilla Fudge came on, they were so sleepy," said Gallagher. "It was like, after that, psychedelia was dead and heavy metal was born, all in a three-hour show. We didn't care about psychedelia anymore. We all just ran back to our Yardbirds records."
"We felt transformed," said Whitsitt. "Those of us who experienced it together felt like we were in a special club."
About 30 years later, one member of that club walked into Gallagher's store and started talking about that show.
(by Jim Kershner / The Spokesman-Review)

Revitalizing the blog for the new year!

2009-12-25T01:48:00.001+01:00

After having put this blog on a sabbatical of over a year, I think it's time to give it a new go, twice we had all know Zepp boots on it, twicw they were deleted, two more times we made it halfway!

When I started this blog years ago it was one of the few blogs with bootlegs, now there are tons of 'em... good fucking stuff I say!

So look out for this place in the course of the new year...

The End

2008-01-05T18:22:00.002+01:00