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Tempe '77


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I so agree with this! That intro is pure spooky atmosphere, fantastic, LOVE IT! I also really enjoy that Page solo intro to Kashmir, that is an example of how they supposedly switched arrangements in concert so much (I find this didn't measure up in later tours, it became somewhat formatted). Accidental, but great to hear, loose and cool. As an aside, Jimmy in the t-shirt with fromal vest was nice looking.

That's what so amazing with Zeppelin, even on an off-night there's still moments of brilliance, like Bonzo being really slow on 19-06-1977, sick again is so freaking heavy when he plays it like that even though he only played like that because he wasn't feeling well

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I disagree - the beginning of Kashmir is enough to disprove that Tempe "is nothing if not unusual." Page was frail, still, and right by Bonham's kick the whole time, so he must have been smacked out of his mind.

I cant say for sure but I highly doubt jimmy went onstage High on heroin. No one can play guitar while nodding out. People who do heroin cannot function properly without a fix but they don't just become normal after doing it, it takes some time before they can function properly, after that they are normal for a few hours until they need another fix. ICBW but IMHO Jimmy's condition is more likely due to not having a fix an hour or 2 before the show and he is too sick to play not high out of his mind.

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  • 2 months later...

I cant say for sure but I highly doubt jimmy went onstage High on heroin. No one can play guitar while nodding out. People who do heroin cannot function properly without a fix but they don't just become normal after doing it, it takes some time before they can function properly, after that they are normal for a few hours until they need another fix. ICBW but IMHO Jimmy's condition is more likely due to not having a fix an hour or 2 before the show and he is too sick to play not high out of his mind.

Two words for ya: Keith Richards. Check out a show from the Stones' 1976 European tour to hear Keith at his smacked out worst. He nodded off onstage more than once...

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I was told this a few years ago by someone who was backstage at this show, and saw the situation unfold: Jimmy gets helped out of his limo and is such a wasted mess, that Peter Grant erupts in anger when he sees Jimmy in this condition. Peter then breaks a mirror backstage, and uses a big broken piece of the shattered mirror to lay out enough cocaine for Jimmy to snort and wake him up so he is awake enough to play the show.

All I will say is that I believe this person and this person's account of what happened, as this person later had a meeting with Jimmy and Jonesy years later, brought up to them that this person was at this show backstage, and Jonesy immediately laughed and Jimmy said something to the effect that 1977 was a haze for him, in which Jonesy laughed again and said he understands why.

What Jimmy and the rest of the crew were doing at Camelback Inn to delay the start of the show by 90 minutes is anybody's guess, but per this account, Jimmy was definitely partying. With what substances besides alcohol before the show, only the inside Zep camp would know. You have to wonder what Jimmy was doing during Jonesy's lengthy No Quarter solo that night.

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I'm not so sure the band stayed at the Camelback Inn, I was under the impression they were staying in Seattle at the Edgewater. Perhaps the crew was staying in Scottsdale, I don't know. Of course the band could have flown in and then partied for a while before heading to Tempe. Need more evidence...

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I'm not so sure the band stayed at the Camelback Inn, I was under the impression they were staying in Seattle at the Edgewater. Perhaps the crew was staying in Scottsdale, I don't know. Of course the band could have flown in and then partied for a while before heading to Tempe. Need more evidence...

this would be a great question to ask Steve A. Jones!

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I was told this a few years ago by someone who was backstage at this show, and saw the situation unfold: Jimmy gets helped out of his limo and is such a wasted mess, that Peter Grant erupts in anger when he sees Jimmy in this condition. Peter then breaks a mirror backstage, and uses a big broken piece of the shattered mirror to lay out enough cocaine for Jimmy to snort and wake him up so he is awake enough to play the show.

Which may explain why -according to the famous Ed Ortiz 'eyewitness account'- that Page was practically frozen on the stage at the show's start, and the fact that Robert Plant had to activate Jimmy's guitar effects during "Over The Hills" because Page was so out of it. Remember, kids, drugs are bad...

All I will say is that I believe this person and this person's account of what happened, as this person later had a meeting with Jimmy and Jonesy years later, brought up to them that this person was at this show backstage, and Jonesy immediately laughed and Jimmy said something to the effect that 1977 was a haze for him, in which Jonesy laughed again and said he understands why.

Years later when Jonesy played Tempe with Diamanda Galas he apologized for Zeppelin's poor showing in '77 in a pre-show interview, and freely admitted that Page was "not well" on the night.

Even based on the incomplete audience tape the Tempe show has a wierd vibe to it, you can tell something was definitely off just by listening to it.

What Jimmy and the rest of the crew were doing at Camelback Inn to delay the start of the show by 90 minutes is anybody's guess, but per this account, Jimmy was definitely partying. With what substances besides alcohol before the show, only the inside Zep camp would know. You have to wonder what Jimmy was doing during Jonesy's lengthy No Quarter solo that night.

I wouldn't be surprised if Page started his partying days before, as soon as the band checked in at the Edgewater...let's face it, Jimmy is pretty fucked up at the Seattle show three days earlier. Maybe by the 20th he was starting to feel the effects of his binging or was starting to come down, but the show had to go on...they just loaded up Page with enough coke and smack and hoped for the best...

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Years later when Jonesy played Tempe with Diamanda Galas he apologized for Zeppelin's poor showing in '77 in a pre-show interview, and freely admitted that Page was "not well" on the night.

Is there anywhere I can find that pre-show interview? I was at that show and got to meet Jonesy afterwards, he talked to everyone and signed autographs, a very nice man.

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Steve has commented/confirmed Camelback Inn already, see attached link from a different Tempe 77 thread (scroll down to Steve's post #18).

Furthermore, somewhere in the Forum was the confirmation that Bonzo bought a new car somewhere on Scottsdale Road during this 77 tour stop, and that the car dealer used this to promote the dealership "as the place where Led Zeppelin buys their cars."

As a side note, Richard Cole does reference Camelback Inn specifically in his book during the 77 tour...take it for what it's worth.

http://forums.ledzeppelin.com/index.php?/topic/11802-tempe-arizona-20-7-77/

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Is there anywhere I can find that pre-show interview? I was at that show and got to meet Jonesy afterwards, he talked to everyone and signed autographs, a very nice man.

Do a search for "Tempe", I'm pretty sure that part of the interview where JPJ refers back to the 20-7-77 show is quoted in one of the other Tempe discussions posted here.

EDIT...never mind, I found the quote:

"I seem to be playing more intensely than I used to play, and faster as well," Jones says over the phone from his motel room in Austin, Texas. He is in the middle of a 16-city tour in support of "Sporting Life," his recorded collaboration with Galas. "I seem to be having a second wind."

The last time Jones was in Phoenix, in the late 70s, Led Zeppelin appeared to be out of wind. The concert at Arizona State University Activity Center, one of the last in America for the band, was an event that started late and turned ugly, with the band sounding out of sync and drug-addled guitarist Jimmy page looking worse. When asked about the show, Jones could only groan.

"Was it dreadful? Yeah, I remember that," Jones says. "It was a horrible night. Jimmy wasn't, uh . . . well. We started off in half time. I apologize," Jones says. The concert with Galas on Friday night at Gammage Auditorium "won't be like that," he adds. "Everything will be much, much better. "

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Do a search for "Tempe", I'm pretty sure that part of the interview where JPJ refers back to the 20-7-77 show is quoted in one of the other Tempe discussions posted here.

EDIT...never mind, I found the quote:

"I seem to be playing more intensely than I used to play, and faster as well," Jones says over the phone from his motel room in Austin, Texas. He is in the middle of a 16-city tour in support of "Sporting Life," his recorded collaboration with Galas. "I seem to be having a second wind."

The last time Jones was in Phoenix, in the late 70s, Led Zeppelin appeared to be out of wind. The concert at Arizona State University Activity Center, one of the last in America for the band, was an event that started late and turned ugly, with the band sounding out of sync and drug-addled guitarist Jimmy page looking worse. When asked about the show, Jones could only groan.

"Was it dreadful? Yeah, I remember that," Jones says. "It was a horrible night. Jimmy wasn't, uh . . . well. We started off in half time. I apologize," Jones says. The concert with Galas on Friday night at Gammage Auditorium "won't be like that," he adds. "Everything will be much, much better. "

Thanks Nutrocker!

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I thought it was an outdoor stadium that Zep played on the 77' tour in the Phoenix metropolitan area. You know when I look at the wiki for Zep's 77 tour it says they played at the Arizona State University Activities Center, or as we call it the ASU Activity Center (It's called Wells Fargo Arena now). That is where I saw The Firm, it's an indoor place. But ASU Stadium, that is an outdoor place where I believe Zep played in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_North_American_Tour_1977

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I thought it was an outdoor stadium that Zep played on the 77' tour in the Phoenix metropolitan area. You know when I look at the wiki for Zep's 77 tour it says they played at the Arizona State University Activities Center, or as we call it the ASU Activity Center (It's called Wells Fargo Arena now). That is where I saw The Firm, it's an indoor place. But ASU Stadium, that is an outdoor place where I believe Zep played in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_North_American_Tour_1977

The Stones played the outdoor Tempe stadium in '81 (as seen in the Let's Spend The Night Together DVD). Pretty sure LZ played the indoor arena in '77- same venue where the punters infamously gave Bob Dylan grief over his Christian music two years later. Again, based on the 20-7-77 audience tape it has that boomy indoor arena kinda sound...

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I thought it was an outdoor stadium that Zep played on the 77' tour in the Phoenix metropolitan area. You know when I look at the wiki for Zep's 77 tour it says they played at the Arizona State University Activities Center, or as we call it the ASU Activity Center (It's called Wells Fargo Arena now). That is where I saw The Firm, it's an indoor place. But ASU Stadium, that is an outdoor place where I believe Zep played in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_North_American_Tour_1977

No, this Tempe concert was most definitely at the Wells Fargo Arena, which it is known as today, and absolutely was not at Sun Devil Stadium. All you have to do is search for Tempe in the Photos Forum section, and you will see the thread of the concert with pictures of the stage set up at the Activities Center as it was known then, two pictures taken at the concert and the writer's review; all taken from The State Press (ASU's on campus newspaper) reporting on this show one week after the concert.

Led Zep were going to play at Sun Devil Stadium in late August 1975, but that date and the other scheduled dates were cancelled when Plant and family got into the car wreck in Greece earlier that month.

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For those of you who haven't had the chance to hear Tempe...

I actually like this intro to Kashmir, Bonzo's fill is awesome.

Yea I don't see what was so wrong with that, so Jimmy didn't feel like doing White Summer, so what? The others catch on relatively quickly. Were the 77 White Summers ever that great anyway?

The acoustic set was solid, pretty standard for 77.

No 30 minute Moby Dick is a plus in my book. B)

Trampled meandered a bit but was OK.

Jimmy's 'Noise Solo' sounded quite good IMO.

Ok Achilles is an unmitigated disaster, but is the rest of the show THAT bad? Sounds like a great Stairway, from what I can hear.

I think this may be a case of a bad recording somewhat clouding opinion of a show. Tons of mic noise, tape noise, hiss, distant sound, etc. I mean there's clearly other music on the tape starting at around 56:20, some of it quite loud. (I'm assuming this is the only source?)

On top of all that we don't even know how the first half of the show sounded.

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Yea I don't see what was so wrong with that, so Jimmy didn't feel like doing White Summer, so what? The others catch on relatively quickly. Were the 77 White Summers ever that great anyway?

The acoustic set was solid, pretty standard for 77.

No 30 minute Moby Dick is a plus in my book. B)

Trampled meandered a bit but was OK.

Jimmy's 'Noise Solo' sounded quite good IMO.

Ok Achilles is an unmitigated disaster, but is the rest of the show THAT bad? Sounds like a great Stairway, from what I can hear.

I think this may be a case of a bad recording somewhat clouding opinion of a show. Tons of mic noise, tape noise, hiss, distant sound, etc. I mean there's clearly other music on the tape starting at around 56:20, some of it quite loud. (I'm assuming this is the only source?)

On top of all that we don't even know how the first half of the show sounded.

This has me wondering if Greensboro 75 has suffered the same fate. (I hope so, I'm a little biased towards that show, my mom was there!) Think I'll revisit that one in the near future. Conversely, IMO 6-19-1977 doesn't get enough criticism, probably because it is a Millard recording. (Sorry Bly) ;) Although to be fair, I remember giving up on that one after the first few songs, so I'll give it another try as well.

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Bad thing about 19/6/77 is Bonzo, he was in a bad way and the show suffers because of it. He falls out of time a lot and quite a few numbers are really slow. It's a shame because it was maybe Jimmy's best night of the whole tour.

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Bad thing about 19/6/77 is Bonzo, he was in a bad way and the show suffers because of it. He falls out of time a lot and quite a few numbers are really slow. It's a shame because it was maybe Jimmy's best night of the whole tour.

You got that right man, listening to it now, the other 3 sound pretty on point. Do we know if Bonzo had a genuine illness/ailment or if it was substance related? I think I would be more sympathetic if it was the former. Although he surely made up for it 2 nights later!

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I was searching for Tempe and found this interesting:

Encoding: MP3-128kbps, Bootleg Rating: 7/10

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Date: 1977-07-20
Venue: ASU Activity Center, Tempe, AZ, USA
Tour: Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977

Setlist:
1. The Song Remains the Same
2. The Rover
3. Sick Again
4. Nobody's Fault But Mine
5. Over the Hills and Far Away
6. Since I've Been Loving You
7. No Quarter
8. Ten Years Gone
9. Battle of Evermore
10. Going to California
11. Black Country Woman
12. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
13. Trampled Under Foot
14. White Summer / Black Mountain Side
15. Kashmir
16. Guitar Solo
17. Achilles Last Stand
18. Stairway to Heaven

It's one of those d/l sites that I cannot access from work. VERY surprised that they list this as the setlist. They also list having St. Paul, Indy, St. Louis, and Baton Rouge!

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Bad thing about 19/6/77 is Bonzo, he was in a bad way and the show suffers because of it. He falls out of time a lot and quite a few numbers are really slow. It's a shame because it was maybe Jimmy's best night of the whole tour.

You got that right man, listening to it now, the other 3 sound pretty on point. Do we know if Bonzo had a genuine illness/ailment or if it was substance related? I think I would be more sympathetic if it was the former. Although he surely made up for it 2 nights later!

Bonzo was definitely under the weather, the one thing I like about it is Sick again though, I've said it before but because Bonzo wasn't feeling good he played it a lot slower than usual which I think gave it a really nice heavy sound, other than that I usually avoid the show

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Yea I don't see what was so wrong with that, so Jimmy didn't feel like doing White Summer, so what? The others catch on relatively quickly. Were the 77 White Summers ever that great anyway?

Ok Achilles is an unmitigated disaster, but is the rest of the show THAT bad? Sounds like a great Stairway, from what I can hear.

I think this may be a case of a bad recording somewhat clouding opinion of a show. Tons of mic noise, tape noise, hiss, distant sound, etc. I mean there's clearly other music on the tape starting at around 56:20, some of it quite loud. (I'm assuming this is the only source?)

On top of all that we don't even know how the first half of the show sounded.

This is indeed the only source for this show. The recording we have is distant and boomy, the crowd is rowdy and noisy, not the best listening experience. Add that to the rumors about Page's condition, Page either forgetting or not feeling like playing White Summer - unannounced, the worst flubbing of Achilles ever, no encores, etc. make this a candidate for the worst show ever. I don't find it that bad, and we only have half of it...so who knows what the first half sounds like.

Obviously the band wasn't up to it. I find Achilles very interesting, Bonzo and JPJ relentlessly leaving Plant and Page behind as if just to get it over with.

People laugh when I say it, but I would love a soundboard from this show just to hear how it actually was.

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