Chicago, I was there too, in the boxes on the left side of the stage about 15 rows back.... I remember Robert saying something like "We have someone here with us tonight who I hear helped do something great for you guys this week" (or something to that effect) Then Rodman strolled out with a drink in his hand looking like the bartender needed to cut him off... The crowd loved it though!

I was at all three Chicago shows in '75, Jan. 20, 21, and 22. That would have been just a week after the injury. I don't remember Jimmy being bad at all, it was Robert who struggled a bit the first night with the flu. The review of that first show was actually pretty favorable too. I guess Jimmy using three fingers was better than most guys using four. And the '75 injury was, as I recall, a mishap with a train door.

That's the one, thanks David. I tried to send some pics of that show yesterday, but for some reason they didn't go. May have been too many. I'll try again.

Chicago, You got it! If I'm not mistaken, that 2nd. row seat set me back a whole $25.00. If Zep hit the road again and wound up at the United Center, you couldn't sniff that seat for less than 5 grand, and I'm not kidding.... A one night gig at the U.C. would be packed with corporate types, politicians, pro atheletes and other local "celebs" who wouldn't have known Led Zeppelin from The Archies back in the day.... The true fans, (or peasants as we have come to be known) might, if we were lucky, be relegated to watching some digital simulcast charged at an outrageous rate at "select venues."

I pulled the disc today and looked at it. The pictures were really just okay quality wise due to my inexperience with the camera, but there are several nice shots. I had the slides stored for 30 years, and the years haven't been real kind to them. They're not real bad, but the images could use a cleaning up. I suppose in some regards they're pretty historic, you don't see many pictures of that show. Those original slides are a record in time... One of these days I'm going to take them to somebody who can run through them and clean them up, maybe improve the quality a bit. I just have to figure out how to post them here. I was already out of film by the time Jimmy came over. Like I said, I blew 36 shots pretty quick. He later changed into the white suit he used on that tour, and I'm not sure if I have any pics with him wearing it. I think he'd changed by the accoustic set. A little bit into the show I remember he pulled off the Military hat and put on a white fedora kind of thing. I'm not sure if he got it from someone in the crowd or what.

Chicago, Thanks for the teriffic read, You filled in some lost memories! I killed my share of brain cells back then, I'm sure, and my memory isn't as sharp as I'd like it to be. I was at all four Chicago shows in '77, and to read your description of the events of those nights has been a blast. I can't believe the detail you're able to recount... My hard drive memory is pretty fried! Starting with our first Zep show in '73, my friends and I did everything possible in those days to make sure we didn't miss a show when they were in. This usually meant grabbing whatever tickets we could get our hands on, then wheeling and dealing to improve our station as far as seating goes before they hit town. The first night I sold some 2nd. balcony seats and wound up sitting in the mezzanine to the left of the stage on JPJ's side, probably about as far back as the hockey blue line would be from the end boards. I loved the show, but then again they could do no wrong in my eyes in those days. Kashmir really stood out for me, I remember it being crushingly loud and hypnotic. Some guy next to me was so stoned he fell asleep on my shoulder during the accoustic set...! The second night was good for me too, even though the seats were up in the 2nd. balcony to the right of the stage, about halfway back. I remember the Saturday sick show much the way you recount, the mood was one of quiet concern, numb shock as much as anything. For that show we had what would have been a lower mezzanine seat across from the stage and slightly to the left side. I had seen all three shows in '75 too, and Robert was sub par vocally opening night because of his, how did he say it, "Inability to come to grips with the climate", which was a nasty cold or flu. But they made it through, and the next two shows were great. But this one really showed their mortality, and as much as we told ourselves it was going to be fine, I remember going to bed that night and being really worried. The 4th. show, the Easter Stormtrooper gig, turned out to be very special for me. After three tours worth of wheeling and dealing for the best seats we could get, one of the girls in the group we hung out with called me, told me she had four seats and asked me if Id be interested in a 2nd. row main floor seat... (More on that girl later....) I almost fell over, couldn't believe it. Of course I jumped on it, wound up selling a 20 - something row main floor seat to a friend. I knew I had to take pictures, but I didn't have a decent camera. I wound up borrowing an old 35 mm manual camera from my dad. I was at a total loss as to the use of film speed, f-stop, use of flash, etc., so I went to a local camera shop and talked to a pro. He explained that my best bet would be to shoot slides since then I wouldn't need to use a flash. He recommended a high speed color film (400 ASA) and when I told him I didn't think I could load the camera in the dark, he suggested focusing carefully, loading up with 36 exposures and being mindful with my shots! He was pretty familiar with Zep's lighting tendencies, so he set the camera up and off I went. The show itself was brilliant, that's the way I remember it. Jimmy coming out in the boots, scarf, hat, etc. was a trip, Robert was playful, JPJ and Bonzo were dead nuts on and the mood for me was one of vindication and relief. You could see their confidence and ease increase as the show went on, and it's my warmest memory of the band live. At one point, after blasting out a chord, Jimmy had his right hand in that familiar pose, his first finger and thumb forming the "okay" sign, and the other three fingers pointed out straight. As he moved in front of us, I raised both my arms in the air and mimicked the hand position with both hands. He looked down, saw me, smiled, and maintaining that hand position, pointed right at me.... I almost fell off the chair, I remember one of the guys we went with who was in the seat next to me turning around and looking at me with his mouth open and eyes wide in disbelief.... Well, I did get my pictures, the only problem was, I burned through all of the film in probably the first 20 or 30 minutes. I left a lot of great photos out there that night, including Jimmy right in front of us doing the bow section in the green laser pyramid. Most weren't that good, washed out or taken foolishly when Jimmy or Robert strolled to the far left side of the stage. There are a dozen or so that turned out pretty well, including a nice candid shot of Peter Grant standing in the wings watching the show. A little dark, but not too bad. I'll try and post them as soon as I get a chance. I dug the slides out for the first time in about 25 years a few months back and had them transfered to disc. About that girl who thought of me and gave me first shot at the tickets.... Shortly after that show, everybody's lives changed, and I drifted away from my high school friends, including her. Last January, a day short of a year to the day of this posting, I was contacted by a couple of the guys that I was so close to in school. We met up, and I found out that they all still see each other, 30 years later, still hang out. In April we had a surprise party for one of the guys for his 50th., and I saw my ticket girl for the first time in 30 years. We talked, one of the first things that came up was that Zep show Easter night, April 10, 1977. Turns out we're both divorced, and it soon became apparent that we had a real connection, sparks were flying. We've been seeing each other seriously now since May, and this is the woman I'm going to wind up getting old with.... My "Angel with a broken wing." Thanks Zep, you defined my life then, and you're still shaping it now. To paraphrase Robert at the end of the Knebworth show on the DVD, "I dunno know how to say it....thanks for 35 years."