Pontiac Silverdome 1977

[The Rover]

24 minutes ago, Nutrocker said:

Christ, that venue just looks immense- even the stage and the video screen look tiny. Woulda sucked to have been sitting up in the nosebleeds, I'd imagine.

 

From photos on the internet, I've looked at the Pontiac speaker array on the stage. Without any speakers being hung from above, then yes, those in the upper deck at the back of the stadium, may not have felt the power of the sound as those in the other parts of the stadium. But, for any Zeppelin show, if the sound is impressive, then not being close to the stage is not a dealbreaker. Most Zeppelin arena shows allowed for even the nosebleed seats to get punched with sound.

 

Here's a shot from the rear:

https://2.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS560x560~forums/59374862/1be60345d1424295a8167aaad041c3d0

 

[Bong-Man]

If you look to the far left of the crowd pic I posted.....that's not even the 50 yard line !  I sat in the opposite end-zone in tier A for one concert, and that was Aerosmith.  When Joey Kramer hit his drums, there was actually a delay until the sound reached you.  Kind of like when someone's putting a new roof on their house in your neighborhood, and you're not really sure where the sound/echo is actually coming from.  For some shows, they created the Mini-Dome by putting a curtain across.  The Who in '79....Pink Floyd in '87 I believe.  The Pistons used that arrangement when they played there in the 80's before the Palace of Auburn Hills was built.  The sound wasn't much better, but at least you could see.

I'm not complaining mind you.  I was a 17 year old punk.  Those 77.000 tickets sold out in 3 hours in the dead of Winter. If they played Cobo or Olympia with a capacity of roughly 15,000, I would have never gotten or been able to afford tickets.  We paid a scalper with mafia connections $15 bucks for a $10 ticket the week they went on sale, and weren't given our tickets until 2 weeks before the show.  Man were we nervous until we had those tickets in hand.  It's not like we were going to threaten a guy whose family owned a pasta factory.     

Edited July 20, 2017 by Bong-Man

[76229]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-42216297/pontiac-silverdome-stadium-fails-to-implode-in-detroit

 

The stadium that wouldn't die!

[DaveCarrera4S]

Today was the day the Silverdome was to be imploded.  Makes me think back to the record attendance Zep show I saw there.  Someday a video may surface... I hope so.  Hot Rods in Pontiac is a very poor recording, but the energy of the show is just amazing.  I still wonder why they were over an hour late...

[PUCA]

I know for a fact that did stay at the Troy Hilton and took one entire wing / floor of the hotel. I was dating a girl who worked at the Troy Hilton at the time, lots of bands stayed there.  We went th the Troy Hilton after the concert, took the elevator to the third floor, doors open , two guys 6’6 said no credentials , get the hell out of here. The band was in the bar just before close, manager at the time let the stay after close, the barmaid waiting on them got passed around the table and got a hickey from Robert Plant on the stomach!!!

ICONIC Concert!!😎👍

[High-hopes Hailla]

Has anyone else heard the new (Fall 2021) Dogs of Doom release of this show--they call it an "upgrade"? I think it sounds better than my old TDOLZ silvers but can't really remember. In any case, D-of-D sounds pretty good given the source.

 

[Nutrocker]

4 hours ago, High-hopes Hailla said:

Has anyone else heard the new (Fall 2021) Dogs of Doom release of this show--they call it an "upgrade"? I think it sounds better than my old TDOLZ silvers but can't really remember. In any case, D-of-D sounds pretty good given the source.

 

The new DOD transfer for Pontiac is indeed an upgrade and a half, just like their upgrade of MSG 6/8/77 last year- the fresh transfers remove about seventeen layers of dust off those recordings.

[High-hopes Hailla]

Thanks for your reply. When an expert tells me my instincts are correct, I dig it! But yeah, last couple weeks, this D-o-D Pontiac has dominated my sound system.