Oakland Show Review

[Cat]

The Daily Review, Hayward, CA 9-30-1971

Led Zeppelin made its first Bay Area appearance in over a year in two shows at the Berkeley Community Theatre where it put on a very complete show in front of two sellout crowds.

It played for something like three hours of what was mostly hard rock featured around the voice of Robert Plant. He did a fine job, especially on "Whole Lot of Love" (sic) toward the end of the show. But his performance wasn't anything great and on long tunes Plant died on the vine. His style was exciting as was his chords, but when he tried to slow things down they lost all momentum. The best thing that happened In the gig was an over 30-minute drum solo by John Bonham. If it wasn't the best solo on the skins we have seen, it was one of the very best and we have seen an awful lot. John just .did not keep up a tremendous beat on the solo, but he used his hands as well. We have heard some drumers hands but he was beating the drums as hard and with as much energy as one cat could.

He received the loudest applause of the night and several standing ovations during and after his solo performance.

Then after his performance solo style he started out the next tune in fine style leading that out.

Jimmy Page, the ex-Yardbird, kept the show going with his excellent guitar playing. He played many guitars and played them very well and often. Right when it seemed like a tune was carried out too long, he would come in with some good vibes to keep things cook'n.

Bassist John Paul Jones was super at times, not just bass but on the organ. He did a solo organ piece for one of the group's two encores, that was great. A big stuffed animal was brought out on stage and Jones played to it. Over all, they put on a very loud hard rock performance that was fine considering we have never seen them before. If we had caught their act before a lot of their tunes could be repititous. We will have to give them credit where credit is due. They performed many tunes from their up and coming LP and for the most part were good.

A lot of groups think it is not what you play, or how good you play, but how loud you play. And Led was loud — so loud at times they were unenjoyable.

Besides all that Led Zeppelin is cool.

A fun Pagey tidbit:

Marilyn Beck - Hollywood Hotline

Pasadena, CA Star News 5/26/1970

On the pop scene, "Led Zeppelin's" Jimmy Page came to Los Angeles with the group a while back and fell in love with a lovely blue antique Cord auto. Only after Jimmy bought it — and after he exposed his friends to a grueling joy ride or two — did he face the fact he didn't know how to drive it and

turned the steering chores over to his manager. The baby blue buggy has now been shipped home to

Jimmy in England — where he's currently taking driving lessons.

[SteveAJones]

It seems silly for the author to refer to Jimmy as an ex-Yardbird, for when this article was written he'd been out of that band longer than he'd been in it!

The car Jimmy purchased was a classic Cord 810 and he auctioned it off in the 1990s.