Cat Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Led Zeppelin Zooms for Frenzied Crowd by David Proctor Like four British Caesars, Led Zeppelin came, saw and conquered a frenzied, sold out Salt Palace audience Saturday night. Easily the most elaborately staged rock performance ever seen in Salt Lake City, it will be remembered for years to come. Messrs. Page. Plant. Jones and Bonham are in the midst of a $3-million nationwide tour and the 11,000-plus fans here probably will be smallest crowd they encounter. But it didn't seem to affect Zeppelin in the least. In fact, they seemed to enjoy the audience contact — something you don't encounter before 58,000 people in a baseball stadium. Lights, Mirrors The Sail Palace stage was a collage of lighting scaffolds, spotlights, huge banks of speakers, various lightreflecting devices, 14-foot-high mirrors and, of course, the four stars themselves. Supersinger Robert Plant and lead guitarist Jimmy Page fronted the band and drew most of the attention while the rhythm section of bassist keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham supplied the music's foundation. "Rock and Roll." one of Zeppelin's better recent songs, opened the two-hour show. It's a song that really moves — but sets a pace that's impossible to maintain. So they slipped into some slower material from their new "Houses Of The Holy" album. The band continued the fast-slow pattern through most of the night — alternating older, familiar tunes with new album cuts. Also in the format were Page's guitar breaks of varying lengths during almost every song. Most of the time, he carried it off admirably, but inevitably he began to repeat himself. But preciseness wasn't the object. It was the flash . . . the theatrics . . . the total audience involvement that Zeppelin was after. They succeeded — and then some. It was remarkable that a concert which generated such advance excitement — and was performed before such an enthusiastic audience—was kept under such control. Most of it was due to restraint on the part of the audience. They were exemplary. 'Dazed and Confused" was stretched out to a 20-minute showcase for Page and the special effects- staff. Using a violin bow on his guitar and a delayed-echo system. Page had the sound bouncing from one side of the stage to the other. At times, it circled. When it began to be redundant, they moved quickly into "Stairway to Heaven." one of the finest songs they've ever written. John Paid Jones" work on the synthesizer was beautiful throughout the concert, but especially on this number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 awesome! anybody heard this show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 For me, that was a great read. I wasn't at the SLC show - I was down in LA waiting for Zep to play the Forum. That review brought back memories of how exciting the '73 tour was and reminded me of the insane giddiness we felt as each city's concert was completed and the band moved closer to our city. "Frenzied Crowd" is an apt description. IMO, in terms of sheer excitement, '73 was one of the best Zep years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh Garbage Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 awesome! anybody heard this show? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotplant Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 awesome! anybody heard this show? Yep, I was there. A highly anticipated show. So good, for me at least, that my girlfriend and I left town the next morning headed to San Diego for the next show. I couldn't handle the thought of them leaving....so...we went where they were. And that...lead straight to the riot house! Five days of non stop partying. We went home during Kezar, with the sound of Zep blasting through the air. My friend was worn out and said "I'm leaving!" So...I sadly left with her. One of the most memorable weeks of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Yep, I was there. A highly anticipated show. So good, for me at least, that my girlfriend and I left town the next morning headed to San Diego for the next show. I couldn't handle the thought of them leaving....so...we went where they were. And that...lead straight to the riot house! Five days of non stop partying. We went home during Kezar, with the sound of Zep blasting through the air. My friend was worn out and said "I'm leaving!" So...I sadly left with her. One of the most memorable weeks of my life. No doubt that it was memorable! The Zep guys may have forgotten certain events that transpired back in the day but for some people those events are unforgettable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Yep, I was there. A highly anticipated show. So good, for me at least, that my girlfriend and I left town the next morning headed to San Diego for the next show. I couldn't handle the thought of them leaving....so...we went where they were. And that...lead straight to the riot house! Five days of non stop partying. We went home during Kezar, with the sound of Zep blasting through the air. My friend was worn out and said "I'm leaving!" So...I sadly left with her. One of the most memorable weeks of my life. do you mean you partied with the boys???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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