WOW! This is the first birthday thread anyone has created for me here...so THANK YOU - MERCI BEAUCOUP - VIELEN DANK and MUCHAS GRACIAS ELECTROPHILE!!!
And to all of you who have joined in wishing me happy birthday, I thank thee and I salute you for your kindness.
I'm a long time member, even going back to the old Electric-Magic days, although you wouldn't know it by my post count...it's always been pretty miniscule. Recently though, I've tried to make more of an effort to come out of my shell....a relationship break-up and hospital downtime will do that; leaves you more time to spend on the computer. I've been on lots of boards over the years but it is here that I return to more often than other sites. The fact that Led Zeppelin's music and spirit still is a part of my life is one major reason. Another is that I find the design and user-friendly aspect of the board here better than many other sites; kudos to Sam Webmaster for his excellent, hard work here!
But, thanks must also go to the people here...there simply are a number of people here whose company I enjoy. Almost every time I come here, I'll find something amusing or informative...or both. Even the people I don't know...and there are plenty of threads I've yet to venture in ...or the ones whose views on music, politics or religion don't mesh with mine, are mostly agreeable if you give them half-a-chance. At the very least, I know we share at least one common bond: a love for Led Zeppelin.
Granted, some of my views and posts have probably pissed some people off, but I've never been flamed or banned the entire time I've been here. Which is not something I can say for other sites.
Regrettably, the surprise post I promised for today is not feasible. Due to a last-minute family visit(which mentally exhausted me), and then coming home to a riot on Hollywood Blvd., followed by more craziness last night thanks to Lady Gaga on Jimmy Kimmel, and 4 days of birthday activities scheduled, I just don't have the free time to write a concert post at the time being. FYI, the 1973 concert posts took 4 to 5 hours each to write. Sorry I promised something I couldn't deliver. Another time soon, I hope.
Buuuuuuut....as thanks for all of your birthday wishes, I will leave you with a couple of tasty mementos of previous birthday concerts.
First clip is something from the weekend in 1984 I spent in England going to see Roy Harper and Jimmy Page...first July 28 at the Cambridge Folk Festival; and then July 29 at Battersea Park, right across from Battersea Power Station! Alas, no flying pigs. Not only was this my FIRST TIME to see Roy Harper in concert(having missed his set opening for Zeppelin at Kezar), but it was the ONLY time in nearly 40 years of going to concerts that I was able to see a member of Led Zeppelin on my birthday. This was when I was stationed in Nürnberg while in the Army, and fortuitously, the concerts fell on a weekend, which allowed me to get back to the base in time on Monday.
There are no clips for the 29th Battersea show, but here's one from the Cambridge Folk Festival on July 28, 1984...one of my favourite songs from the set "Elizabeth":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nbJmNisaxs
Many of the songs they did would end up on the album Roy and Jimmy did, "Whatever Happened to Jugula?", released the next year in 1985. It was all part of the re-emergence of Jimmy after his long hibernation. Being an American, I hadn't seen Jimmy in any capacity since the 1977 tour until the September 21 ARMS show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983. Then, there was his encore appearance with Plant in December 1983 at the Hammersmith. With his appearances with Roy Harper the summer of 1984, it seemed Jimmy was slowly building momentum...that soon he would appear with his own project. A thought come to fruition later in the year when The Firm was born.
My main memory is of how Jimmy played mostly his brown Tele that he used for "Ten Years Gone" in 1977. And how he kind of looked like Jimmy, but also a Jimmy with some wear-and-tear apparent...and he wore those sleeveless t-shirts that were all the rage in the 80s. I didn't have a clue about the rest of the band...except that when the Firm was announced, I recognized Tony Franklin as being the bass player from these Roy Harper shows.
Oh, and I couldn't stand how those Ovation acoustic guitars sounded.
But it was ROY HARPER, who I had wanted to see ever since hearing "Hat's Off to (Roy) Harper" back in 1970 and JIMMY PAGE, my guitar-hero supreme, on-stage TOGETHER!!! On MY birthday no less!!! So, yes, the shows rocked in my mind, no matter what bootlegs and youtube clips may say otherwise.
Here's a second clip, a song called "Highway Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy1NJ_xjUf0&feature=related
Finally, I leave you with one of the stranger birthday concert memories I have. The time: July 29, 1973. The place: The Hollywood Bowl. The show: Sid and Marty Krofft Present the World of H. R. Pufnstuf w/ The Brady Bunch Kids, Jack Wild, Johnny Whitaker and Billy Barty.
Yes, two months after Led Zeppelin fried my mind...after seeing everyone from Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, the Doobie Brothers, ZZ Top, the Eagles, Roberta Flack, Al Green, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, Steveie Wonder and Iggy and the Stooges in the two months since, my grandmother, bless her heart, thought it would be a great birthday present to take me to this wild and crazy show at the Hollywood Bowl. What could I do? She was my grandmother...she would have been heartbroken if I said no...and my folks would have killed me.
So off I went, that Sunday night July 29, 1973. Sure, I was a fan of the Brady Bunch TV show...most kids in the 60s and 70s from broken homes were...and I had the hots first for Marcia; then as Marcia became annoying, poor overlooked middle-child Jan. But I had no taste for the horrible spin-off The Brady Kids and their 'orrible noise.
The show began around 7 or 7:30pm and with all the cameras, it became obvious that this was due to be cut and edited for a Sid and Marty Krofft TV special later...which it was. Later that year, around Thanksgiving I think, it was aired as a 1-hour tv show. The show in real time ran about 2 hours, with intermission. Johnny Whitaker was first, and it was painful to see the red-haired star of Disney's "Tom Sawyer" and "Sigmund and the Sea-Monsters" struggle through his lip-synching and bad jokes and self-promotion. Fortunately, it only lasted about 10 minutes.
Then, it was 40 minutes of The Brady Kids...and well, words cannot describe the jaw-dropping awful bad-taste their set left in your mouth...after awhile, even the limited appeal of looking at Marcia and Jan had worn off...I was aghast, and spent most of their set slack-jawed. And I'm pretty sure, I wasn't the only one. Oh hell, see for yourself...here's a clip of The Brady Kids in all their 70s fashion and groovy choreography:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcUSO0xelk&feature=related
After that mess, the crowd needed an intermission to gather itself...and thank god we got one.
The second half of the show was devoted to Jack Wild(he played the Artful Dodger in the musical "Oliver") and the entire crazy world of HR Pufnstuf, including Lidsville and the Bugaloos. Actually, given the druggy nature of those TV shows, this part of the night actually was an improvement.
Anyway, so now you know, it wasn't always cool concerts I was going to see in the 70s...there were a few dodgy ones, too.