I'm in the middle of reading the latest volume of Michael Palin's (Monty Python) Diaries: Halfway to Hollywood 1980-1988, and I just came to an entry where he mentions Jimmy Page. It's on page 271. The year is 1983...and the diary entry is dated Tuesday, September 20th. I've excerpted the pertinent parts. "I am tempted by a phone call from Ray Cooper to attend the first of a two-night concert in aid of Multiple Sclerosis, in which many great rock stars of the '60's, all friends of Ronnie Lane who has MS, will be appearing, including Ray C. ...But even Ray is upstaged by the extraordinary appearance of Jimmy Page, who weaves his way around the stage like a man who has been frozen in the last stages of drunkenness, before actually falling over. He sways, reels, totters, bends, but still manages to play superbly. The others look on anxiously and Ray tells me at the end that Page isn't well...'And he lives in Aleister Crowley's house.'" I have the earlier volume of Michael Palin's diaries, that discuss the making of the Holy Grail movie. But it's buried deep in storage at the moment.

It wasn't just Zeppelin...most concerts in the 70's started late...especially the "heavier" bands. It gave the audience more time to get 'luded and liquored up. The Stones were all-time champs at being late. Of course, Sly Stone found a way to one-up the Stones...by not showing up at all!

Yeah, even more than Vancouver's losing at home and Luongo's disappearing act, I was shocked by the scenes afterward...I'm not used to seeing Canadians behave in such fashion. Sad.

June 16, 1904. That is the day that the events take place in James Joyce's gift to modern literature, "Ulysses". The day Leopold Bloom spends in Dublin and we meet Molly Bloom and the others. Marilyn Monroe reading "Ulysses"...Photograph by Eve Arnold Hence, every June 16 is celebrated among the Irish and Literature nerds everywhere as Bloomsday. There are usually readings of the book...on the 100th anniversary I went to a marathon-reading of the ENTIRE book...all 265,000 words or so. It was open to all, and I got to read for an hour myself...my voice was nearly shot by the end of my slot. Of course, there's usually copious amounts of Irish beer and food involved, and much Irish music and mirth. This year is the 107th anniversary of Bloomsday. There are several Bloomsday events happening in L.A., but I am going to the Hammer Museum's 2nd Annual Bloomsday, as I had such a blast at last year's. This year they are focusing on the Hoyce women...the women in the novel, the women who helped get Joyce published, and the women of his life and family. I suppose it is my Irish DNA that predisposes me to like James Joyce, although I still find Finnigan's Wake near-imprenatrable. But Ulysses...that is another matter. I have always loved that book, and every time I begin to read it, I fall into its whorl of words willingly. Like any great, or groundbreaking work, it has been banned many times. But you cannot keep Leo Bloom down...nor Molly, for that matter. Here's an excellent reading by Marcella Riordan of the last part of Molly's soliloquy... Happy Bloomsday!

It's the nighttime now...which means it's time for this hauntingly beautiful blues from Karen Dalton. In the Evening ( It's So Hard to Tell Who's Gonna Love You the Best ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMMPoJSeyR0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Had to add some more Summerteeth songs...the 2007 Bonneroo was the last one I attended and Wilco was outstanding as usual. They did a particularly nice version of Via Chicago... I'm Always in Love Jeff Tweedy - ELT

I have purposely avoided every newspaper or tv news story dealing with Anthony Weiner. I just don't care. But I happen to watch Bill Maher's HBO show every week, so I was a captive audience when Bill and the ever-so-cool Jane Lynch did this side-splitting hilarious bit on Weiner's text messages. Since no one has posted the bit here yet, I'm doing so now for your entertainment. One note of caution: NSFW.

Well, that sucked. I'm glad I didn't waste my night staying home to watch that debacle live. After my evening out, I came home and zapped thru the game in about 30 minutes. Where's Bill Mazeroski when you need him? Congrats to Boston...now their fans have another reason to act smug and superior. Sorry silvermed, but I gotta agree with ally on this one...the better team won. Vancouver had home ice advantage and blew it. They looked like a junior hockey team on the road. Boston OUTSCORED Vancouver 23-8!!! That's a ridiculous spread...it's a wipeout. Vancouver was shutout 3 times. And just WHERE were the Sedins? Sad to see the hooligans run amok. I have relatives in Bellingham, WA, so Vancouver is just a hop away. Pretty city. And so it is now 19 years since Canada has had a Cup champion.

I guess it all depends on WHEN they were supposed to go on in the first place. I remember the ads saying 2pm being Led Zeppelin's starting time. It sure felt like close to two hours to me.

I'll answer your questions in order. 1. Yes, I think the Copenhagen warm-ups are better than the Knebworth shows, both the 4th and 11th. But I also think you only need one of the Copenhagen shows...and that would be the 2nd night of July 24, 1979. The first night was plagued by equipment failures and lengthy delays and that annoying Danish clapping. 2. Euro 73 vs. US 73...that's an interesting contest. If you're going by performance quality, Euro 73 has it all over US 73. Only the 73 LA Forum shows and a couple others(Boston, NY) come close. Unfortunately the sound quality of Boston sucks. The difference is in the setlists. Both tours shared Rock and Roll, OTHAFA, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop>SIBLY, TSRTS>Rain Song, D & C, Stairway, WLL, Heartbreaker, The Ocean(usually the encore). Euro 73 also featured Dancing Days and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp. There was no Moby Dick. But WLL usually featured a much longer medley than the US 73 WLL's. Besides the Boogie Mama bit, the Euro 73 WLL's included Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Let's Have A Party, and I Can't Quit You, which often featured Jimmy just GOING OFF, shredding his guitar in unbelievable fashion, with no regard for human life. The Dazed's also have to be heard to be believed...Bonham and Jimmy seemed to be on some wavelength to DESTROY the arena. The encore was either Heartbreaker or The Ocean. As for the 73 US setlist, take out Dancing Days and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, and add Celebration Day and No Quarter. Also add Moby Dick and Heartbreaker to the regular setlist. The Ocean and Communication Breakdown become the encores. Some cities got both, some only got one. Two, LA and NY, got a third encore: Thank You. The WLL medley got shortened to just the Boogie Mama bit, with a few exceptions like New Orleans, San Diego, and the 2nd LA show. 3. The two 77 shows you have(Cleveland Destroyer and LA Forum Eddie) are pretty much representative of the 77 tour. If you want to expand, I suggest getting For Badgeholders Only, which is the June 23 LA Forum gig where Keith Moon made a special appearance. It's a Mike Millard recording so the sound is excellent. You could also try one of the NY MSG shows...there's a soundboard recently released of the June 7 show entitled Magical Sound Boogie. After those shows, proceed with caution. Avoid Seattle, Oakland and Tuscon like the plague. Also one to avoid is the Landover soundboard called Bringing Down the House...oh, and San Diego. There's another LA Forum Mike Millard recording worth checking out...the June 25 show. Fort Worth, Texas is another decent show...worth it for the It'll Be Me encore with Mick Ralphs alone. 4. Sad to say, while some of the early 75 shows are interesting, and even seem good performance-wise, particularly Chicago Jan. 20, there are no early 75 shows in even half-way decent quality. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. If I remember anything else, I'll let you know.

As summer is just around the corner then...here's some Summerteeth songs...enjoy. Summer Teeth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPeBivxNdEs&feature=player_detailpage Via Chicago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTecSbAEFaI&feature=player_detailpage A Shot in the Arm (Live at the Vic)

My problem isn't so much with the song so much as WHY does there need to be a US remake of the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" to begin with? There was a perfectly FINE trilogy of Swedish films done of the Stieg Larsson books already in 2009: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; "The Girl Who Played with Fire"; and "The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest". All starring the AWESOME Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander. It's just like with the fabulous "Let the Right One In", a marvelous 2008 Swedish vampire movie adapted from the book of the same name, with amazing atmosphere and acting by the two child lead actors. Then in 2010, you had the US remake, subpar and ridiculously titled "Let Me In". Even if you don't speak foreign languages, it's not THAT difficult to read subtitles.

Sorry...I refuse to answer this EVIL question. I have a hard enough time coming up with my Top 5 Zeppelin albums and you want me to distill their entire catalog to 5 songs...are you trying to make me nuts? A Top 15 or 20 I could do...and maybe even a Top 10...but Top 5? No way, Jose.

For all you Dead Can Dance/Lisa Gerrard fans, Lisa Gerrard and other guests will be appearing in person tonight( 7:30pm. Wednesday June 15, 2011 ) at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, for the screening of not one, but TWO documentaries/concert films: 1. "SANCTUARY: LISA GERRARD", directed by Clive Collier, 2006. 2. "DEAD CAN DANCE: Toward the Within", directed by Mark Magidson, 2004. There will be an in-between film Q & A with Lisa Gerrard and Mark Magidson. Here's the link: Lisa Gerrard @ American Cinematheque

I was lucky in two respects, SuperDave...1) That I was dosed with "good" acid and not "bad" acid. Lord knows what would've happened if I'd had a bad trip; and 2) As irresponsible as my two adult escorts might have been in some respects, at least they had had experience with drugs, so they could talk to me, and reassure me and keep watch to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. Also, being of strong Irish stock, I have always been able to withstand large amounts of drug and drink. If it had been most any other band, I probably would have said to hell with it, let's go home...but I was such a Zephead even then, that I didn't want to miss a thing. Om my god, did I just quote a shite Aeroshit song? Thirty lashings for me, administered by Miss Melanie...or Deborah J...or FireOpal...or Magic in the Air...Knebby? Hell, all of you, hehehehehehehehe! Also, don't know if I mentioned it in my original post, but just the week before, the Grateful Dead played Kezar and drew a record crowd for a San Francisco show. Then Led Zeppelin played their Kezar show and broke the record the Dead had just established the week prior. I'm sure Zep's record was subsequently broken by one of the later Day on the Green's in the 70's. A question I have about the opening acts that I missed...have any of their sets been booted? I'm particularly interested in Roy Harper and the Tubes.

I love both of those bands...especially the Decemberists; their shows are fun and audience-participatory. Did they do the Mariner's Revenge Song, where the band gets attacked by the whale and the audience screams along? That is CLASSIC! They used to have the awesome-in-her-own-right Petra Haden(daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden) in the band back in the day...don't know if you saw them then. However, the last time I saw the Decemberists in February, Sara Watkins was lending her violin and vocal talents. Is she still with them? Of course, being in LA, they opened with Los Angeles, I'm Yours. Hope you got The Mariner's Revenge Song at least!

Walter's absolutely right...the 2002 cd remasters featured Rob Trujillo and Mike Bordin, who were in Ozzy's touring band at the time, recording over Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake's original bass and drum parts. But here's how ridiculous the credit snafu is regarding Diary of a Madman...and whether it's Ozzy's fault or Sharon's, it's one reason among many why Ozzy has sunk very low in my estimation and why I hardly pull out his albums. When Diary of a Madman was released in 81, it listed Rudy Sarzo(bass), Tommy Aldridge(drums), and Don Airy(keyboards) in the credits and whose photos were on the album sleeve, even though it was Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake and Johnny Cook(who was in Mungo Jerry with Daisley) who recorded the original tracks, respectively. So even as far back as the original vinyl release, Ozzy was trying to pull a fast one. I have 5 Ozzy albums on vinyl...none on cd. They are Blizzard, Diary, Bark at the Moon, Speak of the Devil(the surprisingly good live album with Nightranger guitarist Brad Gillis), and Tribute, the Randy Rhoades-era live album. Everything else is schlock...pure garbage...mere product for contractual obligation. As for these new 30th anniversary deluxe reissues, I have good news...they are going back to the original recordings. And the double-deluxe Diary features a live concert from that period on the 2nd disc. So it looks like I might be getting my first Ozzy cd. Then perhaps I'll finally get around to getting the cd of Speak of the Devil...the version that INCLUDES Sweet Leaf, which was dropped from the initial cd release.

Glad they remembered the Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley covers...but surprised they left off Tool's No Quarter. I'm also partial to the Flaming Lips TSRTS.

Even though it's an audience recording, it is an EXCELLENT audience recording of a STELLAR show, so I would swap the September 4, 1970 LA Forum Live on Blueberry Hill show in place of the Vancouver 70. You also need some Euro 73, which quite possibly features Jimmy and Bonzo's most incendiary playing...so add the March 24, 1973 Offenburg (often mislabelled as Offenbach) show.

Hahaha...ummm, about that June 21 post...you may have to wait a while for that, as my schedule is pretty busy the next week or so. Lying around a hospital bed was good for catching up on sleep and reminiscing. But I'm way behind on work. You might have to wait until 2012 when I do a 35th anniversary post. Hmmm, it will also be the 40th anniversary of the 1972 shows. I better start preparing soon.

Deborah J previously posted the excellent Elmore James "It Hurts Me Too". I'd like to add a couple equally great versions, both done by the same person. Karen Dalton, the girl from Enid, Oklahoma, ran with Fred Neill and Bob Dylan and the others in the 1960's Greenwich Village scene in New York. She never reached the level of fame her cohorts did. Even when Dylan mentioned her in his autobiography Chronicles Vol. 1, she still remains unknown for the most part. It has become easier to pick up her albums, though...some with bonus dvd of archival footage. I am going to post two of her versions of "It Hurts Me Too", both different and the first one is unavailable on any of her recordings. It was done for a French documentary. The second one is from her album "It's So Hard to Tell". There were some good fakers in the Greenwich Village scene. But when you hear Karen Dalton, you hear the voice of a woman who is not just singing these songs...she has LIVED these songs. IT HURTS ME TOO #1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-BIKjypNsE&feature=youtube_gdata_player IT HURTS ME TOO #2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A18M95gTG2M&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Yeah, Diary was much preferable to Blizzard, IMO.

Lady Gaga the "FAKIEST 'artist' in pop/rock history"? Really SnS? More than Milli Vanilli? Or Vanilla Ice? Britney Spears? And is "fakiest" the type of word you are teaching your English class? I am especially amused you are so concerned about real vs. fake, considering Wendy O. Williams aligned herself with WWF-style wrestling, the phoniest sport in the world. Then there's your lesbian remark which reveals your ignorance and explains a lot regarding your undecipherable posts. But let me make it easy for you to understand. Lady Gaga = Real ( taken from the Yoko Ono & Plastic Ono Band concert last year @ Orpheum Theatre, L.A. ) Milli Vanilli = Fake