Another one of my all-time favourite blues cats...the great SKIP JAMES! This clip is from the same bar during the '66 Neport Festival that the above Howlin' Wolf clip was filmed...bonus points if you can name all the BLUES GIANTS in the room with Skip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2POWSnStU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

There was a French movie that came out a year or so ago, called "Coco & Igor". It didn't get a lot of publicity or wide distribution, unfortunately, and kind of got overshadowed by the Audrey Tatou Coco Chanel movie. But I saw Coco & Igor, and I was spellbound. Is it 100% accurate in depicting the relationship between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky? Who knows. What I do know is that it is worth seeing this movie just for the first 15 minutes, which depicts with great detail the infamous Paris premiere of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). And the actors who portray Chanel and Stravinsky are wonderful. Highly recommended for fans of both Chanel and Stravinsky...and if you're a fan of the Rite of Spring and want to see a good visualization of what happened that historic night of May 29, 1913. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ldvFgZCEI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Well, I guess it depends on when and where you grew up. Southern California in the 70's was pretty crazy...the sexual revolution coupled with the counter-culture explosion and the rising divorce rate. There were plenty of kids like me and Trudy...parents divorced, feeling unloved, and when you don't get the love hou want from a parent, sometimes you look elsewhere. Plus I was naturally curious, and a book worm...that led me to discover all those new sex books that exploded onto the scene in the late-60's and early-70's: The Sensuous Woman and The Sensous Man, Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, The Joy of Sex, My Secret Garden, Total Sex...all those and more I discovered on my parent's bookshelves. And technically I was 10 but my birthday was only a couple months away...and I was tall for my age. And Trudy was nearly a full year older...she turned 12 later that June. Lots of couples in our class were already french-kissing and stuff. We didn't see it as a big deal...it was fun. As for what an 11 or 12 year old girl is attracted to is a matter of personal taste. You may think they only go for Leif Garrett or Justin Bieber types, but you're wrong. I bet there were plenty young tweens who thought Plant was hot. Or David Bowie, T. Rex and any number of rock stars. And I've got more news for you...my 12-year old niece HATES Justin Bieber, Jonas Bros., Zach Efron and all the other teen idols. She's into Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day and the guy from Good Charlotte...or is it My Chemical Romance? I can never remember. She also loves Weezer...a band of 40-year olds; go figure. As for the detail of my memory. First of all, you have to remember I've been LIVING with the memories of these concerts for nearly 40 years. And the three main inputs of information that went into the writing of these three posts were: 1. My journals and concert notes, which I went over so often through the years that most became imbedded in my memory. 2. The Bonzo's Birthday Party and Three Day After bootlegs...both of which I played so many times in the 70's and 80's, that I can still hear certain parts in my head. 3. Knowledge gained from hindsight, whether from books or magazine articles...or just in a change of view in how I see certain things. Like, at the time I was kind of bummed they didn't do an acoustic set, especially for Trudy's sake...she would've preferred that to Dazed and Confused, I'm sure. Anyhow, the memory is a funny thing. Certain seismic events lodge in your brain with no difficulty. That's why I can still recall what I was doing when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, Richard Nixon resigned or OJ tried to escape via the White Bronco...but I cannot remember what I had for breakfast last weekend. And if you don't think a Led Zeppelin concert was a seismic event, I guess I failed to convey that in the posts.

A book? That's quite a compliment, Stargroves Tangie...and FireOpal, Anjin, and others who have suggested likewise, thank you. Flattery and food are a way to a man's heart. But a book? I'm not THAT confident in my writing; hell, that's one of the reasons it took so long for me to share these Zeppelin memories with you. A better writer would've been able to say what I did in half the space. And reading a post on the board is one thing, but would you really pay money to read my gobbledygook? I know what a publisher would ask me: what makes my take on Zeppelin worth publishing? There's already been a plethora of books on Led Zeppelin recently. There have also been several coming of age in the '70's memoirs, none of which set the publishing world on fire. More importantly from the publisher's view, I have zero contact with the band or anyone who knows the band. I don't even know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. I have zero inside information. I'm afraid most, if not all publishers would take a pass. Actually, given that all Zeppelin books, with the dry scholarly exception of Susan Fast's, have been written by men, what is needed is a woman's point of view. A woman to write what it means to be a Led Zeppelin fan, and what their music means through a female sensibility. That would be unique.

Happy Birthday Chester...er, Mr. Wolf! You've heard of lickin' stick? Get ready for lickin' harp...How Many More Years; Newport '66:

LET'S GO MAVS! LET'S GO MAVS! LET'S GO MAVS! LET'S GO MAVS! LET'S GO MAVS! LET'S GO MAVS! Okay, that was another hella-win by the Mavs last night. In fact, this whole series has been a gas to watch...just about every game has gone down to the wire. FANTASTIC SFUFF! But now the hard part...going to Miami for the final 2 games. For it is a trueism of the NBA that on the road, 3-point shots don't fall as easy and the bench players usually don't play as well. These games in Miami will be Eastern Conference-style grinders...no scores in the 100's. Dirk and the starters will have work and play TWICE as hard now, and grit and grind it out. Expect Lebron to be more comfortable and more aggressive at home...and, as such, get the benefit of the ref's calls. I expect Wade to go all-out crazy, too. If Dallas can withstand the first 10 minutes of the game, when the Heat will be super-amped to blow Dallas out, then they'll be alright. Coach Carlisle has got to have his team ready to match the Heat's energy. In fact, to get his team in the mindset of taking care of business, I would have Dallas pack for only one day.

I hear ya, Super Dave! It's one of those crazy quirks that are part of nearly every Led Zeppelin live release. For HTWWW, I always wonder if someone misread a memo or something, because both That's the Way and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp seem to be misrepresented. For That's the Way, they use the Forum version where Robert forgets the last verse and goes to the last chorus too soon. They should have used the Long Beach one, where I don't recall him messing up the lyrics. Then, for Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, they use Long Beach, which is a nice version, but lacks the extra oomph and crowd atmosphere of the Forum version. So instead of LA Forum That's the Way and Long Beach Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, it should have been the other way around: Long Beach That's ..., followed by LA Forum Stomp. Yeah, I know...I'm nitpicking. Don't get me started on the gutting of the encores. Back to the studio version of Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, I have used this song, and Led Zep III, particularly side 2, to turn many self-professed Led Zeppelin-haters into grudging admirers. Even my dad. It's one of the albums I used to gently ease my first girlfriend into Zeppelin. In fact, if you caught me on a certain day, THIS(LZ III) might be the ONE Led Zeppelin album I save from a fire or take on a deserted isle, if I can only pick one. Especially if I can take my super-deluxe version...first made on cassette in the 80's...now currently burned on cd...the live tracks have changed from time-to-time. Here is the track listing for my super-deluxe Led Zeppelin III: 1. Immigrant Song 2. Friends 3. Celebration Day 4. Since I've Been Loving You 5. Out on the Tiles 6. Jennings Farm Blues (studio outtake) 7. Gallows Pole 8. Tangerine 9. That's the Way 10. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 11. Feel So Bad/Fixing to Die/ That's Alright Mama (studio outtake...Hat's Off to Harper music with different lyrics) 12. Poor Tom (from Coda) 13. Hey Hey What Can I Do Bonus Live Tracks: 14. Out on the Tiles (Live @ LA Forum 9-4-70) 15. Bron-Yr-Aur (Live @ LA Forum 9-4-70) 16. That's the Way (Live @ Berkeley 9-14-71) 17. Celebration Day (Live @ Osaka 9-29-71)

Okay...the above didn't knock anyone out...take a listen to THIS! This is California Desert Blues, the flipside to Hard Time Blues...Lane Hardin's only recordings.

What a coinkidink...that's one of the CD's I've had with me during my hospital stay. The 2003 remaster with bonus tracks. Love the early Wilco too...especially Being There. But Yankee Foxtrot Hotel was the necessary great leap forward. And the later addition of local legend Nels Cline was genius. When I first heard Radio Cure, I was gobsmacked...I knew then the band was gonna be all right and not hit a creative dead end. The genius of the song is that it is simultaneously soothing and unsettling. Submitted for your approval: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ea8gCC5HuE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Roy Haynes can GROOVE, mister! Neil Peart tonight.

Wow, nobody's replied to this yet? This is AWESOME NEWS! Looking forward to the new stuff very much. Wilco is in my top 5 or so of best artists of the past 20 years...something like this: Radiohead Stereolab Wilco Low Sigur Rós Lucinda Williams PJ Harvey Bjork Broadcast White Stripes That's a general top 10...the order might fluctuate on any given day. The next 10 would probably include: Elliott Smith Sonic Youth Aimee Mann Mogwai Explosions in the Sky Black Crowes Acid Mothers Temple Nick Cave/Grinderman Beck Jon Brion

It wouldn't work on my phone. Happy Birthday anyway, Les Paul!

Hopefully Dirk is recovered from the flu. Playing one game with the flu is one thing...asking him to play two great games back-to-back with the flu is something else. Dallas cannot go back to Miami down 2-3. It's that simple.

Apologies if this has been posted before...I discovered Lane Hardin on one of the When the Sun Goes Down blues comps by RCA/Bluebird. The song was "California Desert Blues", and it haunted me immediately. Apparently Lane Hardin only recorded one single on Bluebird. I couldn't find California Desert Blues, but here's the other song from the session recorded in Chicago, July 28, 1935..."Hard Time Blues". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbG13in7YnM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

A HISTORIC night. One question: Are those WEM amps in the 12th photo? I thought by 71 he was using his customary Marshall's?

Hi David, As I just spent some time reminiscing about this June 3, 1973 show, I can give you a little help. The first photo is DEFINITELY Rain Song. Jimmy kept his sleeves down until AFTER Rain Song. Then he rolled up his right sleeve before they started Dazed. He kept it up for Stairway. The second photo is tougher to tell...is that a cropped photo? If you have a larger one where it shows more of his arms, if his sleeve is down it's Rain Song, if it's up it's Stairway.

"The influence of a frozen beef pie..."

Vancouver's lucky the NHL uses the 2-2-1-1-1 format and not the NBA's 2-3-2.

Same here...my first 2 Zeppelin shows were LA and Long Beach in 1972 and the Stomp was a stomping success! Clapping and singing along, it was like the world's largest campfire.

My user name should give you an idea how I feel about this song.

Love Chaka Khan! When I saw one of the recent run of Prince's LA Forum shows in May, Chaka Khan and Larry Graham were special guests...she can still bring it.

Roy Haynes tonight...YES!!!