[The Firm Thread]

I also have the same ticket stub, but mine is not faded. I used to have the tour shirt I bought at the show but made the mistake of washing it Not only did it shrink up like George's penis from the Seinfeld episode, the bottom shrunk uneven so if I wore it I looked like a low-rent street hustler

[The Firm Thread]

A Phoenix ticket stub for "The Firm". Quite faded at this point. I 'think' the very top says 'Phoenix New Times' , then it says 'Compton Terrace' , then 'Firebird Lake' , then Tuesday March 12, 1985. Concert was never held there, but was held at the ASU Activities Center.

The top says Feyline Presents. Feyline was the promotor for the show. I was thrilled when they moved this to the ASU Activity Center since it is such a smaller, more intimate venue. This was a great show and whenever I have had the pleasure of seeing Jimmy live he has never dissapointed. Great performer!!!

[THE METAL THREAD!]

I saw them at a festival in 1988 or 89' at Paradise Valley Park Phoenix, AZ. They put on a great show along with Cinderella and a few other bands. I wish I could remember more but that night was a bit of a blur...college days ya know

Lane was a great performer and made everyone in the crowd feel special, he just had that gift. I remember going to the show to see Cinderella and having no interest in seeing Warrant because I thought their music was sophmoric at best. Jani Lane made a beliver out of me, the man was just so warm and kind and the music just came alive.

You will be missed...may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

[Jimmy and Crowley]

Let me try to clarify...Thelema which was developed by Crowley was to address a type of spiritual teaching akin to a combination of Theosophy, Alchemy, and psychology. The famous, "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" truly summed up Crowley's perspective. Crowley was neither a satanist or evil. During his life he was many things but most of all simply a human being seeking truth. Along that path he became misguided on several occasions and was known to be quite the drama queen. When he died in 1948 he was a raging morphine addict and penniless. Crowley, like most of us had his moments of brilliance and his moments of disgrace, he was simply human. His main point of belief, stated above, simply means everyone should embrace the true gift from God, free will. We should all follow are true path which is found through meditation, and seek it. If we do this we cannot do evil because it is our true self as revealed by God. If we do bad things along the way it means we have diverged from our true path and that is the only sin.

As a believer of pre-4th century christianity I feel, from my studies, this was the true teachings of the mystery schools prevalent during the 1st century ad and followed the teachings of Jesus accurately before the Council of Nicea destroyed the true teachings of Jesus and created what today passes for Christianity. Jesus was all about freedom and liberation of the soul-man toward his/her true journey. Crowley believed this as well. Unfortunately Crowley was no Jesus and was controlled by his passions unlike a true avatar such as Jesus. Crowley had a voracious sexual appetite for both sexes and this obsession caused the majority of his life's troubles. Jesus however was an avatar who had released himself from these human passions much like the avatars had done before him, Krishna, Osiris, Buddha, Zoroaster...through the mastery of the mysteries. Crowley had no such enlightened mentors or community to guide him so he did the best with what he had.

I hope the brief history lesson helped. Jimmy is a true seeker and at times has seen the weaknesses of Crowley in himself. I believe he understands Crowley was a visionary but ultimately a failed prophet and simply a flawed man with some great truths.

[Robert Plant "Non Stop Go" Tour 1988]

A saw a show from that tour and his opening act Stevie Ray Vaughn blew him away!

Hey, I like SRV as much as the next guy but he could never blow Robert off any stage because Robert has always been as passionate as SRV and that is what it is all about. Also, not to get anyones knickers in a bunch but as much as I loved SRV style and playing abilities I never liked his tone. Way too twangy and steely for my tastes. I always thought the best of the Texas blus players was Gatemouth, agressive style and a meater tone than the other Texans.

[Robert Plant "Non Stop Go" Tour 1988]

I saw Plant in Phoenix for that tour and The Mission UK opened for him. Phoenix crowds are notoriously rude and rowdy toward opening acts and I admit I was a bit embarassed at the greeting The Mission UK received. The crowd would not stop booing them and screaming, "Get the FUCK off the stage...You suck!!!" Finally, after two songs the singer told the crowd to fuck off, threw down his mic and stormed off. The remainder of the band went into one hell of a hard core metal jam for about a minute and the crowd LOVED it. Went beserk! The the rest of Mission UK took off their gear, flipped off the crowd and left. Insane. When Plant and the crew performed they did an amazing show. A rather large woman of about thirty rushed the stage with a bouquet of roses and just when security was about to get medeval on her ass, Plant motioned to security to back off. He approached her, gave her a hug and accepted the flowers, he then kissed her and helped her (with the aid of three security guys...I said she was a big girl) off the stage. Robert proves time and again he is a true gentleman, great showman, and incredible musician.

[Discrepency over Black Mountain Side / Blackwaterside claims]

Good point. And if I recall, didn't they give a credit to Ritchie Valens on a song only to be sued by his mother for all the rights to the song.... and in reality the song was somthing Valens "borrowed" from someone else anyway.

I don't recall all the details of that story, but didn't it happen that way?

That is correct and the song was Boogie with Stu, a reworking of Oh, My Head by Valens. Valens was credited on the song so Ms. Valens would receive part of the royalties but Ms. Valens sued anyway. Just goes to show what happens when you do the right thing. Let no good deed go unpunished.

[Discrepency over Black Mountain Side / Blackwaterside claims]

C'mon now, can't we all just get along :-) I have been a musician since age 10, mostly as a hobby, though I was in a band back in the 80's for about a year. Anyway, Page was not doing what many other artists of the day were also doing. Page's real crime was being the most successfull at it. If the Scmuck Bros. did the same thing but could not arrange the songs into something worth listening to no one would care. Was Page wrong? Without a doubt yes, especially when it comes to Dazed and Confused and to a certain degree BMS. The Stairway to Heaven melody is a bit of a stretch. I heard the song Davey Graham did back in 59' and there are about four or five bars which are similar in mood and composition, however the pattern is revesed in Graham's song. Was there an influence? Oh yeah, without a doubt. Would that be considered stealing to a court of law or any sane person? No, that's why nothing ever came of it. D&C and BMS should add Jake Holms and Bert Jansch respectively. One last unrelated point, Jansch may play guitar like Apollo but didn't anyone ever tell him he can't sing for shit??? I bought his latest album and any song he sings in is completely horrible. I wish I could remove his vocals from the mix, the album would be perfect.

So, case closed. Verdict: Page knowingly stole riffs and ideas from obscure songs which Zeppelin re-crafted, re-arranged and made famous as their own. Sidebar: Many artists since the demise of Zeppelin have stolen Zeppelin riffs, ideas, and virtually whole songs and no one from Zeppelin ever complained or sued. At least you can't call them hypocrites ;-)

[The Firm Thread]

You are absolutely right, the place smelled like a reefer factory, and there was a huge obvous reefer cloud above the audience. I remember when they came out at the beginning for the first song, they came out playing, and then Jimmy looks up at the big reefer cloud, and the audience roared in response! Lol! It was Compton Terrace though, not the Vet's Coliseum that the concert was originally supposed to be at. Thanks for sharing your memory of that concert.

You are 100% correct, the mind gets a bit muddled over the years

Curious though the reason being no outside concerts. When I saw him for the Outrider concert in 88' it was at the Mesa Amphitheatre, a great outdoor venue. I remember that show because everything was perfect, idyllic really. I thought it was quite ingenious that a few fans got rooms at the hotel right next door. They were all out on the balconies rocking out and the band was digging it. The versions of Custard Pie and In My Time of Dying brought the house down, so to speak.

[The Firm Thread]

It was originally to be at "Compton Terrace". Another name for "Compton Terrace" is also "Firebird Raceway", it's where the old "Legend City" used to be out here. It is an outdoor venue. Jimmy Page said they would be doing no outdoor shows,so the venue was changed but the date stayed the same. As far as ASU Steve, ASU has the big outdoor "Sun Devil Stadium" and the smaller indoor "ASU Activity Center" which is where it ended up being. The "ASU Activity Center" is in Tempe, and the "Compton Terrace Firebird Raceway" is in Chandler...

The outdoor "Compton Terrace" was laid to rest in January 2010.

Woops, you are correct, it was Compton Terrace and not Veterans. Veterans and Compton were the main venues for rock acts in the 80's until Compton went south in the early 90's and Veterans was prohibited from staging major rock concerts to to structural issues. My favorite place to see a concert in the Phoenix area is without a doubt Celebrity Theatre. Only 2,200 seats and in the round. Even a bad seat is better than row eight at any other place. Saw Kenny Loggins there as well as Billy Idol just to name a couple. Was first row both shows and so damn close I scared the band :-)

[The Firm Thread]

^ ^ ^

March 12, 1985

Chandler, AZ Arizona State University - Compton Terrace Amphitheatre

Unfortunately I do not have any photos on file from this performance, but I will pursue them. My notes show the venue was changed to ASU when ticket sales barely passed 5,000. Do you happen to recall what the original venue was to have been? I'm thinking it may have been Desert Sky Pavilion but unsure.

Edited to add: Perhaps it was switched from Compton Terrace Amphitheatre to ASU Activity Center?

Hi Steve :-) Originally the show was scheduled for Veterans Memorial Colossium in Phoenix but as you said, was moved to ASU Activity Center in Tempe (same place he played with Zeppelin in 77') due to lack of ticket sales. It is a shame the band lost out on the revenue but it was the fans gain in seeing them in a smaller venue. Desert Sky Pavilion did not open until 89' I believe and is now called Cricket Pavilion (corporate lackeys).

[The Firm Thread]

I woulld be greatful to see any pictures from the ASU Activity Center, the venue that I saw The Firm.

That was a great show, Jimmy rocked the house!!! Though I was a wee bit dissapointed the double neck was not pulled out for Radioactive. I believe there were techincal difficulties. That was a wacky audience too. I believe just about everyone was seriously wasted and tripping the light fantastic. I was asked at least ten times if I wanted to get blazed, too bad I was still a good boy at the time. I was a late bloomer.