55 years ago last night That 1968 show at Gonzaga's Kennedy Pavilion would later assume a historic status in Zeppelin lore – all because a student brought a small tape recorder. Today, this tape – bootlegged and distributed all over the world and the Web – is widely considered the first Led Zeppelin concert ever captured on tape; the earliest live recording of Led Zeppelin ever. Here's how lead singer Robert Plant introduced one of the songs: "This is off an album that comes out in about three weeks time on the Atlantic label. It's called 'Led Zeppelin.' This is a tune … called 'Dazed and Confused.' " So their first album wasn't even out yet. The album would not make a mark on the charts until February 1969. "We knew who Jimmy Page was, from the Yardbirds, and we heard it was his band," said Gallagher, who was a teenager at the time. "I was a big Vanilla Fudge fan because psychedelia was really happening then. … But we were excited about seeing Jimmy Page." Spokane was experiencing a severe cold snap that week, with temperatures dropping to 10 below. Apparently, the Kennedy Pavilion (Gonzaga's gym) wasn't well-heated either, because many fans remember it as being icy inside, as well. But when Led Zeppelin launched into the first song, the place heated up. "Bonham came out and started drumming on 'Train Kept a-Rollin',' and everybody went, 'Holy crap,' " said Gallagher. "There's never been a drummer like him. He was awesome. Then they all started playing and they were totally amazing." Plant said, between songs, "You won't believe this, but I don't think that either ourselves or our equipment is quite used to the temperature. It's taken about three hours of gas stoves under the equipment to get everything going." A little later Plant said they were now "getting warmed up properly," and you can hear the crowd response building after each song. By the evidence of the recording, the band's sound was already fully formed, distinguished by Plant's wailing voice – at one point he sounds like a siren – and Page's virtuoso guitar. "What I mostly remember is when Jimmy Page took out a violin bow and began bowing his double-neck guitar," remembered Jeff "Tor" Nadeau. "The house was universally mind-blown. It was the most stunning and awesome sound ever." "It took about a half a song before everybody was blown away," remembered David Priano. "When Plant harmonized to Page's pipe-wrench riffs, the audience went nuts. The other thing I remember was the drum solo (during 'Pat's Delight'). As a rule I don't like them. This was the exception. When he threw away his drum sticks and finished with his bare hands – far out." Whitsitt recalls that Vanilla Fudge "paled in comparison," even though that band was riding high at the time with a hit version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Mike and Dorothy McMurtery said they left the show more impressed with Led Zeppelin, "whose hard rock music was ahead of its time for Spokane." "Then when Vanilla Fudge came on, they were so sleepy," said Gallagher. "It was like, after that, psychedelia was dead and heavy metal was born, all in a three-hour show. We didn't care about psychedelia anymore. We all just ran back to our Yardbirds records." "We felt transformed," said Whitsitt. "Those of us who experienced it together felt like we were in a special club." (by Jim Kershner / The Spokesman-Review)

Today in 1968 Led Zeppelin Kicked Off First U.S. Tour – Billboard Denver, 1968: Led Zeppelin Makes American Debut | Denver Public Library History (denverlibrary.org)

R.I.P. Jim Ladd. Enjoyed listening to his show on KLSX in the 90's. Remember him closing a show with the Unledded "Kashmir".

The Bills are still in it because there aren't any AFC teams that can be counted on to produce any kind of expected result. It's a crapshoot. Likely the AFC will be decided by circumstances rather than dominant play. Whoever can survive Injuries, penalties, bad calls, weather, distracting girlfriends & themselves. But if you're looking for a bandwagon to jump on, take a ride with these rock stars. No Excuses Just Results

https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/murder-most-foul/

Scots tape: The story of the only recording of Led Zeppelin’s 1971 Dundee gig https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/2729202/led-zeppelin-dundee/

Fuckin' A