Another vote for 7-23-77 don't know about best but so satisfying in every way

I was in the front row this night - with my friend Ron Lorenz - over 50 yrs ago.....we had the crappy reel to real mini cassette on stage about 2 ft from Robert's boots. Sorry for the shitty recording - someone on Dogs of Doom unearthed a great recording someone did with a sony deck and stereo mikes. I was always embarrassed at some of our blunders. A girl kept bumping the reel which accounts for that herky-jerky good times bad times problems. I'd been there the night before so that's my voice announcing "heartbreaker" to my friends. This night a yellow balloon with purple lettering floated up on stage....it said the word "PLATE" Robert commented that this word in England is sometimes associated with 'head' as in crapper I think, not sexual.......Robert seemed a bit annoyed at our recorder but was basically cool. He was annoyed that we refused to sit down......we got to Winterland nearly 5 hours early to be first in line.....5 hours commitment would get you front rown in 1969 but no longer when they returned to Oakland in 1970..........I was row 19 at that show...........anyway.......at the end of How Many More Times just before Robert skies his voice- brining the band crashing back into the main riff or the last time.......he'd coiled his heavy mic cording into 3 or 4 loops.......and as his voice came to the penultimate moment.........the threw all the coils of his heavy cord down around my shoulders temporarily straight-jacketing me........quite funny although the cord did not quite clear my right ear on the way down and felt like it had been torn off.......for a while.......I might also say that Robert had poured a bunch of gold and silver glitter in his hair that night and it was everywhere.....for a few minutes as he shook his head......we were choking on the stuff and almost considered moving back in that sea of people. My favorite part of that show was White Summer.......Jimmy did an especially long and cool version that night.......also, the Eddie Cochran cover "Cmon Everybody" which I believe they also did at the Albert Hall famous show. I saw ever Fillmore show in Jan and April '69, one Winterland show.....and all 3 nights at Winterland in November. The Oakland '70 was great, especially the 2nd half of the show with the WLL medley.........both Berkeley shows in '71 were wonderful but the 2nd one was my all-time favorite of seeing the lads live. "73 Kezar Stadium a big hassle but worth it...was very far back.......... For the record, Zep did not play hey hey what can I do on the 14 and I sure with the rest of that great show would surface! 75 they skipped San Franciso.........the 2 shows in 1977 were "okay" the 2nd day inferior to the first......I believe that was their last how ever in America. Greattest thrill - January 1969 Jimmy introduced me and my brother to the rest of the band........ I told him I wrote for my school paper ( a necessary creation at the moment) we shared a plate of meatballs.......my brother commented to Jimmy that we experienced other guitarists as the check me out I am the star guitarist....type of feel....... aka Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After - even the Jeff Beck Group..but with Zeppelin the over = all power of the four of them was overwhelming...........he really appreciated that observation and seem genuinely interested in what the audience was experiencing. I have always felt Zeppelin was the best ever - unapproachable, really........and that for most nights - there was a commitment to give the audience the best rock and roll they would ever hear or see. Most nights they succeeded. If you read all of this.......I'm a 72 year old goat....my wife says I have never matured beyond 15. Perhaps she's right. It was such a perfect time to be young. For Led Zeppelin 1st LP, and II and III each time I drove from San Jose to San Francisco so I could get the Led Zeppelin record one day before everyone else in San Jose! When they first came in January '69, a few weeks before the record would hit the stores........Tom Donahue of KSAN radio in San Francisco had at least a few members of Zeppelin in the studio.....played the whole album and asked them band members questions about songs.....at the time Jimmy said his favorite cut was Babe I'm Gonna Leave You....I don't know if anyone has that interview but I remember hearing it that night. Before the record was released the DJ's in San Francisco and San Jose were told to just play How Many More Times so for a week or so - nobody had yet heard Dazed or Communications Breakdown....no You're Time Is Gonna Come...... crazy days. Also met Jimmy briefly less than a year before when he was with the original Yardbirds (no Jeff Beck)......... somebody had given keith relf a black eye earlier in the day......anyway, Jimmy was just as nice to his admiring audience that time as well.

One advantage of old age - made it to all the Fillmore shows in SF...January & April... front row between Mr Page and Mr Plant Several of the Winterland '69 the WLL premier........all 3 Nov '69 Winterlands Oakland '70, , Berkeley both shows '71. No '73, family tragedy kept me home. also both 77 Bill Grahams Day on the Green shows What's the best year? The one that's playing. Still, Plant's voice 70 and 71 For the rest of the lads, give me some 3/21, 22, 24 Germany Ps 9-19-70 NY (evening show) just cuz it feels good to type it.

Fan of Bonzo fan and also green sparkly-things. This Vancouver rendition feels just about perfect - weather-worn but not for the worse. Just a lovely performance - and a great show.