No boots surfaced from May 7-11, 1973?

[Mattmc1973]

Odd that between the Tampa show on May 5, and Mobile on May 13, no tapes exist. There is virtually no info on the May 7 Jacksonville show, the May 10 Tuscaloosa show, or the May 11 St. Louis show. Dave Lewis' book only lists the dates with no setlists or info about them at all. Any word about whether tapes are in collectors' hands, or did no one tape these shows? The sequence of boots is pretty complete for the rest of the tour, it's odd that there's this odd black hole in the beginning...

[SteveAJones]

This from Jacki...

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 10:27AM

Led Zeppelin Tuscaloosa 1973

I was there. My Sophomore year in Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama. Several rows back, slumped low in my seat, engulfed by weed and hash smoke. I don't remember who opened for Zep. There's a lot I don't remember about my college days, but I usually remember most things about music.Music was my life. Well, a major part of my life. Bama football was also my passion. It still is.

But music was my therapist, my surrogate mate, my sanctuary. I could always count on music. It would always be there and always comfort and soothe me.

So it was Zep's heyday. As I look back on it, it was probably my heyday, too. May, 1973. The lights dimmed; the Bic lighters flashed like frenzied lightning bugs punctuating the darkness. Plant emerged like Venus on the Half Shell in the lights and haze.

By the time Zep hit the stage, we were so mellow, the roar of applause was more of a rumble that shook Memorial Coliseum like a primal earthquake.

They kicked off the set with Rock and Roll. We were mesmerized. Singing every word and yowling every note verbatim. Some of us were deep into the music and listened intently. Eyes closed to block anything that would distract from the sheer delicious moment.

We immersed ourselves into the music. When Plant moved, we moved. When he groaned and yelped, we felt it. When Bonham beat the Holy hell out of his drum kit, we felt each crack and explosion of his wood drumsticks in our solar plexus. When Page pulled, teased and coaxed unearthly sounds from his guitar, we devoured and tasted every nuance like it was our Death Row meal.

The set list had all the good stuff: Celebration Day, Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, and, yes, Whole Lotta Love.

Yes, it was a Whole Lotta Love. And still is.

Come to Vintage Basement and check out our great Led Zeppelin t-shirts.

Can you tell we love what we do?

Have a groovy day.

Jacki

http://www.vintageba...-shirt-1214.htm

[Nutrocker]

It's one of those things like the mid April '77 shows (St Louis, St Paul, Minneapolis). Of course, there's always the chance that in either year out of those 50000 people nobody had a tape recorder...or the tapes got lost over the years, what have you. Of the lot, I'd wager on St Louis being the most likely taped (if any), there's a 1975 St Louis audience tape that's not bad.

[JimmyPageZoSo56]

It's one of those things like the mid April '77 shows (St Louis, St Paul, Minneapolis). Of course, there's always the chance that in either year out of those 50000 people nobody had a tape recorder...or the tapes got lost over the years, what have you. Of the lot, I'd wager on St Louis being the most likely taped (if any), there's a 1975 St Louis audience tape that's not bad.

I wish there were tapes for those shows. I heard somewhere that Black Dog was play at St. Paul. A rarity for '77.

[greenman]

The location of the shows likely tells you the reason, I wouldnt have any of those areas pegged as a hotbed of recording/tape trading in the early 70's. The Mobile show just after that spell hasnt as far as I know ever seen the light of day as an audience recording either.