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STRIDER'S 1977 TOUR THREAD


Strider

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So well done Strider and you know how to grab the reader and take them on one fantastic voyage and journey! :thumbsup:  I enjoyed reading about these experiences of the 1977 LA Forum run.  Must have been quite something.  With the way you write so well I almost feel I've been transported to the Forum, but unfortunately no!  Too bad I never got to see Zeppelin and you are one lucky man!

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I am crunching some numbers and gathering my thoughts for a final post wrapping up the 1977 Forum shows and the 1977 tour in general. In the meantime, someone asked me to rank the Forum shows from top to bottom. I hadn't thought of doing that...it's kind of like ranking your children. You love them all and each has a particular trait that endears them to you in equal measure.

It's one thing to rank the bootlegs from the Forum shows...those are cold, hard documents with criteria such as recording quality that can be objectively determined. But to ask me which night at the Forum was "best" is really a subjective flip-of-the-coin...with one exception.

All things being equal, the appearance of Keith Moon juiced the show on June 23 just enough to make it a clear #1. But I am a man who loves a challenge. So I sat down and charted the five concerts (since I did not see the June 22 show, I am not including it in my rankings) I saw, ranking each song of the set and taking into account any special additions to the set. 

Two things to remember.

1. The difference between the rankings are infinitesimal. Even the lowest-ranked performance could still be considered "great". If I was going to take the easy way out, I would just proclaim everything in a five-way tie for first.

2. This list is highly subjective, relying more on my personal notes and feelings than what you might hear on the bootlegs, although they are helpful in breaking ties.

I will list each song of the set, starting with the normal setlist and then adding other songs performed during the week. Songs that were performed than once will have the Forum dates listed in order of performance ranking, from #1 to #5. Again, the entire week at the Forum was explosive...there is no shame in finishing #5. If the last-ranked show had been the only concert I saw that week, it would still be one of the greatest shows I ever saw.

The Song Remains the Same

1. 6.21

2. 6.23

3. 6.27

4. 6.26

5. 6.25

The Rover/Sick Again

1. 6.23

2. 6.27

3. 6.26

4. 6.21

5. 6.25

Nobody's Fault But Mine

1. 6.23

2. 6.21 

3. 6.27

4. 6.26

5. 6.25

Over the Hills and Far Away

1. 6.26

2. 6.27

3. 6.23

4. 6.21

Since I've Been Loving You

1. 6.25

2. 6.23

3. 6.26

4. 6.27

5. 6.21

No Quarter

1. 6.23

2. 6.26

3. 6.27

4. 6.21

5. 6.25

Ten Years Gone

1. 6.21

2. 6.26

3. 6.27

4. 6.23

5. 6.25

Battle of Evermore

1. 6.26

2. 6.21

3. 6.23

4. 6.27

5. 6.25

Going to California

1. 6.26

2. 6.23

3. 6.21

4. 6.27

5. 6.25

Black Country Woman

1. 6.23

2. 6.21

3. 6.26

4. 6.27

5. 6.25

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

1. 6.23

2. 6.26

3. 6.27

4. 6.21

5. 6.25

White Summer/Black Mountain Side

1. 6.23

2. 6.21

3. 6.26

4. 6.25

5. 6.27

Kashmir

1. 6.21

2. 6.25

3. 6.26

4. 6.27

5. 6.23

Drum solo

1. 6.23

2. 6.21

3. 6.27

4. 6.26

5. 6.25

Guitar noise/bow solo

1. 6.23

2. 6.25

3. 6.26

4. 6.21

5. 6.27

Achilles Last Stand

1. 6.23

2. 6.27

3. 6.21

4. 6.25

5. 6.26

Stairway to Heaven

1. 6.21

2. 6.23

3. 6.26

4. 6.27

5. 6.25

Encore: Whole Lotta Love/Rock and Roll

1. 6.23

2. 6.21

3. 6.27

Trampled Under Foot

1. 6.27

2. 6.23

3. 6.25

Concerts with setlist changes:

6.21: Heartbreaker

6.25: In My Time of Dying; Communication Breakdown

6.26: That's Alright, Mama; It'll Be Me

6.27: Just Can't Be Satisfied; Dancing Days

6.21: 4 #1s, 7 #2s, 2 #3s

6.23: 10 #1s, 5 #2s, 2 #3s

6.25: 1 #1, 2 #2s, 1 #3

6.26: 3 #1s, 3 #2s, 7 #3s

6.27: 1 #1, 3 #2s, 7 #3s

And so...the five 1977 Forum shows I saw ranked from top to bottom:

1. 6.23

2. 6.21

3. 6.26

4. 6.27

5. 6.25

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 years later...
On 1/5/2022 at 7:55 AM, blueser said:

Strider can you please locate 1972 thread if it is not too much trouble?

I was in the middle of writing a 1972 post when a technical glitch wiped everything out. Life, death, and covid have intervened in the years since, so I never got around to it. But, as this year will mark the 50th anniversary of my first Led Zeppelin concerts, I will get it done this year.

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/22/2017 at 6:30 AM, Strider said:

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Post #19 Remastered: LED ZEPPELIN LANDS AT THE FORUM- THE FIRST NIGHT!

DATE: Tuesday, June 21, 1977

The First Day of Summer. The Summer Solstice dawned and it was a great day to go to a concert...especially a Led Zeppelin concert.

Especially when you just spent your freshman year at a shit high school in a shit town miles away from the beach and the coastal breezes and all of your old friends. I was miserable and these Led Zeppelin concerts were like an oasis appearing to a dying man in the desert.

As any kid who has had to wait a long time for a concert knows, the actual day of the concert is "the longest day". Chances are you couldn't sleep the night before because of your excitement. Then there is the worry all thru the day that something awful will happen to cause you to miss the concert. Murphy's Law and all that jazz. Kind of like Christmas, where you start being on your best behaviour because you don't want to screw yourself out of any presents.

With all the news reports of violence and riots on the 1977 tour, I did everything I could to keep my thoughts positive. Fortune, or karma, was with me, and Led Zeppelin arrived in Los Angeles as scheduled and the Fabulous Forum awaited the colourful hordes coming to the six sold out nights...the first rock band to accomplish that feat.

Ok, most of you already know the particulars, but for anyone who doesn't: Tonight is the 40th anniversary of the first of six concerts Led Zeppelin played at the Forum of Inglewood(in Los Angeles) on their 1977 tour. This is the famous "Listen to this, Eddie" show, taped by Mike Millard.

But I'm not reviewing the bootleg in this post, I am talking about the concert itself, which is a seperate thing entirely.

Ok, here we go.

We(my school buddy and his older brother and his friends) are in the Forum. Me and my friend are in the Loge section 27 or 28...at about the midway point between the stage and the rear of the floor and on the right side of the arena looking towards the stage: JIMMY'S SIDE!!!

Heading into the Forum that Tuesday evening was truly like entering a House of the Holy. Already being a veteran of multiple concerts at the Forum, the venue attained an aura that few other venues could match. Led Zeppelin's own aura was off the charts by 1977. Not mere superstars of rock...oh no, by now they were Rock Gods.

7:30pm was the advertised start time, but everyone knows that that is never the case with Led Zeppelin...and rock concerts in general. We arrived early enough to give us time to score a t-shirt and 1977 tour book at the merchandise stand. So after the usual waiting, listening to the music being played over the 'house PA' (I could swear they played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" and Moody Blues "Tuesday Afternoon"), checking out the stage equipment, and various food fights and paper cup battles and frisbees and beach balls or whatever being tossed about through the thick cloud of marijuana (and who knows what else) smoke, the house lights finally go down sometime between 8:30 and 9pm and several things happen that confirm that you were at a Led Zeppelin concert.

1. An epic roar issued forth from the packed Forum in anticipation of the band taking the stage. One hundred and forty-one days...nay, SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX DAYS of pent-up waiting and anticipation and desire EXPLODED out of us and rained down upon the darkened stage, to hail our heroes return!

2. Something else exploded...cherry bombs and firecrackers were lit from various parts of the crowd. I was never a fan of this type of concert ritual, especially if one went off near your ear, affecting your ability to hear the concert. But it was a fact of life at concerts in the 70s, one you had to endure...particularly at Led Zeppelin shows.

3. As you begin to detect the band members making their way on stage, one figure announces his presence in an unmistakable way. With a rat-a-tat-tat of his snare and boom-boom-boom of his kick drum, John Bonham musically says "Hello L.A.!" It is at that moment you remember how LOUD a Led Zeppelin concert is and from just a few seconds of those loud whacks as Bonham tests his drums, you can tell Bonzo is going to pound us good tonight!

Jimmy Page then enters the conversation, giving a few test strums on the 12-string of his iconic double-neck guitar. Before you know it, Jimmy strikes the opening chord and they are off!!!

Even though I knew in advance what most of the setlist was going to be and that "The Song Remains the Same" was going to be the first song, the instant explosion of light and sound still took my breath away. With the lights(the lights for the 1977 tour were light years beyond when I first saw them in 1972, and even 1973) going off in a flash and the band attacking the song with such ferocity and power(oh my god Bonzo was slaying his drums!), the opening packed such a wallop that I literally was in a dazed trance for the first couple of songs. Just standing there with my mouth agape, trying to take it all in. The band, what they were wearing (Jimmy's white poppy suit in particular), and getting my ears and body adjusted to the LOUD SONIC ASSAULT Led Zeppelin was unleashing.

The first two songs(TSRTS/Rover intro/Sick Again) whooshed by in a blur. Seriously. I just remember Bonham sounding insane and the thrill of seeing Jimmy with the double-neck. Thank god for Mike Millard or I would have very little recollection of them. I didn't even noticed Jimmy's guitar problems at the start of Sick Again, as Jones and Bonzo were loud enough on their own(something the bootlegs don't adequately capture) to mask a few seconds of lost guitar.

Robert Plant says hello to us after the end of "Sick Again", and as the band has stopped playing as Jimmy gets his Les Paul Sunburst ready for the next song, I can finally catch my breath and take stock of the situation. I am already starting to get a contact high from all the blazing going on inside the arena. People are even tossing joints on stage as well as other talismans for the lads. 

The stage for the 1977 tour looks much cleaner and roomier than previous tours. More room to move around and better sightlines for the audience without the speakers in the way. Bonham doesn't have the Vistalite drum kit this time around. Now he has a stainless steel Ludwig kit.

It is during this lull that Plant mentions the Bad Company show at the Forum in May 1976 that he and Jimmy appeared at and those of us that were at that show scream our acknowledgment. You can sense Robert Plant is raring to go, itching to get going, but Jimmy and Raymond (from Scotland) seem to be having trouble with the guitar effect needed for the next song, "Nobody's Fault but Mine". So there's a brief moment of "dead air" so-to-speak until all systems are go. 

This will become a common theme during the week of shows at the Forum. Lots of broken strings, broken guitar straps, broken wires, broken drums...just a lot more technical issues than I remembered Led Zeppelin having in the past. Maybe their gear was getting too old, too road damaged, to be trustworthy day in and day out on the stage?

Now, before the tour started I had already made a mental wish list of what I wanted the setlist to entail. Mainly, I wanted as many new songs as possible...whether that meant new songs from Presence and Physical Graffiti or songs from the older albums that they hadn't ever played or rarely: When the Levee Breaks, The Rover, Four Sticks.

So while I obviously didn't get all of my wishes, I was very enthused to see two of my favourite Presence tracks on the setlist for Dallas in the LA Times review of the opening night of the tour.

"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a powerful, rhythmic song and it has the kind of starts and stops that only a well-oiled band can pull off convincingly...EVERYBODY in the band has to hit their mark at the same time or the song loses its attack. I would be very curious to know how Led Zeppelin sounded on this song on the early shows of the tour, considering the word is they didn't rehearse at all for those four months while the gear was here in the U.S. while they waited for Plant to get better. The earliest 77 show I have is the Cleveland "Destroyer" show. Has anyone heard any of the first few shows from Dallas and Oklahoma? Do they hit the marks in "Nobody's Fault but Mine"?

Well, whatever...they sure NAIL the song at the Forum!!! Jimmy's playing the riff thru his wah-wah pedal and some other delay effect that seems to split the riff into a high and low register, making it seem like Jimmy's playing two guitars at once.

But then, one of the cosmic things about a Led Zeppelin concert was the way it frequently seemed as if Jimmy was playing two guitars simultaneously...or more. The man had a way with sonic architecture that few of his peers could conceive, let alone execute. And along with the bloozy thrust and pull of "Nobody's Fault but Mine", you got not only Percy blowing a harmonica solo(something I hadn't seen him do since 1972) but also the humorous bit with Robert referencing Steve Martin when he exclaims before the guitar solo, "Oh Jimmy? Oh Jimmy? Well, excuuuuse me!"

"Nobody's Fault But Mine" was the very embodiment of 'Sultans of Swagger', the term Neal Preston used for his book of Zeppelin photos.

It was probably during this song that I first noticed how much stronger Plant's voice was from the 1975 tour...and even the 1973 tour. Perhaps the top range wasn't all the way back to his 1970-72 range, the sandpaper rasp he struggled with before was gone and the power was back. The return to form of his voice seemed to lend him a renewed confidence and it showed in his stage manner. Plant really appeared loose and in good spirits during the Forum shows. Not that he wasn't in the past, but I've always thought some of his stage banter on the 75 tour betrayed a certain nervousness and his demeanor could be curt at times. But you probably would be too if you had the flu and was touring through snowstorms.

Now we get a surprise...a switch in the program. Instead of "In My Time of Dying" after NFBM, as Dallas and other early dates got, Jimmy straps on that tricked-up cherry red Les Paul and the Forum is treated to "Over the Hills and Far Away". If the band has been clicking on all cylinders from the beginning of the show, it is at this point they really start cooking. And while OTHAFA has been part of the setlist since 1972, it has never been played like THIS!!! For it is on the 1977 OTHAFAs that Jimmy at last has a clearly defined idea of how he wants the solo to progress and to sound. I always enjoyed hearing the song in concert, but on previous tours, sometimes the solo would be great and other times it would sound haphazard and the ending would be random and awkward. 

In 1977 there was no pussyfooting around. If the opening blast of "The Song Remains the Same" provided the night's first peel-your-face-back moment, the next occurred when Jimmy launched into the solo on OTHAFA. Holy fucking shit. Oh, I'm sorry...I mean HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!

Jimmy is on Mount Zeus hurling thunderbolts every which way while Bonzo is savagely firing off clusterbombs from his drumkit and Jones just coolly lopes along setting the groove. The tone and delay on Jimmy's guitar is outrageous...it's a perfect mindfuck of a solo. It's spacey and savage at the same time. Like someone married Steve Hillage or David Gilmore with Neil Young/Johnny Thunders.

It's so good, I want it to go on forever. It's so good, in fact, that after the song is over I turn to my friend and say "no matter what happens the rest of the show, it was worth the days waiting in line and the $9.75 just to hear that!!!"

Whether it was the lasting effect of that solo or the ever constant smell of marijuana and/or hash wafting by...or a combination of the two..."Since I've Been Loving You" was nearly half-over before I snapped out of this dazed trance I was in. Which happened often at Led Zeppelin concerts...you would find yourself dazed, as if you couldn't believe they were really on stage and this concert was really happening.  I couldn't quite remember if they had played SIBLY in 1975, and with the film "The Song Remains the Same" and its awesome SIBLY fresh in everybody's mind, it was a welcome return to the setlist. The song is always dramatic in concert.

Since I was spacing out for much of the song, it's only because of the bootleg that I was able to learn that Jimmy incorporated bits of "Tea for One" in the solo. Or the way Plant was "down on my knees...I'm begging you please". What I didn't need the bootleg to help me remember is what I always remember from all the SIBLYs I've seen: the way Jimmy caresses his guitar, particularly when it's one of his Les Pauls. A mother holding a baby couldn't be more loving. A man holding his lover couldn't be more sensual.

SIBLY is notable for another reason. Starting with this song, Jones would put down his Alembic bass and not pick it up again for more than 90-minutes. For all the hand-wringing over the Alembics, he did not play them for much of the concert...the first four songs and a few songs at the end.

SIBLY earned a rapturous response from the crowd, as it has always been a concert favourite with fans. Plant chats some more...yeah, he's cooking, or something. To tell you the truth, with the noise of everyone around you and the reverberation of the sound, not to mention Plant's accent, it could sometimes be difficult to understand what he was saying between songs. Did he just mention Jimmy?

Not difficult to understand was the dry ice/smoke machine flooding the stage in a bank of fog: it was time for "No Quarter". Hell yeah! This was one of my favourite moments of the 1975 tour and I was looking forward to hearing it performed in 1977. I knew from the '75 tour that it would most likely be a long journey...those '75 NQs were around 20 minutes or more. But I was willing to settle back and place myself in the band's hands and take the journey with them. In Jones, Bonham and Page I had pilots I could trust. The fun came with seeing who would be the leader.

Blue. An absolutely beautiful shade of blue. That's the colour I will always associate with "No Quarter", thanks to the blue light bathing the stage during the opening to "No Quarter". Blue lights. Massive banks of dry ice covering the stage. Oh, and the laser light show. Which I almost missed because my focus was so intent on what was happening on stage, I didn't even bother to look up at the laser lights oscillating until my buddy tapped me and pointed upward. After which, he left to get a coke or something as Jones played his piano solo.

Now, I know there is much debate about which No Quarters are the best: '73, '75, or '77. And from a position of hindsight, I now believe the '75 NQs to be the best versions. But hot damn if at the time I sat and watched this performance of NQ that evening of June 21, that I wasn't flabbergasted at what I witnessed and thought that I had just saw the greatest, weirdest No Quarter ever! Talk about your long and winding road! Bonham and Jimmy seemed to be engaged in a battle over who was leading the journey, while Jones did his best to keep them from going off the rails.. It was fascinating watching them prod and stalk each other...as if they were hunting. I think Bonham won the first night.

The band had certainly eaten their Wheaties before the show; all of them were fired up and ready to go off on any tangent they desired. This was the kind of kinetic, unpredictable, raw jam that separated Led Zeppelin from the bloodless prog types like ELP and Pink Floyd, or the groovy boogie-jam groups such as the Doobies and Grateful Dead, or Zeppelin's fading metal contemporaries Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. There simply wasn't another rock band out there in 1977, in my opinion, that could pull off something like "No Quarter" in concert. Frank Zappa? Maybe. Can or King Crimson? Sure...but neither Can or Zappa or Crimson were multimillion-dollar-top-of-the-charts commercial giants. Led Zeppelin was different from all the other Billboard chart-toppers in that they had no fear of venturing into avant-garde territory.

30 minutes later and it was over. Between the light show and watching Bonham and Jimmy push each other, I was held in rapture the entire time. This was also another time where you could appreciate the power of Plant's vocals...especially at the end when he and Page get into a duel between his "dogs of doom" howling and Pagey's wicked wah-wah. Jimmy painted the canvas with every colour of the rainbow with his Les Paul....Lordy, the things he could do with that guitar.

My buddy got back with drinks just in time for me to tell him he'd missed a hell of a jam. He said he heard it even if he didn't see it.

"No Quarter" was another one of those moments of the concert that alone was worth the cost of the ticket. By now, Led Zeppelin had me smiling and buzzed...I didn't need drugs to enjoy a Led Zeppelin show. Their music was a natural high.

My smile was about to get bigger with the next song...another fresh newbie to the set: "Ten Years Gone"!

Whoa...a triple-neck! (As some weisenheimer in the crowd shouts on the bootleg).I cannot adequately describe in words how beautiful "Ten Years Gone" sounded in concert. The marriage of Jones' acoustic triple-neck with Jimmy's brown Telecaster created a textural masterpiece. I am blown away again by the immense sound coming from basically just three musicians...it sounds like six. The outro solos by Jimmy cascade magnificently upon each other. When I hear people say Led Zeppelin couldn't play their songs properly, the way they were on the album, I tell them to shut it and play them a live "Ten Years Gone". "Worth the price of admission" moment #5.

We were now an hour-and-a-half into the set. Most bands would be ending their concert at this point, if not sooner. Led Zeppelin was just getting started and roadies busied themselves setting up chairs and mics along the front of the stage. At long last, Zeppelin was bringing back the "acoustic set"!

The acoustic set was one of the highlights I remembered from my first Led Zeppelin show, June 25, 1972 at the Forum. As great as the 1973 and 1975 tours were, a part of me missed the warm embrace of the acoustic set.

Judging by the roar of the crowd around me, so did everyone else at the Forum that night. "Battle of Evermore", "Going to California", "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"...these are all great songs and it was a joy to hear them. Everywhere you looked, people were smiling and clapping and it was just like sitting around a campfire.

And poor Jones...people like to pick on his vocals on "Battle of Evermore". I suppose it would have been better if they had just hired Sandy Denny or some suitable female singer to come along on the tour. But Led Zeppelin was always a 4-man self-contained unit on stage. They didn't seem to want outsiders to join in on the road.

The tapes (especially the soundboards) make Jones sound worse than it actually did in the concert. On tape, Jonesey's voice is more exposed and isolated. At the concert, with the echo and reverb of the Forum acoustics, and the general wall of sound you get at a concert, his voice was better blended in amongst the instrumental background. And what a background, with Jimmy's shimmery mandolin ringing around the Forum.

As you should be able to tell by my avatar name, "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" is one of my favourite Zeppelin tunes. So this song brought big smiles...my friend and I clapping and foot-stomping along. There were vocal mics in front of all four of the fellows, and sure enough, Jimmy Page was singing the backing vocals on "Stomp"! Not Bonzo, as he had in 1972, but the usually quiet Jimmy himself. That was a pleasant surprise to see.

The little bit of "Black Country Woman" just before "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" was great, too, except that you wished Robert would have at least played some of the harmonica parts...I love the harmonica on "Black Country Woman". But it was nice to see Robert channeling his inner Elvis.

In fact, Robert seemed to really relish the acoustic set, cracking wise throughout...references to Rhinestone Cowgirl and Neil Young among them. I bet Robert was a prime instigator in bringing it back. This was the fun, goofy side of Led Zeppelin that critics too often missed or ignored. And just like that, the acoustic set was over....it really went by in a flash.

Before you knew it, Jimmy was seated on a chair or stool and holding that black and white Danelectro that I remembered from the 1975 tour. He used it to play "In My Time of Dying" in 1975, and IMTOD was listed as being played in Dallas on the opening night of the 1977 tour. Maybe now they were going to play it? But with Page sitting down...uh oh, was he feeling ill like he was in Chicago? Thoughts of the show being curtailed like that night in Chicago entered my brain and I voiced my concerns to my friend. The concert had been spectacular so far...don't let it end prematurely.

Of course, my worries were silly...Jimmy was fine and he was sitting down so he could play "White Summer". I was stoked because I was hearing a song I had never heard them play before...I didn't even have a bootleg with that song. "White Summer" is another song that sounded better in the hall than what you hear on tape. Jimmy's strange tuning and the way the guitar echoed had a way of insinuating itself into your mind. It induced a trance-like state of mind.

"White Summer" was also where you saw the benefit of Jimmy wearing the white suit. The deep purple, blue, and red lighting reflected off his suit giving him a mystical aura.

At the first notes of "Black Mountain Side", the crowd acknowledged its recognition. I was just vibing on watching Jimmy and how the lights made him glow. 

I knew "Kashmir" was scheduled to be the next song from the setlist I had from the L.A. Times. But I had no idea how it would follow...a stand alone start or a segue?

But at that moment, I wasn't thinking about that. I was just relaxing and nodding along to Jimmy and his Danelectro, comparing in my mind the sound of "Black Mountain Side" being played on an electric guitar to the acoustic version I knew from the first album.

I had no clue, no idea, what was about to happen. I, and about 18,000 other people were totally unprepared.

All of a sudden, I noticed Jimmy Page rise up..."oh, the song is ending and Jimmy wants to end it with a flourish" I thought to myself.

In short order, Jimmy kicks the chair backwards with his foot, the band crashes hard and loud into the opening riff of "Kashmir" and the light of a thousand suns blasts the stage. The Forum erupted into sheer delirium. Frankly, I can't remember if I joined in the screaming or if I just stood dumbly with my jaw on the floor. I think I might have uttered a "whoaaaa" as I high-fived my friend and the people around us.

Everyone around me was definitely going bananas...the cheering and whistling was practically non-stop.

I remembered "Kashmir" in 1975 being awesome. I was definitely excited about hearing the song again on the 1977 tour. But this was something beyond awesome. Jimmy was lurching around cranking out that riff, his body jerking to Bonham's drums. Jones was creating swirling colours and orchestral swells with his magic mellotron. Bonham was driving the engine, his right foot hammering that beat into your chest. And there stood Plant, majestically shepherding the song through its moods, singing his heart out about the distant, wasted lands of Kashmir. Which sounded like a better place to be than Riverside, California.

With the energy palpable in the Forum at that moment, we could have flown the Fabulous Forum to Kashmir right then and there. I have always said to see "Kashmir" in concert was a transformative experience. The power and precision and otherworldly aura the band projected on this song was unreal. Transfixed, I started feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience. This was a feeling I never felt at a punk rock show, no matter how good.

The effect was shattering. I don't understand how any Led Zeppelin fan could say they didn't like "Kashmir" in concert. Even after the song ended, I was still mesmerized by what I had just witnessed. Bonham's drum solo started but I was still thinking about "Kashmir". "Worth the price of admission alone" moment #6.

So, now we are at the part of the show where many "anti-'77 tour" people complain...the drum solo/guitar noise solo segment.

As I've noted before, the drum and guitar solos gave Robert a chance to rest his voice and his surgically-repaired foot and gather strength for the final stretch run of the concert. And it gave fans a chance to go to the bathroom, relieve themselves, and hit the snack bar or beer line on the way back....maybe even visit the merch table and get a tour shirt or book.

By the end of "Kashmir", the band had been playing just over two hours and I'm sure a lot of bladders needed relief. I know I took a piss break during the drum solo.

But even though I was tired of drum solos at concerts, my memory of Bonham's solos at the 1977 shows are that they were livelier and shorter than the 1975 solos, which seem to drag on forever. The moving stage and flashpots and lights all helped make the 1977 drum solo more appealing, no doubt.

Next up after the drum solo on my L.A. Times article setlist was "Dazed and Confused".

Well...what we got was "Heartbreaker". I didn't know it at the time, of course, but the band threw a left curve at that point in the show. In fact, I think it is the only "Heartbreaker" played on the 1977 tour...or was there one played in New York City?

I guess "Heartbreaker" sounded okay...to be honest, I was still sort of under the spell of "Kashmir". Plus, the length and loudness of the show was starting to test my stamina and endurance.

After "Heartbreaker", which features Jimmy noodling solo for a few minutes, we got more solo noodling from Jimmy. Everything from the "Star-Spangled Banner" to Star Wars sound effects on the theremin to the violin bow (ok...technically a cello bow) freakout section from "Dazed and Confused". 

Aha...this is what the L.A. Times meant by "Dazed and Confused". We weren't getting the song, just the bowed guitar segment. Ahhhh, but what a segment. You cannot capture on tape how truly freakish and insane Jimmy's bowed guitar sounded in concert. It chilled your bones.

On top of the aural splendor, there was the visual delight of the greatest lazer show I've ever seen. The green pyramid rotating with each stroke of the bow and smoke billowing around Jimmy as more lazers strafed the Forum. You can call it noise but the Forum crowd ate it up. "Worth the price of admission" moment #7.

Followed immediately by moment #8: "Achilles Last Stand".

After the orgy of lazers and bowed guitar dies down, Jimmy plucks the opening arpeggio in the soft light before a blinding barrage of flashpots explodes and the band hurls helter-skelter into "Achilles Last Stand". The band takes the song at a breathless pace, which I find thrilling. Where "Kashmir" was powerfully precise with machine-like timing, "Achilles" is more chaotic and raw, it's power coming from the sheer energy and full-speed-ahead playing by the band. The album version on Presence clocks in at 10:43. The Achilles of June 21 comes in at a torrid 9:00...a whole minute and 23 seconds faster. Speed Prog? Prog Metal? Whatever you want to call it, it was blisteringly in your face. "Worth the price of adadmission" moment #8.

The song receives well-deserved applause...it's a song that requires everyone to work their ass off. This after already playing nearly three hours.

When Jimmy next straps on the red double-neck and Jones sits himself at his mellotron, it's obvious "Stairway to Heaven" is next. The roar in response is predictable and deserved. Whether you are tired of the song or not, in concert the song still possesses magic. Plant doesn't go thru the emotions and Jimmy, as always, comes up with a unique and different guitar solo. No two "Stairway" solos are ever the same.

In this show, especially, Jimmy and the band find a nice groove towards the end of the solo...reminiscent of Duane Allman in "Memory of Elizabeth Reed". With the final rocking verses and the lights reflecting off the mirror ball like a million diamonds, the main set comes to a close. 

It's been three hours since the band took the stage and you would think both the band and audience would be sapped. Not even close. We in the Forum are stomping our feet and screaming ourselves hoarse for more Zeppelin. After many minutes of crowd pandemonium, Led Zeppelin returns to the stage for the encore.

They start with "Whole Lotta Love", which has me anticipating a great theremin section a la 1975, but alas, it is just a tease. After a couple minutes, Bonham goes into drum intro to "Rock and Roll" and we are treated to a punk-like performance of "Rock and Roll" Speed and attitude to burn. Not since 1972 has the song sounded this fast and furious. Plant is really wailing along great, too. High-energy all the way!

No sooner than it starts, then it is over in a flash and rousing crescendo. The Forum is still going bonkers as the band says their goodbyes and leaves the stage...this time for good. There will be no second encore tonight.

As the house lights come up and the crowd still roaring, me and my pals gather ourselves and our stuff. I can already feel my ears ringing, and I feel that strange mixture of euphoria and fatigue.

Led Zeppelin had come back from two years gone with a vengeance. They showed why so many revere them and why they sell out their concerts at the drop of a hat, with minimal advertising.

Walking through the beer-stench of the Forum on the way to the car, in my mind I was already looking ahead to Thursday night June 23, when I would be able to relive the experience again!

I'll be back on June 23 with a post about that show...and some more ruminations and thoughts about the 1977 tour.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.

At first I would like to say thank you for your great report from this concert. I have now read it completely up to here and I have tears in my eyes, really. 

I can really feel your joy, enthusiasm and admiration for our band. And I envy you  for all these beautiful memories. Of course, I will continue to read about your other experiences for the next concerts at the LA Forum. 

But I have one question for you. You said that you were in a concert from LZ (1972) when you were 10 years old and again when you were 11 (1973) years old. I think I can remember you wrote you went with your Daddy, right??? 

In June 77 you was 15 year old. How old do you have to be to go to a concert alone in America? Here in Germany you have to be 16, if you go alone. My first rock concert was Status Quo with my uncle when I was 14. After this great experience, I tried to go to as many concerts as possible, but no chance for Led Zeppelin. (7 times Aerosmith, 6 x Deep Purple, etc.) 

Let me say "Thank You" again, Strider. Have a nice weekend and sorry for my poor english.

P.S.: I have to use the translator very often to understand everything you wrote. ;) 

P.P.S.: l heard the "listen to this Eddie" Bootleg, when I read your report, of course. 

 

Edited by Kunke1
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On 2/18/2022 at 12:11 PM, Kunke1 said:

At first I would like to say thank you for your great report from this concert. I have now read it completely up to here and I have tears in my eyes, really. 

I can really feel your joy, enthusiasm and admiration for our band. And I envy you  for all these beautiful memories. Of course, I will continue to read about your other experiences for the next concerts at the LA Forum. 

But I have one question for you. You said that you were in a concert from LZ (1972) when you were 10 years old and again when you were 11 (1973) years old. I think I can remember you wrote you went with your Daddy, right??? 

In June 77 you was 15 year old. How old do you have to be to go to a concert alone in America? Here in Germany you have to be 16, if you go alone. My first rock concert was Status Quo with my uncle when I was 14. After this great experience, I tried to go to as many concerts as possible, but no chance for Led Zeppelin. (7 times Aerosmith, 6 x Deep Purple, etc.) 

Let me say "Thank You" again, Strider. Have a nice weekend and sorry for my poor english.

P.S.: I have to use the translator very often to understand everything you wrote. ;) 

P.P.S.: l heard the "listen to this Eddie" Bootleg, when I read your report, of course. 

 

16 years old? Is that a new rule? Because when I was going to concerts in Germany in the 1980s, I saw plenty of 14 and 15 year olds at shows without any parents or guardians. At Def Leppard and David Bowie concerts, there were gaggles of teen girls, some as young as 11-13.

Anyway, I was either accompanied at concerts by my dad or some older friend until I was at least 13. Because of my height, at 13 I could usually pass as 15. Most concerts at venues like the Forum, Long Beach Arena, Hollywood Palladium were all-ages. There were a few clubs that had 18+ or 21+ shows, which meant I could not go, but the Whisky, Starwood, Sugar Shack, Roxy were often all-ages, too.

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22 minutes ago, blueser said:

From various reports I have read,

it seems the 1977 Tour was uneven with below par playing, particularly by Page.

Now if anyone says otherwise, please say so without raking me over the coals.

Everyone has their opinion about the 1977 tour. There is no right or wrong opinion, whatever view you have. I am not here to change your mind. When I wrote this thread, I did it without caring about what the prevailing consensus was on the 1977 tour. I was only writing from my own personal perspective about how the 1977 shows impacted me and my reaction.

Someone writing about their experience at the Tempe, Arizona or Seattle Kingdome show might be a little less positive in their account.

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9 hours ago, Strider said:

Someone writing about their experience at the Tempe, Arizona or Seattle Kingdome show might be a little less positive in their account.

No question. Probably still great to see them, but yeah, nah. LOL...

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/19/2022 at 4:51 PM, Strider said:

Everyone has their opinion about the 1977 tour. There is no right or wrong opinion, whatever view you have. I am not here to change your mind. When I wrote this thread, I did it without caring about what the prevailing consensus was on the 1977 tour. I was only writing from my own personal perspective about how the 1977 shows impacted me and my reaction.

Someone writing about their experience at the Tempe, Arizona or Seattle Kingdome show might be a little less positive in their account.

Hello Strider. I just reread this for the umpteenth time. Man, just incredible. Thank you for the memories. I had my wife read it, her and my first official date was Page and Plant at Shorline Amphitheater in Mtn View, 1998 Sept. I have seen Plant starting in 93 with STP and Lenny K. I was fortunate to see Page and Plant several times, and my wife and I were fortunate enough to have seen Plant every time he came to the Bay Area after Page and Plant. But reading your description of the power, the excitement, and listening to the Bootlegs of the shows. Just absolutely incredible. Sincerely thank you for this. 

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19 hours ago, Plant77 said:

Hello Strider. I just reread this for the umpteenth time. Man, just incredible. Thank you for the memories. I had my wife read it, her and my first official date was Page and Plant at Shorline Amphitheater in Mtn View, 1998 Sept. I have seen Plant starting in 93 with STP and Lenny K. I was fortunate to see Page and Plant several times, and my wife and I were fortunate enough to have seen Plant every time he came to the Bay Area after Page and Plant. But reading your description of the power, the excitement, and listening to the Bootlegs of the shows. Just absolutely incredible. Sincerely thank you for this. 

Wow. Thank you. Get ready to read about 1972.

Edited by Strider
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  • 2 weeks later...

This was such an incredible story Strider. Brought back so many memories from seeing the band in '77. Lucky you went to see them for five nights. Went to see them on the 22nd, 23rd and 27th and in San Diego on the 19th (scalped a ticket for that show - was it worth it? Maybe)

Thank you so much for this, by far the best concert stories I've ever read. 

Edited by BlackDragon
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  • 1 month later...
On 4/30/2022 at 7:40 AM, Brigante said:

Still the best eye-witness accounts of Zeppelin in concert that I've ever read. 

No doubt about that. Worthy of a book perhaps. It is one of my favorite things to go back and read on this forum. 
 

I hope we get to read about the 72 concerts. 

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  • 3 months later...

What an account Strider. So amazed at all of the detail you could recall!  Given it took you 5 years to write it (life got in the way), I don't feel so bad taking nearly all summer to read it, haha! Life (vacations, yard projects, etc) also got in the way for me. Plus I'm a slow reader who wants to absorb every detail of this seeing as I never got to see Zep in concert; I was born this very year. With probable bias, I think '77  was a fantastic Zep Tour year. Haters can hate and get bent.

I gotta say if you consider the '77 LA Concerts as one entity, this goes down in some serious Zep history, imo. My 'best of' live versions compilation of their concert material has 9 songs from these LA nights. Considering the hundreds of concerts to draw material from, I'd say that in itself is telling of just how cool this leg of the '77 concerts were. So awesome and crazy that you got to witness pretty much all of it.

Questions. Where about in SIBLY are there notes of Tea For One? I've heard this before, but somehow never seem to locate...then I doubt it's the version I'm hearing...then I get side tracked by how cool SIBLY is and forget to listen for TFO. Also, in Show 5 after That's Alright Mama, the bootlegs capture Plant teasing the crowd with a few verses of D'yer Mak'er. Did you recall hearing it live that night?  Did you think they were going to play it? Any concert accounts/recollections on this? One last thing, after the final night, did you sleep for a week? how long did it take to recoup from that epic battle?  Thanks again for this thread!

Cheers,

Brad

 

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