PHILADELPHIA: Why No Love for Philly?

[bluecongo]

For whatever reason, Jimmy came off the tour beak in really really bad shape. The vibrant energetic Jimmy of the MSG LA run was replaced by strung out, listless wasted Jimmy. Maybe he was just having a bad week and would've recovered, but July 77 is one of his career lowpoints IMHO. He just took it too far.

June/July was the mid-tour break and next to no confirmed public appearances suggests each retreated to holidays and/or home.

Personally, I don't think Seattle was all that bad by '77 standards. Tempe '77 was like Greensboro '75 in that an off night was par

for the course given the level of self-indulgence at the time, but following the fiasco in Oakland it seems they were in a downward

spiral. I imagine any and all of the remaining dates of the tour could have gone either way.

[Strider]

For whatever reason, Jimmy came off the tour beak in really really bad shape. The vibrant energetic Jimmy of the MSG LA run was replaced by strung out, listless wasted Jimmy. Maybe he was just having a bad week and would've recovered, but July 77 is one of his career lowpoints IMHO. He just took it too far.

Exactly what I mean bluecongo! I could understand the July shows if June was more like the poorer April gigs. But to go from the highs of the LA Forum to the dregs of Tempe in just a couple of weeks is ridiculous.

I know that the LA Forum shows were the last of the second leg...Robert Plant said as much the last night of the Forum on June 27, 1977. It is presumed they all flew back to England to be with their families for the two week break before the start of the 3rd leg of the tour.

What I am curious about is do we know if Jimmy really went back to England? Cause from the evidence, it sounds as if he just stayed holed up in LA strung out on smack.

Also, Robert's voice isn't what it was in LA...compare his voice from the Forum to the Kingdome. It's not even close. It doesn't sound like he was taking care of himself either during the break.

In fact, do we know if the band met at all during the break for rehearsals? Or was this like the beginning of the tour, when the tour was postponed from January to April, and because the band's gear was already in the States, Jimmy supposedly hadn't picked up a guitar in four months?

[plantfan]

Robert did a show in Philly on May 23, 1988-- and it was GREAT!!! (Of course!) He and his band ROCKED the Spectrum HARD that night to a very enthusiastic audience! Doug Boyle showed himself to be a first-rate guitarist, with his magnificent solos and virtuoso playing! They did a few Zeppelin numbers, too! Quite a brilliant performance-- truly top-notch, and as good as I've ever heard from any band!

Edited March 14, 2012 by plantfan

[SteveAJones]

Is there any way I can find this out for certain, by searching for Austin newspaper articles?

That Austin '75 was not played has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Austin does not appear on any of the tour itineraries...all the newspaper archives have been searched...and life-long fans in the area swear it did not happen. Even so, there are a few stubborn diehards who insist it did occur on short notice when the West Palm Beach concert was cancelled. I'm comfortable with my belief it quite simply did not happen.

[SteveAJones]

What I am curious about is do we know if Jimmy really went back to England? Cause from the evidence, it sounds as if he just stayed holed up in LA strung out on smack.

In fact, do we know if the band met at all during the break for rehearsals?

It's not known for certain if Jimmy returned to England for the mid-tour break, nor for that matter how long he stayed in California following the second concert in Oakland.

There is nothing to suggest they met for any rehearsals during the mid-tour break in Jun/Jul.

[mrledhed]

That Austin '75 was not played has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Austin does not appear on any of the tour itineraries...all the newspaper archives have been searched...and life-long fans in the area swear it did not happen. Even so, there are a few stubborn diehards who insist it did occur on short notice when the West Palm Beach concert was cancelled. I'm comfortable with my belief it quite simply did not happen.

ok

[offtherecord]

It's not known for certain if Jimmy returned to England for the mid-tour break, nor for that matter how long he stayed in California following the second concert in Oakland.

There is nothing to suggest they met for any rehearsals during the mid-tour break in Jun/Jul.

I thought I read somewhere that Jimmy was in Egypt (for at least part) of the June-July break?

[Strider]

It's not known for certain if Jimmy returned to England for the mid-tour break, nor for that matter how long he stayed in California following the second concert in Oakland.

There is nothing to suggest they met for any rehearsals during the mid-tour break in Jun/Jul.

Thanks for the answer Steve. I know you're kept busy with your Led Zeppelin Mystery and Photo Mystery threads, so I appreciate you taking the time in replying.

I have a theory.

Maybe the reason for the shitty July shows was not that JP got totally wasted during the break and stayed that way for the following week's shows, but rather that he spent the break trying to clean up, and those July shows were the sound of him still struggling to kick?

After all, there were hardly any truly wretched 77 shows before the break, which suggests that whatever he was up to substance-wise in Apl-Jun, he was functioning reasonably well. (Most seasoned and responsible users will tell you that they can function just fine most of the time - things don't generally turn to shit until they start to quit.)

That's an interesting and valid point, Major Major...you might be onto something there.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Strider

[bluecongo]

Hate to shoot down this theory, but no way. In fact, in Bill Graham's autobiography, he recalls running around rounding up $25,000 cash at Zep's request, only to find out it was for a huge dope deal at their hotel. Ugly story but the truth is they were serious drug addicts.

I have a theory.

Maybe the reason for the shitty July shows was not that JP got totally wasted during the break and stayed that way for the following week's shows, but rather that he spent the break trying to clean up, and those July shows were the sound of him still struggling to kick?

After all, there were hardly any truly wretched 77 shows before the break, which suggests that whatever he was up to substance-wise in Apl-Jun, he was functioning reasonably well. (Most seasoned and responsible users will tell you that they can function just fine most of the time - things don't generally turn to shit until they start to quit.)

[2bitnogoodjive]

Look at the 1975 tour...it appears Led Zeppelin played two or more gigs in the large major cities: LA, NY, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle...hell, even San Diego, Long Beach and Vancouver got two shows and they were much smaller than Philadelphia. It doesn't make sense.

Perhaps because of scheduling conflicts with other rock concerts or sporting events at the Spectrum.

[Nutrocker]

^ Yes I've seen that. But it could've been for the other two partakers.

I believe in another '77 discussion here we had thrashed out the theory that Page's trip to Egypt between the first and second legs of the tour was an attempt to clean up (it failed, obviously). It's possible...as for the third leg it's obvious he was completely FUBAR- I've read firsthand accounts of Jimmy at the Oakland gigs 'wandering around the stage with blackened fingertips and a big smile on his face'.

[SteveAJones]

I thought I read somewhere that Jimmy was in Egypt (for at least part) of the June-July break?

He went to Cairo, Egypt during the first '77 tour break in May, not the second '77 tour break in Jun/Jul.

[Drew Freeman]

Here's an angle. Pittsburgh has a 10% "ammusment" tax on all concerts that came through town. That didn't end until the late 80's. Many big bands like the Stones and The Who would skip playing the 17,000 seat Civic Arena in favor of a show or two nights at the Richfield Coliseum that can put 23,000 fans in without the high tax.

The specturm was a huge arena, but maybe the band would rather play four nights in Landover than bother with Philadelphia. All things aren't what they seem at first glance and probably all boil down to money.

In 1976 I saw Paul McCartney in Cleveland. If he had one date open where was the better place to make money? Pittsburgh or Cleveland? This is a business. Not every artist needs to play Philadelphia every tour. Yes and Bruce Springsteen could make their living playing in Philadelphia, Led Zeppeling was a completely different kind of artist.

Besides, how often did they play in the Boston area? Sure they aere banned from Boston Garden, but it's not as though the band had a four night stand booked. That was one show and they were happy to sell more tickets in NYC.

[Wolfman]

What I don't get is why did they need $25 K from Bill? They were millionaires by then. Couldn't they just have paid the dealer through their own pockets. No wonder he wanted nothing to do with them after that (plus the shit kicking that guy got).

[SteveAJones]

What I don't get is why did they need $25 K from Bill? They were millionaires by then. Couldn't they just have paid the dealer through their own pockets. No wonder he wanted nothing to do with them after that (plus the shit kicking that guy got).

If you recall the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry there is a sequence where the killer, Scorpio, sends Dirty Harry scrambling throughout San Francisco to answer his calls on payphones. Led Zeppelin almost certainly didn't need a $25K cash advance from Bill Graham, but they (Peter Grant and/or Richard Cole in particular) certainly would have found it amusing to send him on a fool's errand.

[JimmyPageZoSo56]

If you recall the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry there is a sequence where the killer, Scorpio, sends Dirty Harry scrambling throughout San Francisco to answer his calls on payphones. Led Zeppelin almost certainly didn't need a $25K cash advance from Bill Graham, but they (Peter Grant and/or Richard Cole in particular) certainly would have found it amusing to send him on a fool's errand.

LOL Yes! Great reference Steve!!

Strider, I'm listening to Long Beach 3/12/75 right now and it's not bad at all. I think it's a fair audience recording.

Edited April 10, 2012 by JimmyPageZoSo56

[Strider]

LOL Yes! Great reference Steve!!

Strider, I'm listening to Long Beach 3/12/75 right now and it's not bad at all. I think it's a fair audience recording.

You must have a cleaned up version. The version I have(Badgeholders "Taking No Prisoners Tonight") has an overloaded bass sound that almost drowns out the rest of the band until the excellent-sounding Mike Millard recording takes over during Stairway until the end of the show. No matter...it's still one of my favourite shows and definitely one of the best, performance-wise, from the 1975 tour. If only the soundboard would make its way to us.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Strider

[lubo]

I know this post is old but I want to add to it. Being from Philly area, I always had an interest of Led Zep's history in the area. Looking at this websites tour history, I do not see the Electric Factory back in 1969. I saw in Dave Lewis' Concert File book that they played there on the last US tour for the year (they opened up with Good times Intro/Communication Breakdown. ) I spoke to someone who said they saw them play there. I also remember reading in some book that there is a hoarded tape of the Philadelphia Spectrum 1970 show.

Do not know if this is true, but I met someone in the past who told me a story about meeting Jimmy Page in Philadelphia. He said it was around the time of Live Aid back in 1985. He was coming outside of a club when he noticed a real hot girl (Could of been Patricia Ecker) and when he walked past her he saw Jimmy. He briefly spoke to him and asked him what he was doing in Philly and he said he was just hanging out. I later found out that he played with the Beach Boys in Philly on July 4th of 1985 and Live Aid was later that week on July 13th. So maybe he was spending time in Philadelphia for the week.

It would have been great if they would have played at JFK stadium back in 1977. Many people told me that they had tickets for that show, but traded there tickets in for a refund. Does anyone know if that was going to be a day or night show? Can anyone else share any more stories of Led Zep and Philadelphia?