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Led Zeppelin 7/3/80-Mannheim


Sticks of Fire

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Tickets say that start time was 7:30PM, but the venue is an indoor sporting arena, so that light that you see is the venue lighting.

Actually that very well could be daylight as it was merely a canvased-covered hockey arena. When I photographed the venue in 1998 the canvas roof had been replaced with steel but it still had no solid concrete exterior walls. Here's an internet photo:

Mannheim.jpg

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Yes, Steve is correct, it's daylight coming through the sides of the venue. The venue had a canvas type roof and partial walls for many years.

The photographer took a shot of the crowd holding up lighters after "Stairway" and you can still see some day light and the canvas coverings

for the walls and doors.

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Pretty cool, no very cool. Seems like a lot more casual and smaller show/venue than what happened in NYC. Reminds me of when I saw the Cream at a small iceskating rink in '67 or so or the first time I saw LZ at the NYS Pavillion at the grounds of the World's Fair in Queens NY.

Wish I was there.

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Seems like a lot more casual and smaller show/venue than what happened in NYC.

In 1980, the concert seating capacity for the Eisstadion in Mannheim was perhaps 10,000 (8,200 for hockey).

The concert seating capacity at Madison Square Garden in New York is about 22,000.

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Tickets say that start time was 7:30PM, but the venue is an indoor sporting arena, so that light that you see is the venue lighting.

The shows were in June, so the sun was still out at 7:30pm...or 1930 hr, as it most likely said on German tickets. At least, all the concerts I went to in Europe had the European style of time printed on the tickets.

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In 1980? Regardless, there are also the trade unions.

My guess is that the train schedules have never changed, at least in my country.

But who cares really, they started the show at 7:30, a more accessible hour for everyone, maybe it was a week day and they were afraid that the germans had to work the next morning.

7:30PM or 19:30 here in Europe is around dinner time so yeah, even today people do shows at that time. I watched Slash at 20:00. Nobody seemed to mind, you can always party after if you want regardless of the time of the day.

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Have seen both sold-out shows on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd of July in Mannheim (and Munich too). The Ice-Stadium in Mannheim was not a building, more a little, partly walled stadium oval roofed with a big canvas tent over it. It had a capacity of 8.500 and the house was more than packed each night - Zep were late, no matter what the ticket said,and yes, there were no more trains leaving afterwards, what meant spending two nights in sleeping bag on the hard floors at the station in those wet, cold summer days and being waked up at dawn by the railway police.

First night Jimmy was late on his way from Frankfurt(where he performed with Santana the night before) and as far as I can remember, by 8.30PM Promoter Fritz Rau came on stage and apologized for the delay, asking for patience. As Zep entered the stage it was 9.30PM - first night was much hotter than the next, an ecstastic rowdy atmosphere and smells of weed all over the place, as there were thousands of GI's, based in Ramstein, Frankfurt and Heidelberg. I was deeply touched as I witnessed, how those tough and drunken guys were literally driven to tears and started crying like little nasty boys as Jimmy played the opening chords of "Stairway To Heaven"

2nd night they came on a bit earlier, but not sooner as 9.00PM and although the crowd was even more enthusiastic, it seemed the whole evening like Zep were on a rush - speeding up the whole event and finally they stayed on stage between 1st and 2nd encore and nailed down a quick "Communication B´down" with Jimmy soloing on his knees instead of "Whole Lotta Love". This impression could easily be proved by audience recordings, lasting approx 130 minutes for the first but only 115 minutes for the 2nd night.

Would really appreciate photos from these shows, as they will bring back and lighten up great memories.

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zeppcollect, if you don't own a copy already I think you would enjoy Dave Lewis' book Led Zeppelin: The Final Acclaim. He too was there and describes some of the offstage activity down the road at the Steigenberger Hotel. He said Jimmy was the only one to stay in Mannheim on Friday (the off day). All the others beat feet for Munich because they had basically become bored in Mannheim.

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Thanks, already have the recommended "Final Acclaim" and Dave´s even more detailed "Feather In The Wind" too and if you know Mannheim, you´d understand why Plant, Jones and Bonzo were anxious for the weekend in Munich ...

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