Led Zeppelin @ Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland 1977 (cleveland.com)

[sam_webmaster]

Led Zeppelin @ Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland 1977

(see: http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/02/led_zeppelin_at_the_coliseum_i.html for more photos)

Led Zeppelin's two-night stand at the Coliseum in Richfield on April 27-28, 1977, has achieved mythic status among diehard fans of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rock quartet. Much of that has to do with "Destroyer," a soundboard recording of the first show, which has become one of the best-known -- and most sought-after -- concert bootlegs in rock history. It is a rough, yet pristine, document of one of rock's greatest bands at the peak of its powers. But what makes the recording even more powerful is that Zeppelin was also a band on the precipice of oblivion, at least as a working group.

The 1977 North American tour turned out be its last in North America. Drummer John Bonham died suddenly at the age of 32 on Sept. 24, 1980, and the group disbanded shortly thereafter. A 1980 North American tour, with shows booked for Oct. 25-26 at the Coliseum, was canceled.

Noted Cleveland rock photographer Janet Macoska was at one of the 1977 Coliseum shows, remembering it as a wild, wonderful blur. Mostly she recalls that there were no rules for news photographers. No time limits. No requirements to shoot with long lenses from the back of the arena. No contracts to sign, limiting the use of her photos. She donned her photo pass and positioned herself close to the stage, frequently right below lead singer Robert Plant, and shot away for most of the show.

She got great, iconic shots of Plant, Bonham, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones, many of which are featured in the photo gallery embedded in this post. One of her photographs of Page, clad in sunglasses and dressed in white satin, was used on the back cover of his 2014 autobiography, "Jimmy Page."

Legendary Plain Dealer rock critic Jane Scott was there the first night, and loved the show, too, writing in her review that Zeppelin "dazzled 19,000 fans in more ways than one..." The concert lasted almost three hours, featuring an 18-song set that began with "The Song Remains the Same" and ended with an encore featuring "Rock and Roll" and "Trampled Under Foot."

Scott praised Page's guitar work on "Kashmir," Bonham's drum solo on "Moby Dick" and Jones' "shimmering piano" on "No Quarter."

"Speak of the Zeppelin and you think of loud, hard-driving heavy metal sounds, right" wrote Scott. "They were there with all their compelling, breathtaking explosions."

WMMS-FM/100.7 program director John Gorman went to hundreds of concerts during the Buzzard's 1970s rock 'n' roll heyday. But the 1977 Led Zeppelin gig stands out in his memory as among the best he ever saw in Cleveland. The fun started out a day early -- and with a bang -- at Swingos, the legendary downtown Cleveland hotel that was host to many a rock bacchanal. Gorman -- now founder, partner and chief content officer of oWOW, a Cleveland-based internet radio station, sent us this memory, via email:

"The band got in a day early. They stayed at Swingos. Two of my air personalities, Shelley Stile and Betty Korvan, were invited over by one of the national Atlantic Records label people. I believe Betty watched John Bonham dismember a bed. Members of Zeppelin were calling the station. They got our hot line -- for requests -- and were astonished that we had nearly every song they asked for. We tried to get Led Zeppelin for an interview -- either at the station or on the phone, but they wouldn't do it. It was a management dictate. No media. You can understand why.

I had an earlier evening dinner at Swingos. When I walked in, I never saw so many scantily clad women in one place. We invested in the show and bought virtually a continuous loop on the Coliseum TV screens and ran all of our animated spots over and over again. I had one of the best seats for a show. Second or third row center.

The first time I had seen Led Zeppelin was in Boston at the Boston Tea Party, in a building which held 300 people, and I was at the front of the stage. (WMMS personality) Murray Saul rented a driver. He did not want to drive for many reasons, including the fact that he may end up too high or too drink -- or both. Zeppelinologists claim this was one of Led Zeppelin's best shows on the tour. And much like the 10th Anniversary Springsteen concert at the Agora -- this 1977 Coliseum show was one of the most bootlegged of Led Zeppelin's career. Most of the boots of this show were titled Destroyer. I have one of them. Excellent soundboard quality."

Facts about the 1977 Led Zeppelin North American tour:

The tour, which launched April 1, 1977, in Dallas, was staged to promote the band's seventh studio album, "Presence."

51 concerts were scheduled over three legs, but the tour was cancelled after 44 shows because the sudden death of Plant's 5-year-old son, Karac, from a stomach virus. The final concert was July 24, 1977, in Oakland, Calif. It turned out to be Led Zeppelin's last show ever in North America.

The tour was a huge financial success, with sell-outs on all dates. The band's April 30 concert at the Pontiac Silverdome drew more than 76,000 people, a record for an indoor entertainment event at the time.

More than 2,000 ticketless fans attempted to crash the gate at the April 19, 1977, show at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. 68 people were arrested that night in clashes with police.

Plant had this to say about the 1977 tour, in a 2008 interview with Uncut magazine:

"By 1977, I was 29, just prior to Karac's passing, and that sort of wild energy that was there in the beginning had come to the point where we were showboating a bit. Unfortunately, we had no choice. We were on tours where places were going ape-shit. There was no way of containing the energy in those buildings. It was insane. And we became more and more victims of our own success. And the whole deal about the goldfish bowl and living in it, that kicked in."

SET LISTS:

April 27, 1977

1. The Song Remains the Same

2. Sick Again

3. Nobody's Fault but Mine

4. In My Time of Dying

5. Since I've Been Loving You

6. No Quarter

7. Ten Years Gone

8. Battle of Evermore

9. Going to California

10. Black Country Woman

11. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

12. White Summer/Black Mountain Side

13. Kashmir

14. Moby Dick

Guitar Solo

15. Achilles Last Stand

16. Stairway to Heaven

17. Rock and Roll

18. Trampled Under Foot



April 28, 1977

1. The Song Remains the Same

2. Sick Again

3. Nobody's Fault but Mine

4. In My Time of Dying

5. Surrender

6. Since I've Been Loving You

7. No Quarter

8. Ten Years Gone

9. Battle of Evermore

10. Going to California

11. Black Country Woman

12. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

13. White Summer/Black Mountain Side

14. Kashmir

15. Moby Dick

Guitar Solo

16. Achilles Last Stand

17. Stairway to Heaven

18. Rock and Roll

19. Trampled Under Foot

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http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/02/led_zeppelin_at_the_coliseum_i.html

[lcondo123]

Very cool, Sam! Thank you, I'll have to show my dad this, as he was there the 28th.

[LZ77]

fantastic post!

[Deborah J]

What a great read! I loved the comment.. JPJ's shimmering piano on "No Quarter" as refreshing as a cool mountain stream in July.

Thanks Sam:-)

[Nutrocker]

Thanks for posting those reviews, Sam...those Cleveland '77 shows are indeed legendary.

Very cool, Sam! Thank you, I'll have to show my dad this, as he was there the 28th.

Yer dad was lucky...the April 28 show was probably the best of the whole bloody tour!

[lcondo123]

Thanks for posting those reviews, Sam...those Cleveland '77 shows are indeed legendary.

Yer dad was lucky...the April 28 show was probably the best of the whole bloody tour!

For sure! He's got many a story from that night, from throwing an inflatable blimp up at Robert to getting 4,000 people stuck in a human traffic jam to moo like a herd of cattle!