Led Zeppelin - The Day I Was There

[Mudbugclub]

 Just wanted to tell you about a new book coming out on June 16. Led Zeppelin - The Day I Was There. A collection of over 500 eyewitness accounts of seeing  Led Zeppelin live.

 

With fans recalling memories of the earliest Yardbirds and Zeppelin shows at UK and European clubs right through until the O2 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in 2007. The book contains personal photographs, memorabilia, anecdotes, and fan stories that have never been published before.

 

More info here: https://thisdayinmusicbooks.com/books/led-zeppelin-the-day-i-was-there/

[LurksReturnington]

We had to live with that gig for a long time.

[LurksReturnington]

They should have had Iron Butterfly play, who were sounding good that year, well rehearsed and stage tested.

[LurksReturnington]

Good concept for another Zep book. 

[SteveZ98]

Any idea if they're new accounts or just a compilation of existing ones from this site and other sources?

Edited May 12, 2019 by SteveZ98

[strombringer101]

Lame another cash grab by someone who is just making $$ off Zeppelin.

 

[hummingbird69]

they should have photoshopped plants and hand to be on the other side

[SteveZ98]

I like these kinds of reminiscences so I did some digging into the publisher. Apparently this is one of a series of similar books done on other big name bands (Dylan, Pink Floyd, etc.) Looking at their web site, it's still not clear if these are new accounts of people having seen Zep or compilations of things that were published online but never before in book format. I don't recall anyone asking for recollections recently on this site, which would seem to the first place to go to get in touch with people who saw Zep. Either way, their other books have favorable reviews and are available in Kindle editions on the Amazon site for less than US$10.00. Hopefully this one gets the same treatment so anyone who's curious can pick it up for relatively little money.

Edited May 12, 2019 by SteveZ98

[Mudbugclub]

They are all new accounts from fans around the world. 

[Mudbugclub]

 

[Richard Houghton]

On 5/12/2019 at 12:48 PM, SteveZ98 said:

Any idea if they're new accounts or just a compilation of existing ones from this site and other sources?

I’m the editor of the book. They are all new stories, albeit some people may have told different versions of them elsewhere.

[zeplz71]

This this looks terrible. The rare photos you plugged are pics of fans? lol  Scanning through these screenshots, some of these testimonials don't even seem legit. In 1971, "Tweety-Pie" a young girl from London, who is in NY sees them at MSG, then flies out to see them in Berkeley,  then immediately "followed" them to  Honolulu.  They were going to follow them to Japan too but her friend didn't have her passport. She supposedly sees them over a year later at Alexandra Palace, and Robert is "used to seeing her in the front" and then sang Since I've Been Loving You to her.....    I'll pass.

 

[76229]

What was her name, Penny Lane?!

[Brigante]

Thing is, we've already got Stryder's 1977 tour diary on here for free - and that's by far the best Zeppelin 'I was there' account I've ever seen.   

[rm2551]

17 hours ago, Brigante said:

Thing is, we've already got Stryder's 1977 tour diary on here for free - and that's by far the best Zeppelin 'I was there' account I've ever seen.   

Exactly.

[Strider]

On 5/17/2019 at 4:23 AM, Brigante said:

Thing is, we've already got Stryder's 1977 tour diary on here for free - and that's by far the best Zeppelin 'I was there' account I've ever seen.   

 

On 5/17/2019 at 9:24 PM, rm2551 said:

Exactly.

You guys are very kind. I could never say mine were up to Dave Lewis' level, though. And there was a guy here (sadly, I can't remember his name) who wrote a very vivid account of the 1977 Chicago gigs.

Anyway, thank you. Maybe, since this is the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin, I should finally write that 1972 LA Forum post.

[Walter]

3 minutes ago, Strider said:

 

You guys are very kind. I could never say mine were up to Dave Lewis' level, though. And there was a guy here (sadly, I can't remember his name) who wrote a very vivid account of the 1977 Chicago gigs.

Anyway, thank you. Maybe, since this is the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin, I should finally write that 1972 LA Forum post.

Ah, you definitely should!

Wasn’t his username “Chicago”? 

[SteveZ98]

Here's another detailed account of attending a '77 show. This one is from Mike Tremaglio, and friend and the co-author of the stellar "Evenings With Led Zeppelin" book.

http://www.oldbuckeye.com/prox/p15.html

[SteveAJones]

Fan-centered books and videos are always difficult to pull off successfully. For one thing, as someone else said, you can't always be sure if you're reading fact or fiction. For another, most fan recollections are all somewhat similar, if not boring. However, every now and then a story is shared that surprises you. So the question here is if there are enough of those to make this book truly worthwhile. I will say I did stop the video above to read the Paul Hindress review of Birmingham, England 1995. I attended every night of that UK tour (except one) so I'm always interested to hear or read of other's experiences during that time. 

[Chicago]

19 hours ago, Walter said:

Ah, you definitely should!

Wasn’t his username “Chicago”? 

Yes, that was me. I had written a series about my experiences of seeing Zeppelin in Chicago 1977. Initially for the Electric Magic forum in 2007. Never reposted them on this official forum when it switched over later that year. They are posted in the timeline.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Chicago

[zeplz71]

21 minutes ago, Chicago said:

Yes, that was me Strider and Walter. I had written about my experiences of seeing Zeppelin in Chicago for the Electric Magic forum in 2007. Never reposted them on this official forum when it switched over later that year. They are posted in the timeline.

Did you write one for 4.10.77? Trying to find it on the page http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/april-10-1977

For those looking for fan reviews, the comments sections of the timeline pages are a huge archive of 1st hand accounts. 

[PeaceFrogYum]

19 minutes ago, zeplz71 said:

Did you write one for 4.10.77? Trying to find it on the page http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/april-10-1977

For those looking for fan reviews, the comments sections of the timeline pages are a huge archive of 1st hand accounts. 

I was at that show, it was simply amazing. The only song, or rather portion of a song, Jimmy screwed up that night was part of the first solo in TYG. The rest of the show was LA level playing from Page. Every member was playing near or at the top of their game and Plant sounded fantastic.

[Chicago]

3 hours ago, zeplz71 said:

Did you write one for 4.10.77? Trying to find it on the page http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/april-10-1977

For those looking for fan reviews, the comments sections of the timeline pages are a huge archive of 1st hand accounts. 

Yes I did zeplz71. It's the one written by Joe Schmidt.

 The Easter Sunday concert was the best of the 4 Chicago shows. Indelible memories.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Chicago

[Mudbugclub]

This book is peoples memories of seeing Zeppelin live, and yes sure, as time has passed the memory can get a little fuzzy, but that's what makes these books interesting. Its peoples memories from that moment in time. Most are not Zeppelin fanatics and might have a few facts incorrect regarding set lists but these are that persons memories of that time. Not all the accounts are just about the gigs, but what they were doing in their life at that time.

Example here: 

OAKLAND COLISEUM

2 SEPTEMBER 1970, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

I WAS THERE: THERESA PARSON

It was one of those nice summer nights that the San Francisco Bay Area is blessed with every year. Myself and my hippie tribe - Joey, Dave, Robin, Bill and Stephanie - were doing what we did every Friday night, sitting in Tom Lutz’s blacklight, lit with back to back neon posters, swilling cheap warm Olympia beer and passing around a joint. The room was so thick with cigarette smoke that my eyes were watering. We inherited this room every week when Tom’s mom would go spend the weekend with her boyfriend.

After playing Led Zeppelin’s self-titled first album through two times, we turned the radio to KSAN, the FM alternative station. This station was like the Holy Grail to its listeners. It played the latest rock albums from both the US and the UK from beginning to end. Every band that came through San Francisco stopped at KSAN for an in depth, call-in interview. The lights on the switchboard lit up like Christmas lights and it was nearly impossible to get on. But if you did, you could find yourself chatting with the likes of Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia or Bonnie Bramlett.

KSAN was always the first to hear about any new concerts that were coming to town. So imagine our stoned and slightly excitement when the deejay announced that Led Zeppelin were coming to the Oakland Coliseum. We whooped and hollered, played the album again and made plans to buy our tickets the next day. When 9am rolled around, we pulled up to Al’s Records and joined the line waiting for the store to open. Our town was so condensed everyone knew everyone in that line!

The wait seemed eternal, but finally September 2nd arrived. Us girls spent the day pin curling our long hair and then sat under our mothers’ hair dryers to achieve that curly singlet look. We worked diligently to put together our lace and velvet vintage style dresses, exchanging accessories until we were satisfied with our look. The guys picked us up at 5.30pm. We stopped at Jack in the Box for dinner and lurked outside the liquor store till we found someone willing to buy us beer and cigarettes. Lutz had already secured the weed so we were ready to rock!

When we got to the Coliseum, the parking lot looked like a huge tailgate party, so we got out our provisions, cranked up the radio, which was playing nearly non-stop Zeppelin, climbed into the car and joined the fun. We knew we’d never get the beer into the venue so we made sure we drank every drop before we went to line up. The roving drug dealers worked the line, and soon there were joints being passed in every direction. Finally, they opened the door and everybody rushed in looking for their seats. Ours weren’t the best, but we could pretty clearly see whatever was about to go on onstage.

As for the PA, we weren’t even worried about that. The band sauntered onto the stage and the place shook with stomping and applause. We were on our feet. We weren’t going to miss a thing! There was Plant with his long wavy blond hair and jeans so tight you could see a perfect outline of his package. And then there was the beautiful Jimmy Page, decked out in a velvet coat that hung over velvet pants and a striking white shirt with an ascot at the neck and ruffled sleeves. The music started as they barrelled through ‘Dazed and Confused’, ‘Immigrant Song’, ‘What is and What Should Never Be’, ‘Good Times Bad Times’, ‘Communication Breakdown’ and ‘I’m Movin On’’ before hitting some covers like ‘Blueberry Hill’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

Each song was met with wild appreciation and, aside from Jimmy Page, there were hundreds of air guitarists backing him up. John Bonham was a whirling dervish. It was like his sticks were a part of his hands. Running between the bass and keyboard, and playing both flawlessly, John Paul Jones never missed a beat. And Plant. That voice, screaming and growling, then dropping down until he was hardly heard and then throwing his head back and letting go of a guttural primal scream. It was like riding a vocal rollercoaster. By this time we had managed to move a few aisles down. Our goal was to get to the floor, even though it was already blanketed in assigned seated metal chairs.

All too soon the show was over and the band filed off the stage. They had brought us to a musical peak so high we couldn’t see down, and we wanted one more ride. In unison we screamed, banged chairs in the floor, lit our lighters and refused to give up. The crowd on the floor had tossed aside the folding chairs. There wasn’t enough security to stop us, so everyone streamed down from their seats and inched closer to the stage. For their encore they did ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and that’s when holy hell broke loose. Hundreds stormed the stage, knocking each other over and crawling over each other’s backs. It could have turned into a tragedy, but fortunately it didn’t.

On the way home we put on the Led Zeppelin 8-track. The guys talked about every note, fret and whatever other technical thing that went into the show. They marvelled over the brands of the equipment that the band used. It was all Greek to me. Us girls? What did we talk about? The size of Plant’s package of course!

I saw Led Zeppelin again at the all day festival, Day On The Green, in Oakland. The place was packed and the sound excellent, but it couldn’t compare to the first show. I think concerts are like losing your virginity - the first time is always the best!

[Stormwatcher]

And for the cover of the book editor chose that disaster from 1988 in MSG. So, judging by the cover, no thanks, I'll pass this one.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Stormwatcher