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Ranking The 1977 Shows


Bonzo_fan

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On 11/26/2020 at 6:24 PM, BobDobbs said:

On the 77' Tour? Probably either April 30th, June 11th or 13th, June 22nd or 25th, and July 24th. Though if pressed I would say June 11th.

Neat. If I had the money, I'd go see every Forum show (glares at Strider). My jealousy is imeasurable

Edited by LedZep123
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7 hours ago, LedZep123 said:

Neat. If I had the money, I'd go see every Forum show (glares at Strider). My jealousy is imeasurable

Crazy right, hard to decide between the NY run or the LA run, like them both but that NY run, especially the 11th - 14th is really strong.

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54 minutes ago, LedZep123 said:

You wanna know what would've been amazing additions to the set?

"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"

"The Rain Song"

And "The Wanton Song"

"The Wanton Song", yes. But instead of the other two you listed, I would have rather heard "In the Light", "The Rover" (the whole enchilada, not just the opening tease), "Houses of the Holy", "When the Levee Breaks", "For Your Life", "Tea For One" (instead of, or alternating with "Since I've Been Loving You"), "Royal Orleans", "Dancing Days", "Thank You", and "The Ocean".

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2 minutes ago, Strider said:

"The Wanton Song", yes. But instead of the other two you listed, I would have rather heard "In the Light", "The Rover" (the whole enchilada, not just the opening tease), "Houses of the Holy", "When the Levee Breaks", "For Your Life", "Tea For One" (instead of, or alternating with "Since I've Been Loving You"), "Royal Orleans", "Dancing Days", "Thank You", and "The Ocean".

Yeah I guess

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4 minutes ago, LedZep123 said:

Yeah I guess

I had already heard "Rain Song" seven times in concert. By 1977 I wanted to hear some of the newer songs I liked…the fresh songs from "Presence" and "Physical Graffiti". In 1977, local FM radio was still playing a majority of songs from "Physical Graffiti" and "Presence" along with the usual dollops of Led Zeppelin IV and early tracks such as "Dazed and Confused" and "Whole Lotta Love".

None of us were ready to think of Led Zeppelin as just a 'golden oldie jukebox band' in concert. If you look at their tours from the beginning to 1975, every tour they added new songs to the setlist…a lot of times new songs were added before the new albums were even released to the public. I, and plenty of others, expected and were hoping for the same on the 1977 tour. I am happy we got the new additions of "Ten Years Gone", "Achilles Last Stand", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", but it could have been so much more if they had shortened/eliminated the drum solos and guitar noise solos, and tightened up "No Quarter" to its 1975 length.

Naturally, all of this is said with the benefit of hindsight. Don't get me wrong…the 1977 tour still rocked and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

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5 hours ago, Strider said:

I had already heard "Rain Song" seven times in concert. By 1977 I wanted to hear some of the newer songs I liked…the fresh songs from "Presence" and "Physical Graffiti". In 1977, local FM radio was still playing a majority of songs from "Physical Graffiti" and "Presence" along with the usual dollops of Led Zeppelin IV and early tracks such as "Dazed and Confused" and "Whole Lotta Love".

None of us were ready to think of Led Zeppelin as just a 'golden oldie jukebox band' in concert. If you look at their tours from the beginning to 1975, every tour they added new songs to the setlist…a lot of times new songs were added before the new albums were even released to the public. I, and plenty of others, expected and were hoping for the same on the 1977 tour. I am happy we got the new additions of "Ten Years Gone", "Achilles Last Stand", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", but it could have been so much more if they had shortened/eliminated the drum solos and guitar noise solos, and tightened up "No Quarter" to its 1975 length.

Naturally, all of this is said with the benefit of hindsight. Don't get me wrong…the 1977 tour still rocked and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm gonna put myself in your shoes....

To be honest with you, most of the songs from Presence were not my favourite, and would've rather seen something else. I would've wanted to hear more Physical Graffiti. 

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I just stumbled across this rather extensive forum, after doing a search of the LA concerts in '77. I was at their last show at the Forum...now over 40 yrs ago. Cost something like $9.00 if I remember correctly, and I had to beg/borrow/steal the last 3 or 4 so I could go. It's a little scary...this guy that's now looking at retirement...looking back on the teenager that was at that show. Remember Keith Moon coming out and playing with Bonham, and realizing how special that was...especially after both of them passed away not long after. I can still picture the layer of smoke that had riser to engulf the upper tier of the Forum. Let's just say that wasn't all cigarette smoke...:) Pretty cool that so many people are still such big fans after all of these years. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The days of collecting / listening to dozens of Led Zep concerts from every year / tour are 20 years gone for me.

I have trouble nowadays, getting into anything less than grade "A" recordings, for any band.

However, I still sincerely enjoy reading chat forum chains like this.

Thank you all for keeping me entertained, you crazy, goofy Led Zeppelin geeks.

I suppose I'm one too, if I enjoy 4 pages of this.

Edited by The_Cheeb
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  • 10 months later...
On 7/27/2020 at 1:13 PM, Bonzo_fan said:

I know this has been discussed every which way, so I apologize for the potentially duplicitous nature of this post, but for uniformity's sake I figured I'd share my '77 rankings the same way I did my '75 and '72 rankings -- North America '73 is coming next week!  

As I mentioned in the '72 rankings thread, I started a podcast recently entitled Rock Talk with Dr. Cropper.  I've done three Zeppelin-themed episodes so far (and two Dead-themed ones).  My episode about the '77 tour, where I go into greater detail about the rationale behind my rankings, just went live this morning:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/rock-talk-with-dr-cropper/id1518703647#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-4725263

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/74LrPcZS8V6A3yO300Is3e?si=JUiZvIz8SVmeMXTDOUBY1w

Buzzsprout for those who can't access either of the above: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1119254/4725263

I decided to limit this one to a Top 20 due to sound and/or performance quality issues with the others. 

1.   June 22 - Los Angeles -- One of my all-time favourites.  It's starting to get the praise it's due, so I won't wax poetic for too long.  I think someone else said this on here a few weeks ago, but it strikes the perfect balance between the energy of the 21st and the relaxed confidence of the 23rd.  Extremely tight, incredibly powerful, and a unique setlist to boot (which I think is something all of the "best of their year, in the best ever conversation" shows have -- 9/19/70 Evening, 9/29/71, 6/19/72, 3/21/75, and this one -- 7/21/73 is the strange exception to my rule...best of its year with a completely standard setlist).  Not only is this the only '77 show to feature both "In My Time Of Dying" AND "Over The Hills And Far Away," it's also the only time OTHAFA appeared anywhere but the 3, 4 or 5 slot in the setlist after its debut on 6/19/72 in Seattle (right?).  In addition to a very strong opening 1-2-3, standout versions (at least for '77) of the following: "Since I've Been Loving You," "Going To California" (and the acoustic set as a whole), "White Summer/Black Mountain Side," "Over The Top" and "Rock And Roll."  The following songs from this show are in the best-ever conversation IMO:

- "In My Time Of Dying" -- thunderous, strong performance from Plant, and unique for the "The Lemon Song" tease

- "No Quarter" -- longest ever at 34 minutes, and it has a really great and unique piano solo from Jones which stays appropriately dark, a great boogie section and an awesome jam that keeps a bit more of a flow than the equally awesome 21st and 23rd versions do

- "Kashmir"

- "Over The Hills And Far Away" -- one of Page's best solos on it at the very least

- "Noise Solo"

- "Achilles Last Stand" -- I'm adamant about this one being THE best.  Super tight with amazing solos from Page in spite of the ridiculous tempo.  They recover from his broken string with him switching to the deluxe Les Paul quickly enough for it to not detract from the performance and I love the unique intro

- "Stairway To Heaven" -- great version by all of the usual measures, but also because Plant echoes the word "laughter" instead of singing some variation of "Does anybody remember laughter?" AND Page skips the extra bar on the 12-string, jumping straight into the solo after the fanfare

2.   June 21 - Los Angeles -- Legendary for a reason -- one of Bonham's best shows of their career and the others aren't far behind him.  Palpable excitement on their part and the crowd's at their being back in LA bubbles over with the explosive opening of a potential best ever "The Song Remains The Same" and it spills over into the rest of the show.  One of the most powerful versions of "No Quarter" with Bonham taking the reins in the mid-section, a crushing climax to the jam and a violent outro with one of Bonham's most impressive fills towards the end -- the one where he strings three fast ones together.  He does it again on the 22nd and a few other times, but you can obviously hear it most clearly with the sound quality of the 21st.  

3.   June 13 - New York -- This one has always been a personal favourite.  I recall a few years back someone on here posted about five '77 shows that each symbolized a different aspect of Zepp's greatness, and they chose this one as being emblematic of their bravado, which I think is quite accurate.  Very confident, energetic and powerful from start to finish.  The opening 1-2-3 are tight and explosive.  "Over The Hills And Far Away" sees Plant almost reaching the original melody in the choruses and Page playing an awesome and very spacey solo.  "Since I've Been Loving You" is one of the best of '77 at the very least.  "No Quarter" is a bit shorter than some of the other epics from June at 27 minutes and change, but is fantastic nonetheless.  Energetic mid-section with great chemistry and I love Jones' hinting at "Chim Chim Cher-ee" as he's winding down the jam.  One of the best and perhaps my personal favourite "Ten Years Gone."  Very strong acoustic set.  Nice "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" with some "Midnight Moonlight" thrown in once Page's guitar is re-tuned after the drop.  Epic "Kashmir" with Plant especially singing extremely powerfully -- reaches 10 minutes, but isn't plodding at all...just an awesome, extended outro.  Really good "Over The Top," too bad it's cut.  I think my favourite "Noise Solo" -- amazing theremin section.  Brutally heavy "Achilles Last Stand."  The biggest screw-up of the night, which you have to deduct points for, is Bonham entering a verse early during an otherwise great "Stairway To Heaven."  Unique for the "Whole Lotta Love" > "Black Dog" encore, and I think they play "Black Dog" pretty well.

4.   June 26 - Los Angeles -- Quite possibly the absolute tightest, most technically proficient of the year -- if I'm not mistaken, it's the only show from any year that has received straight-A's under @gibsonfan159's microscope, which I realize is focused primarily on Page, but still.  Love the way Jones wraps up the boogie section in "No Quarter" with a nice, hymnal vibe.  Long mid-section with a very nice, thoughtful build to a great climax.  Third-longest at 32:30ish.  Strong acoustic set.  One of the best "Noise Solo"'s, even at 22 minutes -- very smooth and focused.  Third-longest "Stairway To Heaven," and a great one at that.  I much prefer "It'll Be Me" to the bastardized "Whole Lotta Love" into "Rock And Roll" for the encore.

5.   June 23 - Los Angeles -- Some will say I'm being blasphemous, but hear me out.  I think you could most certainly argue that it has the highest peaks of any '77 show -- potential best-ever versions of "No Quarter" and "Ten Years Gone," a fantastic "Stairway To Heaven" with Plant in very strong voice leading into the pre-solo fanfare and Page playing a very emotional solo with brilliant phrasing, very strong versions of "Sick Again," "Since I've Been Loving You" and several others as well.  I also think it has lower valleys than the four above it (and potentially a few below it, but the peaks outweigh that) -- most notably the screw-up in "Kashmir," but it also has a so-so acoustic set IMO (I don't think the party vibe was as well suited to that part of the show) and the equipment issues in "The Song Remains The Same" and "Trampled Under Foot," while not their fault, detract from the listening experience a bit nonetheless.  Additionally, I think this show's "Achilles Last Stand" is a tad sloppy compared to some others that are equally energetic and powerful, and Keith Moon's presence, while historically significant and no doubt very cool person, doesn't really add anything musically.  I suspect they hardly ever had guests for the same reason that the best chefs use surprisingly few ingredients -- all you need are really high quality ingredients with plenty of space in the palette (or soundscape) to shine.

6.   April 30 - Pontiac -- The tempos sound a bit more deliberate this show, which I've always considered to be the most compelling "evidence" for it having been filmed/recorded -- knowing that they only had one show at the venue to get it right, they figured they'd take it just a hair slower to be sure everything was nice and clean.  Wishful thinking at least.  Anyway, combined with the echo of the venue which shines through on the recording, it sounds absolutely massive, like Page's riffs are being carved out of granite.  One of his best shows of the year.  I've always really liked this version of "Achilles Last Stand" -- it's the live version that sounds most like the studio version to me, in a good way.

7.   May 22 - Fort Worth -- I expect I'll take some heat for having this above the three below it, but that's ok.  Similar to the '75 Fort Worth show, what it might lack a bit in tightness/Page being at his most fluid, it more than makes up for with energy and Bonham playing like a mad man as he always seemed to in Fort Worth and Texas in general -- having cattle of his own back home in England, I'm sure he loved the Stockyards and the daily cattle drive.  This one is just fresh and fun to listen to.  Yes, you have to detract points for how long it takes Page to get back on track after Bonham throws in a bit of "The Crunge" during an otherwise excellent "In My Time Of Dying," but I always find it more funny than anything.  Probably the best "Over The Top" of the tour -- 28 glorious minutes.  Thunderous "Achilles Last Stand," one of the best on Bonham's part at least.  Bonham's stuttering intro to "Rock And Roll" is unique, and this show gets a big boost for "It'll Be Me" with Mick Ralphs -- a guest appearance that does add a little something musically, like Ronnie Wood in Nassau in 1975.

8.   June 25 - Los Angeles -- Strong showing from Page with fantastic versions of "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Stairway To Heaven," a potential best-ever "Kashmir," a really good "Trampled Under Foot" and the only "Communication Breakdown" of '77 -- a good one at that -- BUT it's a bit of an off night for Bonham apart from "Kashmir" and the longest "Over The Top" of the LA shows, though not the best.  I admit this could be my bias as a drummer using his play as a tie-breaker more than Page's.  This show also has the weakest "No Quarter" of the LA shows IMO.  It's not bad by any stretch, it's just that the other five are ridiculously good.

9.   June 10 - New York -- I could be underrating this one.  I'll admit, there's just something about the recording that I find a bit distracting, which is weird because I'm sure there are "technically worse" ones that I find less so.  Performance-wise it's no doubt a very strong night, with '77 debuts of "Over The Hills And Far Away" and "Heartbreaker," both of which are played quite well.  "No Quarter" is interesting with Jones switching back to the electric piano partway through the jam as he does on 3/25/75, but there are several better versions from June '77 -- NQ in June '77 is one of the best months of their career for any song IMO.  Good "Noise Solo" with an explosive entrance to "Achilles Last Stand."

10.   April 28 - Cleveland -- I could also be underrating this one.  It's a shame there's such a sizeable cut in what is otherwise a fantastic and very interesting "No Quarter."  Really great "Since I've Been Loving You," love the "Surrender" tease between songs, and an awesome, dark "Achilles Last Stand."  This is another one where something about the recording, plus the frequent cuts between songs, makes for a slightly distracting listening experience.  What a joy it would be to have soundboards of every show someday to make a true "apples to apples" comparison.

11.   June 27 - Los Angeles -- Definitely has that "last night" vibe where Page is stretching every single song every which way, albeit less successfully than this show's most similar counterpart, 3/27/75.  I really like the little prologue he adds to the intro in "Over The Hills And Far Away."  "No Quarter" is fantastic and the second-longest ever at 33:30ish.  Best acoustic set of the year and one of the best of their career.  Pretty cool "Trampled Under Foot" for '77.  Bonham's erratic playing is very distracting on "Achilles Last Stand," bordering on derailing the song IMO, which Plant alludes to after: "Was that Keith Bonham on the drums there?"

12.   June 11 - New York -- The muffled recording that takes over from "Kashmir" to the end makes it hard to judge the latter third of the show, but I quite enjoy the part before that.  Great "In My Time Of Dying," cool to have "Heartbreaker" as the encore, but the highlight for me has always been "No Quarter."  Fourth-longest ever at 31:45ish and one of my favourites.  Jones plays one of his best and most elaborate piano solos and the interplay between the three of them in the jam is intricate and complex.

13.   May 30 - Landover -- I'll be honest, we had to put my dog down unexpectedly on May 30 this year, so I was pretty distracted listening to this one and my memory of it is fuzzy right now, but IIRC it's an overall tight and good show with a good "No Quarter," especially from Jones, and a very good "Achilles Last Stand."

14.   June 14 - New York -- Would no doubt be a bit higher if the recording didn't end two thirds of the way through.  What we do have is quite good, but clearly a notch below the previous night IMO.  Cool "No Quarter" and a nice acoustic set.

15.   June 8 - New York -- The rough recording makes it tough to judge, but I suspect a better recording would reveal that I have it a bit too low.  Sounds like Bonham was feeling it.

16.   June 7 - New York -- @SteveZ98's North Bridge Remaster I heard recently really shone this show in a new light.  I've had Magical Sound Boogie for several years and it had be thinking this was a very mediocre show.  The remaster now has me thinking it's a good, not great show.  Bonham is very lively in the jam section of "No Quarter" and the acoustic set is nice, plus the humorous "Rawhide" tease.

17.   May 18 - Birmingham -- This would have been ahead of June 7 before I heard the remaster, and it's possible it still should be.  This is no doubt a good show, but I'm not so sure it's a great show.  I think the recording might actually do this one some favours.  It does have a really good "Since I've Been Loving You" and a very powerful "The Rover" intro.  Definitely a good choice for someone with decent bootleg ears who wants a more concise '77 show.

18.   July 17 - Seattle -- It's certainly a shame that this is the '77 show most uninitiated YouTube browsers stumble upon, but it also doesn't deserve all of the hate it gets IMO.  @Strider wrote a great, detailed reappraisal of it a few years ago based off of Godfather's Conquering Kingdome, which is the title I have.  It makes the video soundtrack sound about as good as it can, as does @SteveZ98's North Bridge Remaster of the video.  I find Plant's especially hoarse voice more distracting than Page's issues.  I always liked this version of "No Quarter" -- Jones does some cool stuff.  The "Stairway To Heaven" solo is deservedly praised, and the "Noise Solo" doesn't suffer at all from the axing of the "cat screeching" section!  Bonham is definitely the star of the show though and plays a great, retrospective "Over The Top" for what turned out to be his final solo -- even throws in some of "Bonzo's Montreux"!

19.   May 21 - Houston -- Another where Bonham is the star of the show.  Somewhat forgettable other than him though, other than a really good "Since I've Been Loving You."  I love how he yells "Pick it up!" after "The Song Remains The Same."  Too bad they didn't oblige his repeated requests for "Over The Hills And Far Away"...

20.   April 10 - Chicago -- Extremely rough recording obscures what sounds like a strong performance.  I really want it to be as good as we think it is, but I think the recording is too rough to assume and put it too high until the soundboard surfaces someday.

I was at the May 30, 1977 Landover show.  Glad to know its rated the best in Landover.  At the old Capital Centre.  If you had not been distracted might you have rated it higher?  Due to your poor dog's end?  At least in this life, his soul is still hanging around you.  

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On 10/24/2021 at 7:14 AM, LedZeppfan1977 said:

I was at the May 30, 1977 Landover show.  Glad to know its rated the best in Landover.  At the old Capital Centre.  If you had not been distracted might you have rated it higher?  Due to your poor dog's end?  At least in this life, his soul is still hanging around you.  

Oh, very nice! Was that the only time you saw them? Yeah, it's definitely the best of the four in my opinion. May 28 is pretty good too, but the 25 & 26 are quite bland at best. Yes, I probably would have rated it a tad higher if not for the situation with my dog -- I enjoyed it more on the anniversary this year! Yes, she's still with me in spirit ☺️ We also got another of the same breed (Samoyed) about a year ago now, so that helps...

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9 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

Oh, very nice! Was that the only time you saw them? Yeah, it's definitely the best of the four in my opinion. May 28 is pretty good too, but the 25 & 26 are quite bland at best. Yes, I probably would have rated it a tad higher if not for the situation with my dog -- I enjoyed it more on the anniversary this year! Yes, she's still with me in spirit ☺️ We also got another of the same breed (Samoyed) about a year ago now, so that helps...

Yes, only time.  We had tickets for Buffalo but Roberts son passed days before.  Long lines to return tickets.  Some said I traveled to DC for nothing until that tragedy deprived many Zep fans the chance to ever see them.  I still have my ticket.  
 

Do you remember a member here “The Ocean”?   He was a regular here and was at all the Landover shows.  It’s not you is it?  Haven’t heard from him in ages

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On 10/27/2021 at 9:47 AM, LedZeppfan1977 said:

Yes, only time.  We had tickets for Buffalo but Roberts son passed days before.  Long lines to return tickets.  Some said I traveled to DC for nothing until that tragedy deprived many Zep fans the chance to ever see them.  I still have my ticket.  
 

Do you remember a member here “The Ocean”?   He was a regular here and was at all the Landover shows.  It’s not you is it?  Haven’t heard from him in ages

That's a shame the Buffalo show didn't happen -- and of course a bigger tragedy as far as why it didn't. That would've been a huge show...I've seen the Stones and U2 at the Ralph. I actually like it better for concerts than Bills games LOL. 

I do remember The Ocean, and no, I'm not him...I was born in '95! Wish I could've seen Zepp!

Edited by Bonzo_fan
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3 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

That's a shame the Buffalo show didn't happen -- and of course a bigger tragedy as far as why it didn't. That would've been a huge show...I've seen the Stones and U2 at the Ralph. I actually like it better for concerts than Bills games LOL. 

I do remember The Ocean, and no, I'm not him...I was born in '95! Wish I could've seen Zepp!

Well if you can get to Hyde park in England you can see the Eagles minus the late great Glen Frey and Robert Plant and Allison will join them!!!

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3 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said:

Well if you can get to Hyde park in England you can see the Eagles minus the late great Glen Frey and Robert Plant and Allison will join them!!!

Just imagine Plant & Krauss joining in on Seven Bridges Road or Midnight Rider.

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On 10/29/2021 at 8:50 PM, LedZeppfan1977 said:

Well if you can get to Hyde park in England you can see the Eagles minus the late great Glen Frey and Robert Plant and Allison will join them!!!

Yes, I saw the announcement of that! Not sure if I'll make it over there for it, but I have seen Plant -- 6/15/18 at Budweiser Stage in Toronto.

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On 11/1/2021 at 12:16 PM, Bonzo_fan said:

Yes, I saw the announcement of that! Not sure if I'll make it over there for it, but I have seen Plant -- 6/15/18 at Budweiser Stage in Toronto.

Not really the Eagles without Glen Frey, but having Plant and Henley in same venue is worth it.  And Joe Walsh

Edited by LedZeppfan1977
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6 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said:

Not really the Eagles without Glen Frey, but having Plant and Henley in same venue is worth it.  And Joe Walsh

Hey maybe Jimmy will show up as he is friends with Walsh and they could...wait, who am I kidding.

Nevermind

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