SteveAJones Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Apr 12, 2001 Nearly 25 years ago the Mighty Led Zeppelin played to a capacity crowd at The Met Sports Center here in Bloomington, Minnesota. The following night was, of course, another sell out at The St. Paul Civic Center. Zeppelin played to 32,500 in the two nights and according to most sources, couldn't have seen the band in two very different lights. I was in attendance with about 10 of my buddies that first night, April 12th of1977. I had my Drivers' License for all of a month, as did my buddy who drove. We were all 16, independent and on top of the world, attending our first big event on our own! My seat wasn't as good as my friends, but I couldn't argue the fact that I was going to be in the fricking building with the greatest band that ever assembled! I had held a grudge against my parents for two years because they wouldn't allow me to attend the 1975 tour opener here at the Met. Wow, was I pissed. I was asked to go with some older friends twice and was denied. Anyway, my buddy Greg, who drove, borrowed his Dad's Chevy pickup with a topper on back. There were 3 guys in the front and about 6 or 7 of us in the back partying like there was no tomorrow! One of my close friends was seated 2nd row, Jimmy's side. I was in the first row of the upper deck just stager ight and had a great sight line. I can confirm that JPJ used his "acoustic, three-necked instrument" that night, early in the tour. It was one of the most brutal evenings of weather I can remember in my lifetime. The rain, in particular. It was beyond "torrential" or any other adjective or description.The band was nearly two hours late and I thought there would be some very intense shit going on soon if they didn't show. A stage announcer showed a couple of times to give us the message that because of the weather, the band was delayed departing from Chicago. No one was really buying it. Why would they wait all day to leave, knowing the weather was so terrible? Why didn't they cancel or postpone instead of letting everyone venture out into this awful,dangerous evening? Why would they take the chance? There were no good answers, ever really, but there were some stories currculating about Jimmy's health and drug use. It was providing good fodder for explaining this ridiculous situation. When the band did finally show, it was the most amazing burst of energy I have ever witnessed. It was so wild for the first 10 minutes that it didn't even sink in that they were actually there until "Nobody's Fault But Mine". My fondest memory of the night was at this point, when Robert and Jimmy were like bookends at opposite ends of the stage, constantly moving. Then they would weave, doing 360's and twirling and meeting at the center of the stage in time for the next verse. It rivaled those common scenes during "Achilles". There didn't seem to be anything wrong, to me, for awhile. Then came this point during "In My Time of Dying" that I thought Jimmy might just keel over, and he nearly did! At the end of the song, I recall him curiously going up to left edge of the stage and bending over. I thought maybe he was taking an item from a fan down in front, but as it turns out, he was throwing up! My buddy, John, who had that 2nd row seat was there to fill in the blanks for this one. Was it the incredibly scary flight they went through in "Caesar's Chariot" to get to the gig? Was it the drugs and/or alcohol? My guess is it probably was all three components. Who knows, really? Anyway, this situation did happen here in Minneapolis and it seems it could have been one of those rare, dark moments for the band that foul April evening. It wasn't until a few months later that Creem magazine, doing a date by date account of their '77 tour, cites this very tense arrival into the Twin Cities. The Star newspaper mentioned that the band was"visibly shaken" when they arrived at the Met, but Robert's voice was sure strong that night! You know, there couldn't be a more perfect example of "timing is everything" as this situation. I couldn't attend the next evening's show, for whatever reason. It turns out that the second night, here in St. Paul, has been pointed out by Richard Cole and, I believe, Robert Plant as one of the best nights of the tour! The band had taken the day to relax in town and were ready to rock on April 13th! Steve Benson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I had held a grudge against my parents for 2 years because they wouldn't allow me to attend the 1975 touropener here at the Met. Wow, was I pissed. I was asked togo with some older friends twice and was denied. Sounds familiar; my parents kept me from attending the May 1969 concert on a Thursday night because my boyfriend had kept me out until late the night before. Friday morning I was back in school in my art class and several of my classmates were talking about the night before. They had scheduled two performances in one night, and the first audience refused to leave, so they called the police. The next morning the stage was a mess, which interfered with the dance classes that were usually scheduled there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share Posted November 25, 2007 my parents kept me from attending the May 1969 concert Site may need another forum: Led Zep (Almost) Live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyPageZoSo56 Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 sounds amazing dude. i live in MN too and i wish i could have been there. but they will probably be here in 2008 anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share Posted November 25, 2007 i live in MN too and i wish i could have been there. but they will probably be here in 2008 anyway The person who wrote the review lives in Minnesota, not me (edit: you knew that?). I don't expect a tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyPageZoSo56 Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 oh, nevermind then i thought you did. hahaha wow, i misread it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share Posted November 25, 2007 oh, nevermind then i thought you did. hahaha wow, i misread it. Ask your Grandpa if he saw Jimmy Page play with The Yardbirds at the Detroit Lake Pavilion in Detroit Lakes, MN on Mon, Aug 8 1966. Opening act was The Unbelievable Uglies. It was the one and only time Jimmy performed in the State of Minnesota prior to Zep. That's gonna your local radio station's trivia question now, I bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68/80 guy Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 My friend went to both of these shows and took some great pictures from up close. He gave me some copies for my birthday about ten years ago. He told me Jimmy came out on stage eating crackers or something during T.S.R.T.S with his doubleneck. I started to laugh at him thinking how could you remember that ? Then he showed me a shot of Jimmy and sure as shit you can see the crumbs on his lip !!! He said the shows were average compared to other years he had seen them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 My friend went to both of these shows and took some great pictures from up close. He gave me some copies for my birthday about ten years ago. He told me Jimmy came out on stage eating crackers or something during T.S.R.T.S with his doubleneck. I started to laugh at him thinking how could you remember that ? Then he showed me a shot of Jimmy and sure as shit you can see the crumbs on his lip !!! He said the shows were average compared to other years he had seen them. And what are the odds some of those photos will be shared on this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Sounds familiar; my parents kept me from attending the May 1969 concert on a Thursday night because my boyfriend had kept me out until late the night before. Friday morning I was back in school in my art class and several of my classmates were talking about the night before. They had scheduled two performances in one night, and the first audience refused to leave, so they called the police. The next morning the stage was a mess, which interfered with the dance classes that were usually scheduled there. Your bringing back memories ET. Torn up stages ....used to be the norm'. Jesus we were a rowdy bunch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderguy Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 HI folks. I was at the St. Paul show the following night. It was the best concert I ever saw. I also remember reading that the band was "visably shaken" after having to fly through a bad thunderstorm the night before. The paper reviewed the Minneapolis show, but not the St. Paul show the following night. I told a friend from work about the not-so-good write up, and we both did some cussing about the rock press. He saw both shows, however, and did agree that the St. Paul show was the better of the two. But he liked them both. For me Kashmir was the highlight. It just boomed and reverberated in there. It sounded massive. There was an acoustic set a few songs long. Jones did play that triplenecked instrument. I don't think they played White Summer. The opener was TSRTS. No Dazed and Confused. Black Dog and Rock'n'Roll for the encores. GREAT SHOW!!! ----You might be amused to know the price of the tickets----$8.50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxwizard Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 HI folks. I was at the St. Paul show the following night. It was the best concert I ever saw. I also remember reading that the band was "visably shaken" after having to fly through a bad thunderstorm the night before. The paper reviewed the Minneapolis show, but not the St. Paul show the following night. I told a friend from work about the not-so-good write up, and we both did some cussing about the rock press. He saw both shows, however, and did agree that the St. Paul show was the better of the two. But he liked them both. For me Kashmir was the highlight. It just boomed and reverberated in there. It sounded massive. There was an acoustic set a few songs long. Jones did play that triplenecked instrument. I don't think they played White Summer. The opener was TSRTS. No Dazed and Confused. Black Dog and Rock'n'Roll for the encores. GREAT SHOW!!! ----You might be amused to know the price of the tickets----$8.50 I was at the St Paul show too, great show, I only hope a recording comes to light someday, for me the best part was Trampled Underfoot played in the middle of the show, Black Dog was the last encore after Rock n Roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney E Hanson Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I was there in Mpls 1977, I was 17, my friend Steve Shackleford, his girlfriend Debbie got us tickets. I remember the weather like it was yesterday, I was wet and shivering cold!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northstar Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hello Rodney and welcome to the forum. You are one lucky man to have seen Zep live. If you dont mind could you please post a write up of all the highlights that you can remember about the concert. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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