Jimmy Page Tourdates

[the-ocean87]

Hi. In the topic "Rarely mentioned Page guest spots" we already talked about Jimmys guest appearances. Now lets talk about his "full concerts".

lets first talk about Jimmys Outrider- Tour 1988:

1.) Has anybody the dates from this tour??

2.) How do you think about this tour? Should he do something like this again?

3.) Is there any complete pro-shot video avalible? I just have a good 1 camera video from the phoenix?? concert.

[SteveAJones]

Hi. In the topic "Rarely mentioned Page guest spots" we already talked about Jimmys guest appearances. Now lets talk about his "full concerts".

lets first talk about Jimmys Outrider- Tour 1988:

1.) Has anybody the dates from this tour??

2.) How do you think about this tour? Should he do something like this again?

3.) Is there any complete pro-shot video avalible? I just have a good 1 camera video from the phoenix?? concert.

Hello again,

I have all of Jimmy's post-1980 performances confirmed, to include guest appearances.

Perhaps we can discuss this further via PM. I'm not inclined to post them to this board

at the moment.

I think his performances in 1988 were superb, but would have liked to have seen the

tour itinerary expanded to include Canada, continental Europe and the Far East. In

hindsight some may say they question his choice of vocalist and bassist but Jimmy

chose musicians he was comfortable touring with on and offstage. I think he could

and should do something similar again, particularly if JPJ, Jason and Robert are not involved. He is determined to return to the guitar!

The Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheater) concert is the only complete pro-shot '88 gig video

in circulation. There are numerous audience shot tapes from the tour in my archive.

[ledded1]

These are the dates from the Concert File by Dave Lewis

1988.09.06 Atlanta

1988.09.08 Miami

1988.09.09 Tampa

1988.09.11 Houston

1988.09.14 Austin

1988.09.16.El Paso

1988.09.17 Mesa

1988.09.23 Dallas

1988.09.24 New Orleans

1988.10.07 Inglewood

1988.10.08 San Diego

1988.10.11 Oakland

1988.10.14 Kansas city

1988.10.16 Bloomington

1988.10.17 Chicago

1988.10.19 Cleveland

1988.10.21 Dayton

1988.10.22 Detroit

1988.10.25 Rochester

1988.10.26 East Rutherford

1988.10.28 Uniondale

1988.10.29 Worcester

1988.10.30 Philadelphia

1988.11.03 New Haven

1988.11.04 Syracuse

1988.11.05 Troy

1988.11.08 Landover

1988.11.09 Pittsburgh

1988.11.11 Portland

1988.11.12 New York

1988.11.21 Birmingham,uk

1988.11.23 Newcastle,uk

1988.11.25 London

1988.11.26 Manchester,uk

The onl show i dont have in my collection is the El Paso one.

I did see Jimmy on 3 of the UK dates and met the band in the pub before the London and Manchester shows. Jimmy wasn't in the pub as you would imagine.

[the-ocean87]

Hello again,

I have all of Jimmy's post-1980 performances confirmed, to include guest appearances.

Perhaps we can discuss this further via PM. I'm not inclined to post them to this board

at the moment.

I think his performances in 1988 were superb, but would have liked to have seen the

tour itinerary expanded to include Canada, continental Europe and the Far East. In

hindsight some may say they question his choice of vocalist and bassist but Jimmy

chose musicians he was comfortable touring with on and offstage. I think he could

and should do something similar again, particularly if JPJ, Jason and Robert are not involved. He is determined to return to the guitar!

The Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheater) concert is the only complete pro-shot '88 gig video

in circulation. There are numerous audience shot tapes from the tour in my archive.

Okay, so I'll wait for your PM. Thanks Steve!

I also think that he should do something similar again. He could do this with Jones and Jason.

The video from the Phoenix i have isn't complete, but i think the performance is good. Better than most of his P&P performances i think. And the sound is great.

Lets hope that Jimmy will return on stage again!

[SteveAJones]

These are the dates from the Concert File by Dave Lewis

Thanks for that, Paul. The Concert File does give a rough overview of the solo era tours,

though there are some discrepancies depending upon which edition one purchased.

This particular inquiry comes from one who has proven to be a hard-core Jimmy Page enthusiast, so he may also be interested to know the venues, opening acts, setlists,

the postponements, cancellations, tour rehearsal dates and their locations and more --

a level of detail not found in any book or on any website.

I note you may be seeking a recording of El Paso. I posted an interesting tour anecdote

from El Paso in the Zeppelin Mysteries thread. Perhaps it will entertain you while I look

for a copy of El Paso to send along to you. I note in advance you won't care if Eddie Van Halen was there (he wasn't).

[ledded1]

Thanks for that, Paul. The Concert File does give a rough overview of the solo era tours,

though there are some discrepancies depending upon which edition one purchased.

This particular inquiry comes from one who has proven to be a hard-core Jimmy Page enthusiast, so he may also be interested to know the venues, opening acts, setlists,

the postponements, cancellations, tour rehearsal dates and their locations and more --

a level of detail not found in any book or on any website.

I note you may be seeking a recording of El Paso. I posted an interesting tour anecdote

from El Paso in the Zeppelin Mysteries thread. Perhaps it will entertain you while I look

for a copy of El Paso to send along to you. I note in advance you won't care if Eddie Van Halen was there (he wasn't).

I don't have that depth of detail so i trust you will be able to provide it to him.

Its a pity that the El Paso hasn't surfaced yet ( as far as i am aware that is) it would be nice to complete the set as it were.

You are right about EVH couldn't give a toss

[SteveAJones]

You are right about EVH couldn't give a toss

If El Paso was even remotely attainable I know you'd have it now. I'll see what I can do!

[ledded1]

If El Paso was even remotely attainable I know you'd have it now. I'll see what I can do!

Cheers

[SteveAJones]

I originally posted this tour anecdote to the Pre/Post Zeppelin Forum several months ago:

High Noon in El Paso, TX.

Contributor: "The Man With No Name"

Eleven years had passed since I first met Jimmy Page.

I was living in El Paso, Texas. The time was September, 1988. I'd always known that I had something in common with Page. I suppose that's why I felt so strongly about conversing with him. The fact that I had met him once and was able to share meaningful conversation had already satisfied my expectations.

I sense that all of you reading can relate to this desireto have a fireside chat with Jimmy. The most difficult part of coming face to face with him is feeling that one has something interesting and/or intriguing enough to capture his attention for more than a moment. Especially since I'm just another fan. What I'm about to say may be mis-construed as arrogant or self-aggrandizing ---never-the-less, I'll trust you'll understand with the same heart that I'm writing.

So here we are in El Paso, Texas, more than six hundred miles from the nearest major market. El Paso is situated in the middle of nowhere. So when I heard that Page would be in town my first thought was: "How can I hook up with him again?" But then I realized that I probably didn't have anything worth his interest.

In fact, I didn't even buy tickets to the concert. I figured first of all,it would be sold out. Secondly, I was now a husband and father of three children with one on the way and I didn't have a group of comarades who shared or understood, or even cared about the enigma that is Page. So I'd hear the radio commercials for the "Outrider" tour and would reminisce about that night back in '77, when I got to share a drink and acouple of hours with my hero. My wife didn't understand, my kids were too young to know, and all my friends had traded in their souls for suits. I wore a suit too, but I still cranked my amp loud in my garage.

The night before the concert I was home helping the wife with dinner when I received a phone call from a renegade soul who happened to be a drummer who owned the liquor store. He and I had a " bowling league " blues band... you know, some guys bowl, some guys golf, some guys coach softball teams. But we played the blues in an all-black ghetto bar just to prove to ourselves that we could still shake it down. In fact, we introduced Zep-style blues to the "over-forty" Superfly crowd. We did howling renditions of "You Shook Me", "The Lemon Song" and "I Can't Quit You Baby." So Andre, the drummer rings me up and says "Jimmy Page is drinking at the Westin Hotel bar."

Of course I don't believe him. He verifies by telling me that his wife and her co-worker called to say that Jimmy Page had hit on them. Andre told me "Why don't you go down there and you could probably talk to him?" I immediately changed out of my Ward Cleaver outfit and donned some of my old rock n roll regalia. All black. Lots of leather. I arrived at the Westin about 9:45 in the evening. Strolled up to the bar (I was very nervous, I might add) because you see, I was facing the same dilemma about not being a hot-looking chick or gay cavalier. My mind was blank and at one point I decided that even if I could just shake his hand that would be enough.

So there's Jimmy standing at the bar with an obvious beer belly protruding from his "Alabama State" tee shirt and talking to his band members. I moved within earshot of the group and waited for my moment. I had thought to bring along an old Sun recording of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". And a few choice pieces of an ancient Native American pottery from my personal collection.

The moment arrived and I walked right up, handed him the gifts, mentioned our meeting of years ago and wished him well on the upcoming concert. I turned to walk away, but to my delight he asked me to stay and have a drink. Lots of musical small talk, then Jimmy invited everyone over to a table.

Small chat continued until Jason Bonham walked out of the adjoining disco and whispered something to Jimmy which made him laugh. He introduced Jason to me and Jason and I walked back to the disco bar. I queried him on the tour and various Zeppelin-related topics.

He was very open and candid about Jimmy and Robert's feud and he told me that Jimmy had practically begged Robert to rejoin. But he said Robert was very much against Jimmy's occult practices and that the last three years of Zeppelin were tragic and caused Robert to want to put much distance between himself and Jimmy on a personal level. Robert had cleaned up his act completely, but Jimmy had spent several months in rehab for heroin addiction. (Apparently Jimmy had been through rehab several times. Jason said Jimmy had nearly died the last time. He went down to 118 lbs. and was in a semi-coma for a month.) The main reason they were touring was to help Jimmy psychologically, he said.

I asked him "Why would they be playing in some town like El Paso?" and Jason said they were doing these minor markets to tighten up the band. He also talked briefly about his father. A positive musical conversation until. Jason became occupied with a cute girl, so I rejoined Jimmy and the band at the table.

By this time, I felt comfortable enough to just hang out. As I approached the table, JP was giving his attention to a buxom and voluptuous (I'm being polite here) woman. Should I give her a name? Perhaps not her real one --- she may not want the public acclaim. We'll call her 'Rosita'. So, I take an empty seat next to JP and commence small talk with the bass player and lead singer. The skinny is, these chaps were playing in a lounge band in Spain --- a Holiday Inn or something akin to that. Jimmy happens to be vacationing and catches their show, telling them he'd be in touch. They had figured he was a bit tipsy and polite, but never gave his comment much creedence. Three or four months later, he calls and hires them for the Outrider tour. The singer is British. The bass player is from Brazil or Argentina... I can't recall exactly.

I could relate to these guys because we were all in our mid to late 30's and had been playing music professionally since our teens. In my mind, I could have just as easily been in their coveted position. For a fleeting moment I wondered why fate hadn't brought Jimmy Page to one of my thousands of club gigs.... offering me the chance to tour with him. It fascinated me that these guys were so average, unknown and quite frankly, rather mediocre musicians, as I discovered the next night at the show.

I used to recall their names, but now that's not important. I'll tag them by their hair: Lead singer is "Blondie". Bass player is "Curly Black". Blondie inquired about places to jog and work out locally. Curly Black wanted to know the where-abouts of good vegetarian restaurants. JP finally let loose of 'Rosita' --- she went to the powder room. He turned to me and smiled that famous closed-lip grin and said "What's up, mate?"

By now, I had downed a few drinks and was settled in comfortably with the boys. I didn't feel like a star-struck fan imposing on a selective clique. I fit in with the guys as a local mate who shared the love of rock n roll. When I had first met Jimmy in '77, I was 25 and single and in awe of the legend. Now 36, married with children and masquerading as an advertising executive (although remaining on active duty as a weekend-warrior-musician who still did studio session work), I was no longer intimidated by the mystique of "The Rover". I point-blank asked Pagey if I could ask him everything I always wanted to know about his music. He smiled, waved his ciggie nonchalantly, sipped his marguerita and said "Yeah".

My first question was: Did he use a bow on the first section of the lead in "Over the Hills and Far Away"? The answer was "No". I won't get involved in this line of thought because only certain players would find it interesting. We went on for a good hour talking about music and the legends and myths of the old blues players who we both admired and emulated.

One of the most endearing aspects of JP's personna is his incognito wandering throughout the world. I love how he "drops in" on forsaken little pubs, taverns and road houses to explore and experience the salt-of-the-earth players who sweat out their musical lives in obscurity....as they continue to entertain the small-drinking audiences who take themmore-or-less for granted. Let's face it: most musicians are only respected if they "make it".

I forgot to mention that 'Ms. Rosita' had returned and seemed miffed that Pagey ignored her except to ask if she needed a drink or a smoke. He, of course, had "read" her and had gently but firmly made it clear that if she wanted to be the (how should I put this?) "sport f---k" of the night, she'd have to lay back and go with the flow. And right now the flow was philosophy and ancient culture.

We spoke deeply about Jung, Nietsche, Wagner, Crowley, Blavotsky, the Kabalah, William James, William Burroughs, Guirdjer, Alex the Great, Hitler and others.

By now the band mates had retired and Rosita had busied herself by making half-hour loops through the disco lounge. She would come back and plant a wet one on Jimmy and remind him that she was "ready" whenever he beckoned. He was so casual and confident that he would kiss her sweetly as if she were his girl and look her in the eye without saying a word --- as if to tell her he would let her know when her time would be. She would shoot me a thinly disguised glare as if she were competing with me for his attention (which she was).

But I merely regarded her as a "service maiden" with no patience.

[MHD]

I am very interested in seeing the The Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheater) concert. If anyone can help, please PM me.

[aen27]

I am very interested in seeing the The Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheater) concert. If anyone can help, please PM me.

I think that's the "Raving Arizona" DVD. hiddengrok.com carries it. That's where I bought it. He is just so adorable, I would be so happy if he did another solo tour!

[the-ocean87]

These are the dates from the Concert File by Dave Lewis

Great thank you. I also have "The concert file", but there are only the English dats mentioned. Which version do you have? Mine is from 2005 and is called "The concert file" in pocket book format. Is there a difference between the releases?

[alwizard03]

I am very interested in seeing the The Phoenix (Mesa Amphitheater) concert. If anyone can help, please PM me.

I wonder who you know that would have a copy of that.uhmmm I think I know but He is at work happily making money in the Gulf till next week.

[alwizard03]

I did not see any shows from the 88 tour did see Robert a few times that year but I was in the Navy and everytime We went to a location Jimmy had either just played or was playing after We left which sucked bad.

[the-ocean87]

I would be so happy if he did another solo tour!

Yes, i would be happy to. He should play more concert. Since 2002 he just did the 02 Concert! Nothing else. But why? His "colleague" Clapton, Beck and Blackmore tour and tour and tour... So he should do the same. Jimmy, we want you back on stage!!!! With or without LZ.

[ledded1]

Yes, i would be happy to. He should play more concert. Since 2002 he just did the 02 Concert! Nothing else. But why? His "colleague" Clapton, Beck and Blackmore tour and tour and tour... So he should do the same. Jimmy, we want you back on stage!!!! With or without LZ.

I think many of us have been asking why and wanting Jimmy to do something for years and to get back on stage where he belongs.

[ledded1]

I originally posted this tour anecdote to the Pre/Post Zeppelin Forum several months ago:

High Noon in El Paso, TX.

Contributor: "The Man With No Name"

Eleven years had passed since I first met Jimmy Page.

I was living in El Paso, Texas. The time was September, 1988. I'd always known that I had something in common with Page. I suppose that's why I felt so strongly about conversing with him. The fact that I had met him once and was able to share meaningful conversation had already satisfied my expectations.

I sense that all of you reading can relate to this desireto have a fireside chat with Jimmy. The most difficult part of coming face to face with him is feeling that one has something interesting and/or intriguing enough to capture his attention for more than a moment. Especially since I'm just another fan. What I'm about to say may be mis-construed as arrogant or self-aggrandizing ---never-the-less, I'll trust you'll understand with the same heart that I'm writing.

So here we are in El Paso, Texas, more than six hundred miles from the nearest major market. El Paso is situated in the middle of nowhere. So when I heard that Page would be in town my first thought was: "How can I hook up with him again?" But then I realized that I probably didn't have anything worth his interest.

In fact, I didn't even buy tickets to the concert. I figured first of all,it would be sold out. Secondly, I was now a husband and father of three children with one on the way and I didn't have a group of comarades who shared or understood, or even cared about the enigma that is Page. So I'd hear the radio commercials for the "Outrider" tour and would reminisce about that night back in '77, when I got to share a drink and acouple of hours with my hero. My wife didn't understand, my kids were too young to know, and all my friends had traded in their souls for suits. I wore a suit too, but I still cranked my amp loud in my garage.

The night before the concert I was home helping the wife with dinner when I received a phone call from a renegade soul who happened to be a drummer who owned the liquor store. He and I had a " bowling league " blues band... you know, some guys bowl, some guys golf, some guys coach softball teams. But we played the blues in an all-black ghetto bar just to prove to ourselves that we could still shake it down. In fact, we introduced Zep-style blues to the "over-forty" Superfly crowd. We did howling renditions of "You Shook Me", "The Lemon Song" and "I Can't Quit You Baby." So Andre, the drummer rings me up and says "Jimmy Page is drinking at the Westin Hotel bar."

Of course I don't believe him. He verifies by telling me that his wife and her co-worker called to say that Jimmy Page had hit on them. Andre told me "Why don't you go down there and you could probably talk to him?" I immediately changed out of my Ward Cleaver outfit and donned some of my old rock n roll regalia. All black. Lots of leather. I arrived at the Westin about 9:45 in the evening. Strolled up to the bar (I was very nervous, I might add) because you see, I was facing the same dilemma about not being a hot-looking chick or gay cavalier. My mind was blank and at one point I decided that even if I could just shake his hand that would be enough.

So there's Jimmy standing at the bar with an obvious beer belly protruding from his "Alabama State" tee shirt and talking to his band members. I moved within earshot of the group and waited for my moment. I had thought to bring along an old Sun recording of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". And a few choice pieces of an ancient Native American pottery from my personal collection.

The moment arrived and I walked right up, handed him the gifts, mentioned our meeting of years ago and wished him well on the upcoming concert. I turned to walk away, but to my delight he asked me to stay and have a drink. Lots of musical small talk, then Jimmy invited everyone over to a table.

Small chat continued until Jason Bonham walked out of the adjoining disco and whispered something to Jimmy which made him laugh. He introduced Jason to me and Jason and I walked back to the disco bar. I queried him on the tour and various Zeppelin-related topics.

He was very open and candid about Jimmy and Robert's feud and he told me that Jimmy had practically begged Robert to rejoin. But he said Robert was very much against Jimmy's occult practices and that the last three years of Zeppelin were tragic and caused Robert to want to put much distance between himself and Jimmy on a personal level. Robert had cleaned up his act completely, but Jimmy had spent several months in rehab for heroin addiction. (Apparently Jimmy had been through rehab several times. Jason said Jimmy had nearly died the last time. He went down to 118 lbs. and was in a semi-coma for a month.) The main reason they were touring was to help Jimmy psychologically, he said.

I asked him "Why would they be playing in some town like El Paso?" and Jason said they were doing these minor markets to tighten up the band. He also talked briefly about his father. A positive musical conversation until. Jason became occupied with a cute girl, so I rejoined Jimmy and the band at the table.

By this time, I felt comfortable enough to just hang out. As I approached the table, JP was giving his attention to a buxom and voluptuous (I'm being polite here) woman. Should I give her a name? Perhaps not her real one --- she may not want the public acclaim. We'll call her 'Rosita'. So, I take an empty seat next to JP and commence small talk with the bass player and lead singer. The skinny is, these chaps were playing in a lounge band in Spain --- a Holiday Inn or something akin to that. Jimmy happens to be vacationing and catches their show, telling them he'd be in touch. They had figured he was a bit tipsy and polite, but never gave his comment much creedence. Three or four months later, he calls and hires them for the Outrider tour. The singer is British. The bass player is from Brazil or Argentina... I can't recall exactly.

I could relate to these guys because we were all in our mid to late 30's and had been playing music professionally since our teens. In my mind, I could have just as easily been in their coveted position. For a fleeting moment I wondered why fate hadn't brought Jimmy Page to one of my thousands of club gigs.... offering me the chance to tour with him. It fascinated me that these guys were so average, unknown and quite frankly, rather mediocre musicians, as I discovered the next night at the show.

I used to recall their names, but now that's not important. I'll tag them by their hair: Lead singer is "Blondie". Bass player is "Curly Black". Blondie inquired about places to jog and work out locally. Curly Black wanted to know the where-abouts of good vegetarian restaurants. JP finally let loose of 'Rosita' --- she went to the powder room. He turned to me and smiled that famous closed-lip grin and said "What's up, mate?"

By now, I had downed a few drinks and was settled in comfortably with the boys. I didn't feel like a star-struck fan imposing on a selective clique. I fit in with the guys as a local mate who shared the love of rock n roll. When I had first met Jimmy in '77, I was 25 and single and in awe of the legend. Now 36, married with children and masquerading as an advertising executive (although remaining on active duty as a weekend-warrior-musician who still did studio session work), I was no longer intimidated by the mystique of "The Rover". I point-blank asked Pagey if I could ask him everything I always wanted to know about his music. He smiled, waved his ciggie nonchalantly, sipped his marguerita and said "Yeah".

My first question was: Did he use a bow on the first section of the lead in "Over the Hills and Far Away"? The answer was "No". I won't get involved in this line of thought because only certain players would find it interesting. We went on for a good hour talking about music and the legends and myths of the old blues players who we both admired and emulated.

One of the most endearing aspects of JP's personna is his incognito wandering throughout the world. I love how he "drops in" on forsaken little pubs, taverns and road houses to explore and experience the salt-of-the-earth players who sweat out their musical lives in obscurity....as they continue to entertain the small-drinking audiences who take themmore-or-less for granted. Let's face it: most musicians are only respected if they "make it".

I forgot to mention that 'Ms. Rosita' had returned and seemed miffed that Pagey ignored her except to ask if she needed a drink or a smoke. He, of course, had "read" her and had gently but firmly made it clear that if she wanted to be the (how should I put this?) "sport f---k" of the night, she'd have to lay back and go with the flow. And right now the flow was philosophy and ancient culture.

We spoke deeply about Jung, Nietsche, Wagner, Crowley, Blavotsky, the Kabalah, William James, William Burroughs, Guirdjer, Alex the Great, Hitler and others.

By now the band mates had retired and Rosita had busied herself by making half-hour loops through the disco lounge. She would come back and plant a wet one on Jimmy and remind him that she was "ready" whenever he beckoned. He was so casual and confident that he would kiss her sweetly as if she were his girl and look her in the eye without saying a word --- as if to tell her he would let her know when her time would be. She would shoot me a thinly disguised glare as if she were competing with me for his attention (which she was).

But I merely regarded her as a "service maiden" with no patience.

An interesting tale. Thanks for that.

[kdh]

Did the Outrider tour dates in Landover, MD; Philadephia,PA; Hartford, CT; Binghampton, NY; Syracuse, NY.

Classic Page. Sweating within 5 minutes of hitting the stage. Each show differant musically. Shivers down the backbone hearing his playing. A ting of sadness hearing Stairway to Heaven. Some embarressment hearing Jason Bonham do his solo. Overall joy in seeing and hearing one Mr. James Patrick Page on his only solo tour of his career. He is the guitar player of his generation.

[aen27]

An interesting tale. Thanks for that.

Thank you. I also thought it was interesting.

[ledded1]

Did the Outrider tour dates in Landover, MD; Philadephia,PA; Hartford, CT; Binghampton, NY; Syracuse, NY.

Classic Page. Sweating within 5 minutes of hitting the stage. Each show differant musically. Shivers down the backbone hearing his playing. A ting of sadness hearing Stairway to Heaven. Some embarressment hearing Jason Bonham do his solo. Overall joy in seeing and hearing one Mr. James Patrick Page on his only solo tour of his career. He is the guitar player of his generation.

I remember how much sweating he did especially at the Birmingham Hummingbird show in the UK. it was so hot in there and we got sprayed a few standing rows from the stage. But it was Jimmy Pages sweat.

[Rumpeller]

These are the dates from the Concert File by Dave Lewis

1988.09.06 Atlanta

1988.09.08 Miami

1988.09.09 Tampa

1988.09.11 Houston

1988.09.14 Austin

1988.09.16.El Paso

1988.09.17 Mesa

1988.09.23 Dallas

1988.09.24 New Orleans

1988.10.07 Inglewood

1988.10.08 San Diego

1988.10.11 Oakland

1988.10.14 Kansas city

1988.10.16 Bloomington

1988.10.17 Chicago

1988.10.19 Cleveland

1988.10.21 Dayton

1988.10.22 Detroit

1988.10.25 Rochester

1988.10.26 East Rutherford

1988.10.28 Uniondale

1988.10.29 Worcester

1988.10.30 Philadelphia

1988.11.03 New Haven

1988.11.04 Syracuse

1988.11.05 Troy

1988.11.08 Landover

1988.11.09 Pittsburgh

1988.11.11 Portland

1988.11.12 New York

1988.11.21 Birmingham,uk

1988.11.23 Newcastle,uk

1988.11.25 London

1988.11.26 Manchester,uk

The onl show i dont have in my collection is the El Paso one.

I did see Jimmy on 3 of the UK dates and met the band in the pub before the London and Manchester shows. Jimmy wasn't in the pub as you would imagine.

Don't forget Thursday 24th November 1988, Hammersmith Odeon, London. Support band was Dare. My first time seeing any member of Led Zep.

[ledded1]

Don't forget Thursday 24th November 1988, Hammersmith Odeon, London. Support band was Dare. My first time seeing any member of Led Zep.

They did the Manchester and Brum dates too. I guess they must have done Newcastle too. I like Dare and have a few of their albums.

[betteremily]

I originally posted this tour anecdote to the Pre/Post Zeppelin Forum several months ago:

High Noon in El Paso, TX.

Contributor: "The Man With No Name"

Eleven years had passed since I first met Jimmy Page.

I was living in El Paso, Texas. The time was September, 1988. I'd always known that I had something in common with Page. I suppose that's why I felt so strongly about conversing with him. The fact that I had met him once and was able to share meaningful conversation had already satisfied my expectations.

I sense that all of you reading can relate to this desireto have a fireside chat with Jimmy. The most difficult part of coming face to face with him is feeling that one has something interesting and/or intriguing enough to capture his attention for more than a moment. Especially since I'm just another fan. What I'm about to say may be mis-construed as arrogant or self-aggrandizing ---never-the-less, I'll trust you'll understand with the same heart that I'm writing.

So here we are in El Paso, Texas, more than six hundred miles from the nearest major market. El Paso is situated in the middle of nowhere. So when I heard that Page would be in town my first thought was: "How can I hook up with him again?" But then I realized that I probably didn't have anything worth his interest.

In fact, I didn't even buy tickets to the concert. I figured first of all,it would be sold out. Secondly, I was now a husband and father of three children with one on the way and I didn't have a group of comarades who shared or understood, or even cared about the enigma that is Page. So I'd hear the radio commercials for the "Outrider" tour and would reminisce about that night back in '77, when I got to share a drink and acouple of hours with my hero. My wife didn't understand, my kids were too young to know, and all my friends had traded in their souls for suits. I wore a suit too, but I still cranked my amp loud in my garage.

The night before the concert I was home helping the wife with dinner when I received a phone call from a renegade soul who happened to be a drummer who owned the liquor store. He and I had a " bowling league " blues band... you know, some guys bowl, some guys golf, some guys coach softball teams. But we played the blues in an all-black ghetto bar just to prove to ourselves that we could still shake it down. In fact, we introduced Zep-style blues to the "over-forty" Superfly crowd. We did howling renditions of "You Shook Me", "The Lemon Song" and "I Can't Quit You Baby." So Andre, the drummer rings me up and says "Jimmy Page is drinking at the Westin Hotel bar."

Of course I don't believe him. He verifies by telling me that his wife and her co-worker called to say that Jimmy Page had hit on them. Andre told me "Why don't you go down there and you could probably talk to him?" I immediately changed out of my Ward Cleaver outfit and donned some of my old rock n roll regalia. All black. Lots of leather. I arrived at the Westin about 9:45 in the evening. Strolled up to the bar (I was very nervous, I might add) because you see, I was facing the same dilemma about not being a hot-looking chick or gay cavalier. My mind was blank and at one point I decided that even if I could just shake his hand that would be enough.

So there's Jimmy standing at the bar with an obvious beer belly protruding from his "Alabama State" tee shirt and talking to his band members. I moved within earshot of the group and waited for my moment. I had thought to bring along an old Sun recording of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". And a few choice pieces of an ancient Native American pottery from my personal collection.

The moment arrived and I walked right up, handed him the gifts, mentioned our meeting of years ago and wished him well on the upcoming concert. I turned to walk away, but to my delight he asked me to stay and have a drink. Lots of musical small talk, then Jimmy invited everyone over to a table.

Small chat continued until Jason Bonham walked out of the adjoining disco and whispered something to Jimmy which made him laugh. He introduced Jason to me and Jason and I walked back to the disco bar. I queried him on the tour and various Zeppelin-related topics.

He was very open and candid about Jimmy and Robert's feud and he told me that Jimmy had practically begged Robert to rejoin. But he said Robert was very much against Jimmy's occult practices and that the last three years of Zeppelin were tragic and caused Robert to want to put much distance between himself and Jimmy on a personal level. Robert had cleaned up his act completely, but Jimmy had spent several months in rehab for heroin addiction. (Apparently Jimmy had been through rehab several times. Jason said Jimmy had nearly died the last time. He went down to 118 lbs. and was in a semi-coma for a month.) The main reason they were touring was to help Jimmy psychologically, he said.

I asked him "Why would they be playing in some town like El Paso?" and Jason said they were doing these minor markets to tighten up the band. He also talked briefly about his father. A positive musical conversation until. Jason became occupied with a cute girl, so I rejoined Jimmy and the band at the table.

By this time, I felt comfortable enough to just hang out. As I approached the table, JP was giving his attention to a buxom and voluptuous (I'm being polite here) woman. Should I give her a name? Perhaps not her real one --- she may not want the public acclaim. We'll call her 'Rosita'. So, I take an empty seat next to JP and commence small talk with the bass player and lead singer. The skinny is, these chaps were playing in a lounge band in Spain --- a Holiday Inn or something akin to that. Jimmy happens to be vacationing and catches their show, telling them he'd be in touch. They had figured he was a bit tipsy and polite, but never gave his comment much creedence. Three or four months later, he calls and hires them for the Outrider tour. The singer is British. The bass player is from Brazil or Argentina... I can't recall exactly.

I could relate to these guys because we were all in our mid to late 30's and had been playing music professionally since our teens. In my mind, I could have just as easily been in their coveted position. For a fleeting moment I wondered why fate hadn't brought Jimmy Page to one of my thousands of club gigs.... offering me the chance to tour with him. It fascinated me that these guys were so average, unknown and quite frankly, rather mediocre musicians, as I discovered the next night at the show.

I used to recall their names, but now that's not important. I'll tag them by their hair: Lead singer is "Blondie". Bass player is "Curly Black". Blondie inquired about places to jog and work out locally. Curly Black wanted to know the where-abouts of good vegetarian restaurants. JP finally let loose of 'Rosita' --- she went to the powder room. He turned to me and smiled that famous closed-lip grin and said "What's up, mate?"

By now, I had downed a few drinks and was settled in comfortably with the boys. I didn't feel like a star-struck fan imposing on a selective clique. I fit in with the guys as a local mate who shared the love of rock n roll. When I had first met Jimmy in '77, I was 25 and single and in awe of the legend. Now 36, married with children and masquerading as an advertising executive (although remaining on active duty as a weekend-warrior-musician who still did studio session work), I was no longer intimidated by the mystique of "The Rover". I point-blank asked Pagey if I could ask him everything I always wanted to know about his music. He smiled, waved his ciggie nonchalantly, sipped his marguerita and said "Yeah".

My first question was: Did he use a bow on the first section of the lead in "Over the Hills and Far Away"? The answer was "No". I won't get involved in this line of thought because only certain players would find it interesting. We went on for a good hour talking about music and the legends and myths of the old blues players who we both admired and emulated.

One of the most endearing aspects of JP's personna is his incognito wandering throughout the world. I love how he "drops in" on forsaken little pubs, taverns and road houses to explore and experience the salt-of-the-earth players who sweat out their musical lives in obscurity....as they continue to entertain the small-drinking audiences who take themmore-or-less for granted. Let's face it: most musicians are only respected if they "make it".

I forgot to mention that 'Ms. Rosita' had returned and seemed miffed that Pagey ignored her except to ask if she needed a drink or a smoke. He, of course, had "read" her and had gently but firmly made it clear that if she wanted to be the (how should I put this?) "sport f---k" of the night, she'd have to lay back and go with the flow. And right now the flow was philosophy and ancient culture.

We spoke deeply about Jung, Nietsche, Wagner, Crowley, Blavotsky, the Kabalah, William James, William Burroughs, Guirdjer, Alex the Great, Hitler and others.

By now the band mates had retired and Rosita had busied herself by making half-hour loops through the disco lounge. She would come back and plant a wet one on Jimmy and remind him that she was "ready" whenever he beckoned. He was so casual and confident that he would kiss her sweetly as if she were his girl and look her in the eye without saying a word --- as if to tell her he would let her know when her time would be. She would shoot me a thinly disguised glare as if she were competing with me for his attention (which she was).

But I merely regarded her as a "service maiden" with no patience.

....This is...interesting...

Steve, is this a true story?

[SteveAJones]

....This is...interesting...

Steve, is this a true story?

It's plausible there was an encounter as they did perform in El Paso on 9/16/88, the band were checked into the Westin, and they did converse with fans in hotel bars throughout the tour. However, I don't know for certain how accurate the account is.

[betteremily]

It's plausible there was an encounter as they did perform in El Paso on 9/16/88, the band were checked into the Westin, and they did converse with fans in hotel bars throughout the tour. However, I don't know for certain how accurate the account is.

Ah. Well, if there is no evidence to prove this story is true, I'm chalking it up to fan-fiction. Thanks Steve.