AboutChris M. Zangara Expertise I`m not only a Zeppelin collector but I have been collecting Zeppelin - Page(solo) Plant(solo) and Page/Plant for over 18 years. I am truly a lover of Page/Plant music in & out of Zeppelin simply because of the honesty of it all. - I have been studying them for as long as I have been listening to Rock/Blues Music. I look forward to any question and will answer the very best I can - as above all - I am just a fan like you!
Expert: Chris M. Zangara Date: 4/25/2008 Subject: Legendary Shows
Question Hey I wanted to know more about their legendary shows mainly the Royal
Albert Hall one in January 1970 and the Boston show of January 1969
(recorded on the killing floor bootleg) So my question is: Why are these
shows considered so legendary? and to which crowd did they play to at each
one?
Also could you tell me more about other shows that are considered legendary
and why are they considered like that?
Answer Hello MDX,
The Jan 9th RAH, besides being Jimmy's birthday, was the first time Zeppelin themselves employed a film crew to capture the entire performance. Also the Royal Albert Hall in London was as prestigious as you could get. Although Zep played there once already in 1969, they were much more established now in England and it was a landmark performance. The 2002 Zeppelin DVD has the entire show on disc 1.
Boston 69 was where, with only one albums worth of material, Zeppelin played for almost 4 hours throwing everything they could, establishing them as the real thing and the hardest working band ever. It showed how much they adored their fans and vice versa. It was one of the shows the put 'em on the map, so to speak.
Other landmark shows was the Bath Festival in 1970 where Zeppelin played as the sun was setting and blew everyone else on the bill right out of the water, or off the stage. The crowd hysteria and even critical acclaim was to become the 'word of mouth' that made Zep so popular. Many consider this to be THE show that proved Led Zeppelin was not any sort of hype, enabling more music fans to take them seriously.
The first show of the tour in 1971, at the LA Forum - which is where they usually would end their tours - was the first ever live performance of Stairway To Heaven and, as the bootleg reveals, the audience were indeed breathless. Zep knew they had something there.
June 21, 1977 showed that after a shaky start to the 1977 tour, due to Robert Plant healing from a devastating car wreck that threw the future of the band in turmoil, not to mention Plant wondering if he'd ever walk again, by the time they got to LA, Zep's telepathy with the audience was more powerful than ever. The bootleg Listen To This Eddie is as essential to most Zep fans as the studio albums themselves as the recording was excellent and coincidentally this is considered to be one of the best-ever Zeppelin concerts.
There's too many landmark shows to list really. If you can get your hands on Led Zeppelin The Concert File by Simon Pallett and Dave Lewis, you can read about each show, It's the best ever book on Led Zep on stage. Try Ebay or Amazon.com.
I'll post a follow up if I think of any more relevant shows.
