Sunday, February 3, 2008

Day 34: 11/6/1969 San Francisco, CA

11/6/1969 San Francisco, CA  Final Winterland: The 1st Night
Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown, I Can't Quit You Baby, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, White Summer/Black Mountain Side, What is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, C'mon Everybody, Something Else

Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown is played at breakneck speed with an excellent funky groove during the breakdown. Every band member is in good form, I Can't Quit You Baby is pure electricity. Page's fingers get a bit sticky during the guitar solo in Heartbreaker, but it doesn't detract from the energy of the performance at all. Bonzo is assaulting his drums during an amazing Dazed and Confused. Page leads the band through an excellent fingerpicking interlude during the ever-extending guitar solo. 

White Summer/Black Mountain Side is followed by a cut in the tape and the final minute and a half of What is and What Should Never Be. The crowd cheers and claps along with Bonzo during a thunderous Moby Dick. Page improvises a new riff at the beginning of How Many More Times before Plant's band introductions. He continues to improvise licks through the Bolero section, including a bit of Over Under Sideways Down. The medley includes an aggressive Boogie Chillen. Plant has the crowd repeating every line of the drawn out "got you in the sights..." section. His voice breaks down again during the final "gun!" The show ends with high-energy, in your face renditions of C'mon Everybody and Something Else.

The tape is clear and enjoyable with a bit of hiss at times.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

1969-11-06 Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA "Final Winterland - The First Night" (From Source)
Ah, after the last show, this was music to my ears. Listened to this while running so wasn't paying attention to it fully, but recall that it was an enjoyable listen. Somehow the gang managed to get from Kansas City's previous nights show to San Francisco and put on a sharp performance. Sound quailty is very good, with little tape hiss, but otherwise clear and balanced. The show ends with an encore one-two punch of C'mon Everybody and Something Else. Enjoyable listen.

Laurence said...

I love this show. This one should be a Must Hear!

dragonspirit said...

I think it's a below-average gig for 1969. Definitely not a must hear, so I agree with the reviewer.