9/2/1970 Oakland, CA (master cassette>reel>dat)Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, Bring it on Home, That's the Way, Bron-Yr-Aur, Since I've Been Loving You, Thank You, What is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown, Train Kept a Rollin', Blueberry Hill, Long Tall Sally
Plant's voice is powerful during Immigrant Song. Page displays some virtuoso fingerwork during the solos in Heartbreaker, hitting each note with precision. The bow solo during Dazed and Confused is haunting. Plant tells the crowd the next song "needs you more than it needs us" before Bring it on Home. He manages to get the crowd to quiet down for a beautiful That's the Way. Bron-Yr-Aur is dedicated to the wild ones in the crowd.
Since I've Been Loving You is a bit more subdued than usual, but Plant still manages a few moments of inspiration. Plant recounts a story about the unruly American woman in the crowd at an Elvis concert before Thank You. Bonzo's thunderous pounding during Moby Dick gets the crowd on their feet, with many shouting their approval toward the end of the song. One particularly enthusiastic fan repeatedly yells "c'mon motherfucker!" quite loudly as Bonzo plays the drums with his hands.
The band's energy picks up during Whole Lotta Love. The riotous medley includes Carl Perkins's Boppin' the Blues, an excellent Lawdy Miss Clawdy, For What it's Worth (making its first appearance with lyrics), Muddy Waters favorites Honey Bee and Long Distance Call, I'm Movin' On, Fortune Teller, and That's All Right. Communication Breakdown once again features Good Times Bad Times during an especially funky breakdown. After Plant bids the crowd goodnight, the band returns to the stage for the first appearance of Train Kept a Rollin' in over a year, followed by the first appearance of Blueberry Hill (one of my favorite Led Zeppelin covers). The show ends with an incredibly fast, riotous Long Tall Sally, which includes Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey. A taste of things to come.
The tape is clear and well-balanced, if a bit distant. Highly enjoyable.
2 comments:
9.2.70 Oakland (master cdr)/ "Two Days Before" boot/ 2nd gen cassette
With respect to our host (after all, this is very subjective), I must offer a differing opinion on this concert. When the taper first let this out, I immediately got a 2nd gen cassette of it and went over it with a fine-toothed comb, and I found this to be one of the band's absolute best shows of their career. The recording is very distant, though not as bad as San Diego, but clear enough to hear the details if you use headphones, and well worth the effort.
unsurprisingly for this tour, Robert is in incredible voice from start to finish, but the rest of the band never fails to deliver a spot-on performance worthy of an official release if it were available in pro quality.
I agree, this show is every bit as good as the 9/4/70. 9/6/70 and 9/19/70 shows. It is not as well recorded as the 9/4 show, but Robert sounds better and the whole show is amazing. I wish Page would put out an official live release for each year of Zep!
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