Day 205: 3/24/1975 Los Angeles, CA

3/24/1975 Los Angeles, CA  Deep Throat I

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Heartbreaker

The tape begins with a brief introduction by J.J. Jackson, which is met with a barrage of firecracker blasts from the crowd. Page gets ahead of the band near the end of Sick Again. Plant tells the crowd "these are the last three gigs of our American tour, so we intend them to be somewhat of a very high point for us" before Over the Hills and Far Away. Page blazes through the guitar solo. Bonzo is a thunderous explosion of energy during The Song Remains the Same. Page's fingers get stuck in the strings during the guitar solos.

Plant forgets a few lyrics during a somewhat lackluster Kashmir. Jones is repeatedly introduced as "keyboard man extraordinaire" before No Quarter. The somber piano solo features hints of Concierto de Aranjuez. The instrumental section is excellent, despite Page's uneven guitar solo. As the song ends, Plant tells the crowd "behind us we see there's  little bit of basic carpentry being carried on," joking "it's an arts and crafts center, this stage tonight." Page shreds erratically through the guitar solo during Trampled Underfoot. As the song ends, Plant announces "ladies and gentlemen, at the front of the stage right now, Elvis Presley's right hand man Bill Miller!"

Dazed and Confused is introduced as "the first thing that we had a go at... apart from the secretary." Page's fingers are a bit sticky during the slightly disjointed guitar solo/workout section. A rather uninspired performance. Plant dedicates Stairway to Heaven to "all our English friends who've arrived at the Continental Riot House." Page hints at The Rover prior to Whole Lotta Love, which features the most complete performance of The Crunge ever caught on tape. As the band leaves the stage, Plant announces "ladies and gentlemen... children of the sun... goodnight." A rather uneven performance for the first night at The Forum.

The tape is another excellent Mike Millard recording augmented by a slightly inferior source.

Click here for an audio sample courtesy of Black Beauty.