4/3/1977 Oklahoma City, OK (master>cdr)The Song Remains the Same, Sick Again, Nobody's Fault But Mine, In My Time of Dying, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, Ten Years Gone, The Battle of Evermore, Going to California, Black Country Woman, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, White Summer/Black Mountain Side, Kashmir, Over the Top, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Trampled Underfoot
The first recording of the 1977 North American tour and the band's second proper show in nearly two years begins with a brief soundcheck before the first appearance of The Song Remains the Same as the opening number. Plant's entrance is met with a loud cheer from the crowd. The band plays a few bars of The Rover as an introduction to Sick Again. Page's fingers get stuck in the strings during the guitar solos. As the song ends, shouts of "sit down!" can be heard coming from the crowd, to which someone near the taper responds "hey, let's break out the pea shooter."
Plant greets the crowd, saying "I think we'll just keep playin'" before the first appearance of Nobody's Fault But Mine. In My Time of Dying is a bit disjointed at times. Jones is introduced as "the coy gentleman in the group" before No Quarter. Page and Bonzo join in for an upbeat vamp halfway through the piano solo. There is a slight cut in the tape just before the instrumental section begins. Jones delivers a final dramatic crescendo as the piece comes to a close. Plant announces "before we decided to come stick our necks on the line, we did a bit of rehearsin'... and we thought rather than keep everything totally electric, we'd sort of vary it a little bit" before introducing the first appearance of Ten Years Gone.
Bonzo joins the band at the front of the stage for the first appearance of The Battle of Evermore, which features Jones singing the Sandy Denny part. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp is preceded by an abbreviated rendition of Black Country woman, making its first appearance since 6/19/1972. As the song ends, someone near the taper can be heard saying "I think it's time!... Dazed and Confused." Page's first recorded performance of White Summer/Black Mountainside since 4/28/1970 is linked nonstop with Kashmir in a dramatic reveal. Bonzo's drum solo has been renamed Over the Top and now features an instrumental Out on the Tiles introduction.
The first appearance of Achilles Last Stand is preceded by an experimental guitar solo, which replaces Dazed and Confused as the venue for Page's bow solo. The effect is so convincing that even Bonzo loses track and launches into the frantic rhythm of the former guitar solo/workout section before remembering what year it is. The band is obviously still getting a feel for the new song, frequently losing each other in the arrangement. However, the problems don't effect their enthusiasm as they hammer through at a frenzied pace. Page's fingers become entangled in the strings during the guitar solo in Stairway to Heaven. The crowd erupts as Rock and Roll crashes into motion. Page shreds erratically through a choppy guitar solo during the show-closing Trampled Underfoot. A somewhat rusty welcome to 1977.
The tape is rather distant and muffled with a series of disturbing tape noises throughout.
This show was at the Myriad Gardens with a crowd about 16,000 people. I was only 15 years old and camp out for tickets which cost only 9.50 and that was high compared to the average price of 6.50. I saw them on their last American Tour and it cost me only 9.50 and 8 hours of freezing in the cold for tickets, WOW !! What a deal of a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteMe and a friend stood in the cold to get tickets to see Zeppelin. I was 23 years old. It was well worth the effort and the tickets sold out soon after we left the fairgrounds box office. Tickets were 9.50. I paid 9.50 to see George Harrison in Tulsa, OK. I paid 5.50 to see The Who with Lynyrd Skynyrd in Dallas, TX in 1973. I saw Queen with Mott the Hoople for 5.50. I've seen Alice Cooper/Flo and Eddie, Steve Miller/Freddie King, Joe Walsh and Barnstorm, Nitzinger/Lee Pickens Group, Jimmie Spheeris, Jo Jo Gunne, and The Firm. The Who were the best concert with Zeppelin a close second.
ReplyDeleteThe reviewer forgot to mention that Plant sings "Going to Oklahoma".
ReplyDeleteWell, i don't find this concert bad overall. If it isn't an great show (like Cleveland or New York) it's an passable concert, not as bad like Tempe, for example. The No Quarter version i find epic, but Ten Years Gone it's really rusty tonight!
ReplyDeleteIt's true, the Who did put on a killer live show but who can gripe about seeing the original Led Zeppelin for less than 10 bucks. It was drizzling before the show and there were more sellers than buyers. Tickets were "scalped" for five bucks. Rock N Roll and Stairway were great numbers though Page sitting in a chair with a cigarette dangling from his lips, plucking his guitar got a little boring. But what an incredible band.
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