Live Zep Experiences

["James A. Kerins" <kerins@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Badgers,

I'd like to read about your experiences at Zep concerts. I'm sure the younger Zep fans 
would like to hear about the "atmosphere" while the "well-travelled" fans would surely 
like to reminisce.

I was fortunate to see the 7/23/77 Zep concert at the Oakland Coliseum.
Before I joined this list, I thought that I would only have my memory to rely on but I 
was able to obtain a copy of this show through the list and it is very sentimental. This 
is by no means one of there best shows but it was the only one I got to witness first 
hand.

Here goes:

This was a "Day on the Green" concert, the first of two dates. I was 17 and was 
overwhelmed with anticipation to see my favorite band. This was especially sweet because 
I had tickets to their '75 tour but the show got cancelled.

I got there the night before to get a good spot in line. Back in those days, the 
die-hard fans camped out and partied out all night to be one of the first to get into 
the show.

We had ample supplies of herbal substances, beer, and Jack Daniels. We were ready for 
action! There were already hundreds of people there partying and camping out for the 
night. We still got a great spot in line. We settled in and met some of the other people 
in line and the party began.

Eventually things quieted down but at the sight of the Eastern glow, the crowd had grown 
to thousands of people and we were near the front! The party began once again. These 
fans were very rowdy and grew rowdier as it came closer to be let into the stadium.

Several police vans were monitoring the crowd and all of a sudden, bottles began to be 
hurled at the vans and they soon got the Hell out of there. Shortly thereafter, some of 
Bill Graham's people were going through the crowd trying to calm things down a bit. It 
was funny... they would shout stuff like: be cool, get to know your neighbors, the have 
good drugs. Things did mellow out and we waited, waited, and waited.

Finally, they let us into the main parking lot where we waited some more. 
Then we were finally let into the stadium. We wound up getting a very good spot on the 
upper right side of the stage. The place was packed.

Rick Derringer opened the show. All I really remember about that is that he played a 
pretty good version of Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo. Joe Walsh and The Pretty Things were 
scheduled to open for the '75 show that was cancelled. That would have been interesting.

Rick Derringer played a seemingly short set and we waited again. The wait was 
unbearable. It seemed to take forever and the crowed was getting restless.

Finally the show started. It was like a dream that finally came true.
They started with TSRTS and the thing I remember most is the shear force of Bohnam's 
drumming. It was so powerful and fluid. Unreal! I had never heard or seen anything like 
Bonzo. He was wearing sweats and a headband and kicked some serious ASS! Plant was 
wearing blue jeans and a blue t-shirt with some writing on it but I couldn't quite make 
it out. Page was wearing something that looked like a policeman's hat and dark shades. 
Unfortunately, I couldn't see JPJ too well from where I was. He was on the opposite side 
of the stage.

I was boogieing to the music throughout the whole show and was tripping on watching the 
crowd as well. There were alot of seriously wasted people there, girls spinning around 
like Whirling Dervishes etc... I was just trying to take it all in and savor every 
moment.

I kept praying that they would play ALS and finally, in the middle of Page's solo, they 
jumped into it. Bonham was on fire. It seemed like the rest of the band was trying to 
keep up but he was on a different level. Unfortunately, Jimmy didn't have the same level 
of intensity. It was still great to see the mighty Zep in action.

Just when I thought it was over Plant belted out Hey Hey Mama Said The Way You Move... 
and the place rocked.

When it was over I was exhausted. It was an awsome experience and I'm very greatful to 
have had the oppertunity to see them in acton.

The news reports talked of the problem with Bonham, Cole, and Bill Graham's stooge. I 
think Bonzo's adrenaline was really pumping during the show and I finally knew why we 
all had to wait so long before they came on stage.

There was a cool shot of the stage from this show on the recent VH1 Legends special. It 
was the one with the big Zep on top.

I hope I didn't bore anybody with this but I wanted to share it with you all. Hopefully 
you will share your Zeppelin concert experiences too.

Take Care.

Damn I miss Bonham!
- -- 
James Kerins
San Jose, CA