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==Tour set list==
==Tour set list==
The new [[set list]] included material from the band's recently-released album, ''[[Physical Graffiti]]''. Songs from that album which were played for the first time on this tour included "[[Sick Again]]", "[[In My Time of Dying]]", "[[Kashmir (song)|Kashmir]]", "[[The Wanton Song]]" and "[[Trampled Under Foot]]".
The new [[set list]] included material from the band's recently-released album, ''[[Physical Graffiti]]''. Songs from that album which were played for the first time on this tour included "[[Sick Again]]", "[[In My Time of Dying]]", "[[Kashmir (song)|Kashmir]]", "[[The Wanton Song]]" and "[[Trampled Under Foot]]". This was in spite of the fact that the album itself was not released until the second half of the tour. Unforseen delays in the production of the album's elaborate sleeve prevented its release before the commencement of the tour.<ref name = "Welch" />


The tour was the only one on which "[[When the Levee Breaks]]" and "The Wanton Song" were ever played live by Led Zeppelin. It was also the last time "[[How Many More Times]]" was played, being temporarily brought back to replace "Dazed and Confused" which Page was unable to play until his injured finger healed.<ref name = "Welch" /> "[[Since I've Been Loving You]]", the other song that Page was unable to play due to his finger injury, was played only three times on the tour: February 14th at [[Nassau Coliseum]],<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/february-14-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref> March 21st at [[Seattle Center Coliseum]]<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-21-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref> and March 27th at the [[Los Angeles Forum]].<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-27-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref>
The tour was the only one on which "[[When the Levee Breaks]]" and "The Wanton Song" were ever played live by Led Zeppelin. It was also the last time "[[How Many More Times]]" was played, being temporarily brought back to replace "Dazed and Confused" which Page was unable to play until his injured finger healed.<ref name = "Welch" /> "[[Since I've Been Loving You]]", the other song that Page was unable to play due to his finger injury, was played only three times on the tour: February 14th at [[Nassau Coliseum]],<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/february-14-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref> March 21st at [[Seattle Center Coliseum]]<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-21-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref> and March 27th at the [[Los Angeles Forum]].<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-27-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary]</ref>

Revision as of 12:44, 18 December 2008

North America 1975
Concert by Led Zeppelin
Poster for Led Zeppelin's concert at Baton Rouge, used to help promote its 1975 North American tour
Start dateJanuary 18, 1975
End dateMarch 27, 1975
Legs2
No. of shows38 (and two European warm-up shows)
Led Zeppelin concert chronology

Led Zeppelin's 1975 North American Tour was the tenth concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on January 18 and concluding on March 27, 1975. It was preceded with two European warm-up shows, performed at Rotterdam and Brussels respectively.

History

This tour took place almost two years since the band had completed their most recent concert tour, which was the longest break between concerts yet taken by the band. As a result, some critics have suggested that the band seemed sluggish and rusty upon their return to the stage, with the group lacking dynamics and giving rather 'heavy' performances.[1]

To make matters worse, guitarist Jimmy Page suffered a broken ring finger after slamming its tip in a train door prior to leaving England for this tour. This forced him to take pain killers and to develop a three finger playing technique during the first portion of the tour.[2] In addition, Robert Plant contracted a bad case of influenza early in the tour, causing the cancellation of one show and negatively affecting his singing ability for much of the rest of the tour, leading to some unfavourable reviews.[3] However, toward the end of the tour it was noted that group seemed to be recovering, leading to some memorable performances.[1] Indeed, by the end of this series of dates, Plant himself stated that:

This has been our most successful tour on every level and I had a great time all the way through.[2]

For this stint of concerts, Led Zeppelin employed a much grander light show than had been used on previous tours, featuring a large neon-lit 'Led Zeppelin' backdrop and krypton laser effects for Jimmy Page's violin bow interlude.[4]

One scheduled concert in this tour, on February 4 at the Boston Garden, was canceled by the Mayor of Boston, Kevin White, when fans, who waited in the freezing cold for the tickets, were taken pity on by the stadium owners and were let in inside, rioted and trashed the stadium. A concert at March 8 at the West Palm Beach Speedway in Florida was also canceled following the promoters' failure to make property improvements at the venue

Led Zeppelin live at Chicago Stadium, January 1975.

The concert tour was promoted by the Concerts West firm, and it marked one of the first tours ever where an individual concert promotion firm promoted the whole U.S. tour of an artist or group. The company further established its mark by promoting the band's subsequent 1977 tour of North America.

During this tour Led Zeppelin hired The Starship - a former United Airlines Boeing 720B passenger jet, to transport them between cities. This was the second time the band used this plane, having initially done so on their previous tour of North America in 1973.

Towards the end of this tour, Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of Charles Manson's "Family", confronted Led Zeppelin's publicist Danny Goldberg. She stated that she had to see Page, because she had foreseen something evil in his future and thought it might happen that night during the band's concert at the Long Beach Arena. She swore that the last time this had happened, she had seen someone shot to death before her eyes. Goldberg persuaded her to write a long note to Page, after which she left. The note was burned, unread.[5] Later that year, Fromme made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford

Tour set list

The new set list included material from the band's recently-released album, Physical Graffiti. Songs from that album which were played for the first time on this tour included "Sick Again", "In My Time of Dying", "Kashmir", "The Wanton Song" and "Trampled Under Foot". This was in spite of the fact that the album itself was not released until the second half of the tour. Unforseen delays in the production of the album's elaborate sleeve prevented its release before the commencement of the tour.[2]

The tour was the only one on which "When the Levee Breaks" and "The Wanton Song" were ever played live by Led Zeppelin. It was also the last time "How Many More Times" was played, being temporarily brought back to replace "Dazed and Confused" which Page was unable to play until his injured finger healed.[2] "Since I've Been Loving You", the other song that Page was unable to play due to his finger injury, was played only three times on the tour: February 14th at Nassau Coliseum,[6] March 21st at Seattle Center Coliseum[7] and March 27th at the Los Angeles Forum.[8]

The fairly typical set list for the tour was:

  1. "Rock and Roll" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
  2. "Sick Again" (Page, Plant)
  3. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant)
  4. "When the Levee Breaks" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham/Memphis Minnie)*
  5. "In My Time of Dying" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
  6. "The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant)
  7. "The Rain Song" (Page, Plant)
  8. "Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
  9. "The Wanton Song" (Page, Plant)*
  10. "No Quarter" (Page, Plant, Jones)
  11. "Trampled Under Foot" (Page, Plant, Jones)
  12. "Moby Dick" (Bonham)
  13. "How Many More Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page)**
  14. "Dazed and Confused" (Page)***
  15. "Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant)

Encores (variations of the following list):

* Dropped from the set list very early in the tour ("When the Levee Breaks" on January 21 and "The Wanton Song" on January 25)
** Included in the set list until February 1 (or 2nd), then replaced by "Dazed and Confused" from February 3 at Madison Square Garden to the final show on March 27
***Performances of this song during the first leg of the tour included "San Francisco", while the band switched to "Woodstock" during the second leg

Several soundboard bootleg recordings of shows from this tour have surfaced in recent years, including the February 12 Madison Square Garden and February 14 Nassau dates.

Tour dates

European warm-up shows

North America

References

  1. ^ a b Luis Rey (1997) Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes, Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 302.
  2. ^ a b c d Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-85797-930-3, pp. 71-73.
  3. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, pp. 103 ff.
  4. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 103.
  5. ^ Davis, Stephen (July 4, 1985). "Power, Mystery And The Hammer Of The Gods: The Rise and Fall of Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone (451). Retrieved 2008-01-15. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
  7. ^ Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
  8. ^ Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary

Sources

  • Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.
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