Thank You

September 7, 1971 Boston, MA US Boston GardenImmigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Since I've Been Loving You, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Celebration Day, That's the Way, Going To California, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley), Communication Breakdown, Organ solo / Thank You, Rock and Roll. This is a blistering show, right from the start. Immigrant Song is a pummeling opener and a very long and amazing Heartbreaker follows right after. Robert is simply amazing ... hitting the highest notes effortlessly for dramatic effect in Black Dog and a gut wrenching Since I've Been Loving You. The band is awesome too, powering through Dazed And Confused like nobody's business. The crowd seems to be rowdy so Robert calmed them down few times. "No! No! You gotta cool it! Listen, I gotta put things straight. We had a bit of trouble in New York the other day, when so many people got on stage that is fell apart. Listen! Listen! Listen to me! ... If everybody gets on the stage, then the police will stop the thing. So what we wanna do is play as much of the new stuff and old stuff as we can without it falling apart!" The ending is pure rock and roll bliss. I was in attendance at this concert. With the lights barely dimmed at the old Boston Garden, Led Zeppelin took the stage like a storm and whipped right into the "Immigrant Song" for their opening number. To say the crowd was stunned would be an understatement. People who had been wandering around the facility aimlessly rushed back to their seats to see what the big commotion was all about. Most bands of this era invariably showed up late for their performances. Not Led Zeppelin. They were scheduled to arrive at 8 PM and they promptly took the stage only a few minutes later. The band's appearance in those days differed from their later image and attire. Page had a full beard and, for the most part, everyone was in jeans. Call it the "business casual" of 1971. Plant did all the talking during the show and commented ruefully to the audience about Atlantic Records and the problems they were having getting their new album released. I remember the band played at least two tracks from the up-coming album (Led Zeppelin IV): "Black Dog" and "Stairway to Heaven." Both songs were given mild support from the audience as is always the case when new un-heard songs are played. The band did an outstanding acoustic set (all four members sitting in chairs in the middle of the stage) and played a number of cuts from their third album including "That's the Way." Near the end of the show, John Paul Jones did an extended and impromptu organ solo and the other band members danced at the front of the stage. There were several well-received encores after which the band left the stage triumphantly. The show clocked in at just over three hours and was considered one of their most masterful performances of 1971. I had just returned from Vietnam (August 1971) and this was the first concert I attended after my arrival back in the States. It was also a sold-out performance (15000) and there was no opening act. Type &fmt=18 at the end of the URL for high quality sound and pix!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie-_2Bsb24o&hl=en