Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1975

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = North America 1975

Poster for Led Zeppelin's concert at Baton Rouge, used to help promote its 1975 North American tour
artist = Led Zeppelin
type = Concert
locations = North America
start_date = January 18, 1975
end_date = March 27, 1975
number_of_legs = 2
number_of_shows = 39 (and two European warm-up shows)
last_tour = North America 1973
this_tour = North America 1975
next_tour = Earls Court 1975

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.Luis Rey (1997) "Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes", Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 302.]

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 develop a three finger playing technique during the first portion of the tour. 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. [Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, pp. 103 ff.] However, toward the end of the tour it was noted that group seemed to be recovering, leading to some memorable performances.

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. [Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 103.]

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

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.cite journal |last=Davis |first=Stephen |title = Power, Mystery And The Hammer Of The Gods: The Rise and Fall of Led Zeppelin |journal = Rolling Stone |issue=451 |date=July 4, 1985 |url =http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ledzeppelin/articles/story/17537975/power_mystery_and_the_hammer_of_the_gods |accessdate=2008-01-15 ] 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".

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. "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, [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/february-14-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] March 21st at Seattle Center Coliseum [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-21-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] and March 27th at the Los Angeles Forum. [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/march-27-1975 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ]

The fairly typical set list for the tour was:

#"Rock and Roll" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
#"Sick Again" (Page, Plant)
#"Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant)
#"When the Levee Breaks" (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham/Memphis Minnie)*
#"In My Time of Dying" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
#"The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant)
#"The Rain Song" (Page, Plant)
#"Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
#"The Wanton Song" (Page, Plant)*
#"No Quarter" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#"Trampled Under Foot" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#"Moby Dick" (Bonham)
#"How Many More Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page)**
#"Dazed and Confused" (Page)***
#"Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant)

Encores (variations of the following list):
*"Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
*"Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones)
*"Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
*"Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page)

* 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

Tour dates

European warm-up shows

*11/01/1975 flagicon|Netherlands Ahoy Hallen - Rotterdam, Netherlands
*12/01/1975 flagicon|Belgium Vorst Nationaal - Brussels, Belgium

North America

*18/01/1975 flagicon|United States Metropolitan Sports Center - Bloomington, MN
*20/01/1975 flagicon|United States Chicago Stadium - Chicago, IL
*21/01/1975 flagicon|United States Chicago Stadium - Chicago, IL
*22/01/1975 flagicon|United States Chicago Stadium - Chicago, IL
*24/01/1975 flagicon|United States Richfield Coliseum - Cleveland, OH
*25/01/1975 flagicon|United States Market Square Arena - Indianapolis, IN
*29/01/1975 flagicon|United States Coliseum - Greensboro, NC
*31/01/1975 flagicon|United States Olympia Stadium - Detroit, MI
*01/02/1975 flagicon|United States Civic Arena - Pittsburgh, PA
*02/02/1975 flagicon|United States Civic Arena - Pittsburgh, PA
*03/02/1975 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*04/02/1975 flagicon|United States Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY (replaced cancelled concert at the Boston Garden which was originally scheduled for this date)
*06/02/1975 flagicon|Canada The Forum - Montreal, QC
*07/02/1975 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*08/02/1975 flagicon|United States The Spectrum - Philadelphia, PA
*10/02/1975 flagicon|United States Capital Centre - Landover, MD
*12/02/1975 flagicon|United States Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
*13/02/1975 flagicon|United States Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY (Ronnie Wood joins the band during the encore of "Communication Breakdown")
*14/02/1975 flagicon|United States Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY
*16/02/1975 flagicon|United States St Louis Blues Arena - St Louis, Missouri
*27/02/1975 flagicon|United States Sam Houston Coliseum - Houston, TX
*28/02/1975 flagicon|United States LSU Assembly Center - Baton Rouge, LA
*01/03/1975 flagicon|United States Municipal Auditorium - New Orleans, LA
*02/03/1975 flagicon|United States Stokely Athletic Center - Knoxville, TN
*03/03/1975 flagicon|United States Tarrant Country Convention Center - Fort Worth, TX
*04/03/1975 flagicon|United States Memorial Auditorium - Dallas, TX
*05/03/1975 flagicon|United States Memorial Auditorium - Dallas, TX
*07/03/1975 flagicon|United States Events Center - Austin, TX
*08/03/1975 flagicon|United States The Raceway - West Palm Beach, FL (cancelled)
*10/03/1975 flagicon|United States San Diego Sports Arena - San Diego, CA
*11/03/1975 flagicon|United States Civic Arena - Long Beach, CA
*12/03/1975 flagicon|United States Civic Arena - Long Beach, CA
*14/03/1975 flagicon|United States San Diego Sports Arena - San Diego, CA
*17/03/1975 flagicon|United States Seattle Center Coliseum - Seattle, WA
*19/03/1975 flagicon|Canada Pacific Coliseum - Vancouver, BC
*20/03/1975 flagicon|Canada Pacific Coliseum - Vancouver, BC
*21/03/1975 flagicon|United States Seattle Center Coliseum - Seattle, WA
*24/03/1975 flagicon|United States The Forum - Inglewood, CA
*25/03/1975 flagicon|United States The Forum - Inglewood, CA
*27/03/1975 flagicon|United States The Forum - Inglewood, CA

External links

* [http://www.ledzeppelin.com/timelinebrowse Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)]
* [http://www.bootledz.com/setlists.htm Led Zeppelin concert setlists]
* [http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/index.php?m=int20 Interview conducted with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page during the concert tour]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117377988734231201134.000456d61bca53a529d97&ll=38.632244,-97.052643&spn=52.615956,79.101563&z=4 View in Google Earth]

References