Albums were ok. My band played the hell out of “Houses of the Holy,” and with our female singer (and, yes, my super powerful drumming) we knocked “Stairway to Heaven” out of the park.
But, I got a bootleg live album of theirs & it was horrible. I figured it was the bootleg. In 1977, as part of the Icarus tour, I saw them at Sun Devil Gym (the new one). They were just terrible. I was reviewing for a music mag then and wrote a scathing review. Plant sang EVERYTHING an octave lower, couldn’t hit a high note to save his life. Page was so stoned or drunk that he-—not making this up-—had to be sat in a chair and the roadies had to cross his legs for him. They completely blew the syncopation on one “Physical Graffiti” song with the bass player/Page together, Bonham in another universe. The bass player was demonstrably pissed, trying to use his guitar as a metronome.
Later, I talked to two other people who went to that concert as fans and they had the same reaction. Likely the worst concert I ever saw, and that included Big Brother & the Holding Company without Joplin.
When they toured with Grank Funk Railroad, GFR blew them off the stage, so Peter Grant actually went and threatened GFR’s manager to force them off the tour.
I recently their last reunion concert in 2007-2009 time frame. Forget the date. Check it out if you have not seen it — on video and available via youtube. They played very well. I hope they play again.
I got that box set a few years back - West Was Won. Rather disappointed in their live performances. If that’s the best they have to offer of their live performances, I’ll stick to their studio albums.
Ok, I’ve wanted to post on one of these band threads for a while but this time I couldn’t resist! LED ZEPPLIN was BY FAR the biggest let down concert I’ve ever experienced! When I saw your post, I just had to concur. Oh my gosh, such a terrible performance, it was embarrassing!
On another note, I was on stage with the WHO when they played the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. I was only 15!! My brother helped them set up (just cuz he was there) and he was on stage with me. My only 15 minutes of fame! LOL!
Other notables ....Joplin was a train wreck, the Rolling Stones AWFUL, and the BEST .... The Moody Blues, and Elton John. I’ve seen hundreds; I could talk concerts all day long!