Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1975

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North America 1975

Poster for Led Zeppelin's concert at Baton Rouge, used to help promote its 1975 North American tour
Concert tour by Led Zeppelin
Locations North America
Start date January 18, 1975
End date March 27, 1975
Legs 2
Shows 39 (and two European warm-up shows)
Led Zeppelin tour chronology
North America 1973
 North America 1975
 Earl's 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 Brussels and Rotterdam respectively.

Contents

[edit] History

This tour took place almost two years since the band had completed their last 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 incredibly '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 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.[2] However, toward the end of the tour it was noted that group seemed to be recovering, leading to some memorable performances.[1]

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.[3]

One scheduled concert in this tour, on February 4 at the Boston Garden, was canceled by the Mayor of Boston, Kevin White, after fans had rioted whilst waiting in line for tickets. 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.[4] Later that year, Fromme made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford

[edit] 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 tour 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, March 21st at Seattle Center Coliseum and March 27th at the Los Angeles Forum.

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

[edit] Tour dates

[edit] European warm-up shows

[edit] North America

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Luis Rey (1997) Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes, Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 302.
  2. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, pp. 103 ff.
  3. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 103.
  4. ^ Davis, Stephen (July 4, 1985). "Power, Mystery And The Hammer Of The Gods: The Rise and Fall of Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone (451). 

[edit] Sources

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