The Daily Procrastinator

Greetings, procrastinators. Today, April 27, 2009, marks the fortieth anniversary of one of the most legendary performances in rock and roll history. Forty years ago tonight, a young Led Zeppelin played the final show of a four-night stand in San Francisco.

The arrival of the mighty Zeppelin was foretold by humble print ads in local newspapers and music magazines.

Led Zeppelin rose from the ashes of The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page’s previous band, and they began playing together in September of 1968. The band’s amazing performances in San Francisco in 1969 are all the more impressive when the listener considers that they’d played together for just a few short months before invading America’s west coast.

You may ask, “How can you be so sure that this one particular show was great, BRP?” The explanation is simple: The April 27, 1969 show was recorded by two different fans. One recorded from the audience, and the other was able to attach his recorder to the soundboard. Both of these recordings circulate in the Led Zeppelin collecting community, separately and spliced together to recreate the complete show. I have listened to the audience tape, the soundboard tape, and the “collage” tape, and I feel confident proclaiming this show one of the greatest in rock and roll history.

A young, bluesy, grungy Robert Plant and Jimmy Page on stage in 1969

Check out the setlist for the early show:

• Train Kept A’Rollin’
• I Can’t Quit You Baby
• As Long As I Have You (medley includes Fresh Garbage, Shake, Cat’s Squirrel, No Money Down, and I’m A Man)
• You Shook Me
• How Many More Times
• Communication Breakdown

As if that wasn’t enough to blow the audience away, here’s the late set:

• Killing Floor
• Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
• White Summer/Black Mountainside
• Sitting And Thinking
• Pat’s Delight
• Dazed And Confused

The first set is a blistering, energetic salvo. Every member of the band is in overdrive: John Bonham’s drums are thunderous, John Paul Jones’ bass lines are punchy and complex, Jimmy Page’s guitar sounds like an entire string section, and Robert Plant’s wailing voice reaches seemingly impossible notes. The “As Long As I Have You” medley showcases a young band just having some fun playing the radio songs that were popular in their native England at the time.

The second set is slower and more blues-based, but that doesn’t make it any less astounding. This is the only recorded performance of Otis Rush’s “Sitting and Thinking.” Page’s solo guitar work in “White Summer/Black Mountainside” is a fine complement to Bonham’s drum solo in “Pat’s Delight,” the song which would eventually become “Moby Dick.” The evening ends with an especially dark and moody “Dazed And Confused.” By this time, the listener is completely wrung out. Live recordings of Led Zeppelin demand engagement from the listener, not just passive hearing. The band leads the audience on a 130-minute musical journey, and that journey is exhausting.

Live recordings of Led Zeppelin can be a little difficult to find, but they’re out there. If you’re a fan, do yourself a favor and hunt down the April 27, 1969 show. I’ve listened to hundreds of shows, and this is my single favorite. If you don’t look for the show, at least put some Zep on your CD player tonight and hoist a drink to the greatest rock band in history.