Led Zeppelin's 1973 North American Tour was the ninth concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on 4 May and concluding on 29 July 1973. Rehearsals took place at Old Street Film Studios in London.
History The tour took place shortly after the release of Led Zeppelin's chart-topping fifth album, Houses of the Holy. Prior to its commencement, Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant hired PR consultant Danny Goldberg for promotion and booked large stadium venues. The resulting tour broke box office records across North America. On May 5 at Tampa Stadium, Florida, they played to 56,800 fans (breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965), and grossed $309,000 (US$ in dollars).Led Zeppelin official website: concert summaryStephen Davis (1995). Hammer of the Gods (LPC) . In total, this tour grossed over $4,000,000 (US$ in dollars).
Led Zeppelin's shows evolved from those on previous tours, with the introduction of dry ice, laser effects, backdrop mirrors, hanging mirror balls and Catherine wheel pyrotechnics. Their dress attire also took on a more flamboyant nature, evidenced in particular by guitarist Jimmy Page's hummingbird jacket and John Paul Jones' Spanish matador jacket. This increase in on-stage theatricality was later referred to by Page during an interview he gave with rock journalist Mick Wall:
Three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City that concluded the tour were filmed for a motion picture, but the theatrical release of this project (The Song Remains the Same) was delayed until 1976. The film documents the theft of $203,000 of the group's money from a safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York, just before their final show. The theft was discovered by Led Zeppelin tour manager Richard Cole, who was immediately interrogated by police as a suspect. The sum of money was the band's takings from their three New York concerts. It was never recovered and the identity of the thief or thieves has never been discovered.Liner notes by Cameron Crowe for The Song Remains the Same, reissued version, 2007. The band later sued the Drake Hotel for the theft.
Led Zeppelin hired for the first time The Starship – a former United Airlines Boeing 720B passenger jet. During the early part of the tour the band had hired a small private Falcon Jet to journey from city to city, but these aircraft are comparatively light and susceptible to air turbulence. After performing at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on June 2,Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary they encountered bad turbulence on a flight back to Los Angeles. As a result, Grant resolved to hire The Starship for the remainder of the tour, at a cost for $30,000. The exterior of the plane was re-sprayed with Led Zeppelin emblazoned down the side of the fuselage.
Flying on The Starship, Led Zeppelin was now no longer required to change hotels so often. They could base themselves in large cities and travel to and from concerts within flying distance. After each show, the band members would be transported directly by limousine from the concert venue to the airport, as depicted in the concert film, The Song Remains the Same.
In an interview with William Burroughs in 1975, Page commented on the exhausting nature of the 1973 tour:
In a more recent interview, Page recalled:
Vocalist Robert Plant said:
"I got to see Led Zeppelin at very close quarters on that tour, travelling as part of their entourage," recalled Roy Harper. "The level of their success then was unbelievable… Being so close to them at the time, it was difficult to be objective about it all – you know, I was going along on the bus. But Zeppelin in full flight was an incredibly intense experience."
Tour set list The song "No Quarter" from the band's recent album release, Houses of the Holy, was played for the first time on this tour. The band also dropped their acoustic set, which was not revived until the Earl's Court shows in May 1975.
The fairly typical set list for the tour was:
"Rock and Roll" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham) "Celebration Day" (Jones, Page, Plant) "Bring It On Home" (intro) (Dixon, Page, Plant) / "Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones) "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant) "Misty Mountain Hop" (Page, Plant, Jones) "Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones) "No Quarter" (Page, Plant, Jones) "The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant) "The Rain Song" (Page, Plant) "Dazed and Confused" (Page) "Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant) "Moby Dick" (Page, Jones, Bonham) "Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Page, Plant) "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
Encores (variations of the following list): "The Ocean" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) "Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page) "Thank You" (Page, Plant) (Played on 3 June and 29 July) "Dancing Days" (Page, Plant) (Played on 13 July)
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.
Tour dates Date City Country VenueLeg 1 – Southeast/Southwest United States4 May 1973 AtlantaUnited States Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium5 May 1973 Tampa Tampa Stadium7 May 1973 Jacksonville Jacksonville Coliseum10 May 1973 Tuscaloosa Memorial Coliseum11 May 1973 St. Louis St. Louis Arena13 May 1973 Mobile Municipal Auditorium14 May 1973 New Orleans New Orleans Municipal Auditorium16 May 1973 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum18 May 1973 Dallas Dallas Memorial Auditorium19 May 1973 Fort Worth Tarrant Country Convention Center22 May 1973 San Antonio Convention Center Arena23 May 1973 Albuquerque University Arena25 May 1973 Denver Denver Coliseum26 May 1973 Salt Lake City Salt Palace28 May 1973 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena31 May 1973 Inglewood The Forum2 June 1973 San Francisco Kezar Stadium3 June 1973 Inglewood (Los Angeles) The ForumLeg 2 – Midwest/Northeast/Northwest United States & Canada6 July 1973ChicagoUnited StatesChicago Stadium7 July 19739 July 1973 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center10 July 1973 Milwaukee Milwaukee Arena12 July 1973DetroitCobo Hall13 July 197315 July 1973 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium17 July 1973 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum18 July 1973 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum20 July 1973 BostonUnited States Boston Garden21 July 1973 Providence Providence Civic Center23 July 1973 Baltimore Baltimore Civic Center24 July 1973 Pittsburgh Three Rivers Stadium27 July 1973New York CityMadison Square GardenConcert footage and audio for The Song Remains the Same film and soundtrack album28 July 197329 July 1973
References
External links Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website) Led Zeppelin concert setlists Article on the tour in Rolling Stone magazine View in Google Earth