Rediscovering Led Zeppelin’s famed performances
Roseville, Calif. – Over the years, there are many bands you grow out of. They simply become markers of the past. Yet, there are often a select few you continue to revisit as they recapture your attention and stir your imagination. For many, including us, Led Zeppelin is once such band.
Long before the Internet, finding live performances of Led Zeppelin usually required scouring the record shops of New York’s Greenwich Village or trading tapes with fellow fans. It may have been musical nirvana, but in addition to being very cost prohibitive, it was a hit or miss in terms of sound quality. Then, the Internet came along!
Thanks to technology and dedicated fans like Led Zeppelin Boots, it’s easier than ever to discover incredible live performances once thought lost to history.
Essential Led Zeppelin Live
1969 San Francisco, California
With just one album under their belt, Zeppelin were quickly on their way to the pinnacle of music. Youthful exuberance and talent descend on the City by the Bay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k60gfxc7Nqc
1970 New York, New York (September 19, 1970)
Hailed by some as their greatest show ever, their final show of 1970 came just one day after the death of Jimi Hendrix and marked what would be the beginning of Zeppelin’s commercial and musical dominance of the decade. Bring it on home, indeed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcHlz0w6l8w
1971 Berkeley, California (September 14, 1971)
Known as “Going to California” in the bootleg world, this tour would feature unreleased songs that would later be released on their biggest selling album, referred to as Led Zeppelin IV. The music world would never be the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbalNBzdEM4
1973 – Offenburg, Germany (March 24, 1973)
Before hitting the U.S., Zeppelin would warm up with European Tours. In 1973, the band was on fire immediately out of the gate. If you dig the much edited, chopped, and altered soundtrack from The Song Remains the Same, a quick listen of this unadulterated show might leave you more than a little dazed and confused. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABddtAnyNbQ
1975 London, England: Earl’s Court (May 24, 1975)
In the early 80’s, a neighbor slipped us a vinyl copy from a portion of this show. We promptly took it home and spun it up. An otherworldly version of No Quarter blared from cheap speakers and our quest of LZ bootlegs had begun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plk8yMBWvR4
1977 Los Angeles, Calif. The Forum (June 21, 1977)
Perhaps it was the warm sunshine, hordes of groupies, or other indulgences as Zeppelin seemed a bit super charged during treks to Southern California. A week-long residency at the L.A. Forum in 1977 proves the point. This June 21st show known as “Listen to this Eddie” is an energy-fueled journey show with an apex-level performance from John Bonham on drums. 1977 would be Led Zeppelin’s final U.S Tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2FN5KZzLCg
1979 Copenhagen, Denmark (July 24, 1979)
A warmup to the massive Knebworth Festival, Led Zeppelin delivers one of their finest performances ever before approximately 2,000 lucky fans in Copenhagen ’79. Thankfully, a fan captured this incredible late era gem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBPXl4VF3FI
