- Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1973
infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = North America 1973
artist =Led Zeppelin
type = Concert
locations =North America
start_date =May 4 ,1973
end_date =July 29 ,1973
number_of_legs = 2
number_of_shows = 36
last_tour = Europe 1973
this_tour = North America 1973
next_tour = North America 1975Led Zeppelin 's 1973 North American Tour was the ninthconcert tour ofNorth America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing onMay 4 and concluding onJuly 29 ,1973 . Rehearsals took place at Old Street Film Studios,London .History
This tour took place shortly after the release of Led Zeppelin's fifth album, "
Houses of the Holy ", which topped the charts. Prior to its commencement, Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant also hired PR consultantDanny Goldberg to further promote the tour, and booked a number of large stadium venues.Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 90.] As a result, this tour broke records for attendance. OnMay 5 atTampa Stadium ,Florida , they played to 56,800 fans (breaking the record set byThe Beatles atShea Stadium in 1965), and grossed $309,000. [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/may-5-1973 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] [Stephen Davis (1995). Hammer of the Gods (LPC) ISBN 033043859-X.] In total, this tour grossed over $4,000,000.On-stage, Led Zeppelin's shows were developed further from those performed 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.The three sold-out shows at
Madison Square Garden in New York which concluded the tour were filmed for a motion picture, but the theatrical release of this project ("The Song Remains the Same") would be delayed until 1976. The film documents the theft of $180,000 of the group's money from asafe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York, just before their final show. The theft was discovered by Led Zeppelin tour managerRichard 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 byCameron Crowe for "The The Song Remains the Same", reissued version, 2007.] The band later sued the Drake Hotel for the theft. [Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p.91]It was also during this tour that Led Zeppelin hired for the first time "
The Starship " - a formerUnited Airlines Boeing 720Bpassenger jet . During the early part of the tour the band had hired a small private Falcon Jet to transport its members from city to city, but these aircraft are comparatively light and susceptible to air turbulence. After performing a show atKezar Stadium inSan Francisco on June 2, [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/june-2-1973 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] Led Zeppelin encountered bad turbulence on a flight back toLos Angeles . As a result, Grant resolved to hire "The Starship" for the remainder of the tour. [http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/index.php?m=starship Led Zeppelin :: Achilles Last Stand] ] The exterior of the plane was re-sprayed with "Led Zeppelin" emblazoned down the side of thefuselage and the band's famous Swan Song Apollo logo was painted on the tail.Flying on "The Starship", Led Zeppelin found that they didn't have 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 direct by limousine from the concert venue to the airport, as depicted in the concert film, "The Song Remains the Same".
In an interview he gave to
William S. Burroughs , Page commented on the exhausting nature of the 1973 tour:Led Zeppelin vocalist
Robert Plant has also expressed his own recollections of the tour:Tour set list
One song from the band's recent album release, "Houses of the Holy", was played for the first time on this tour, namely "No Quarter"
The fairly typical
set list for the tour was:#"Rock and Roll" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
#"Celebration Day " (Jones, 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)There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.
Tour dates
*04/05/1973 flagicon|United States
Fulton County Stadium -Atlanta, GA
*05/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesTampa Stadium -Tampa, FL
*07/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesJacksonville Coliseum -Jacksonville, FL
*10/05/1973 flagicon|United States Memorial Coliseum -Tuscaloosa, AL
*11/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesKiel Auditorium -St Louis, MO
*13/05/1973 flagicon|United States Municipal Auditorium -Mobile, AL
*14/05/1973 flagicon|United States Municipal Auditorium -New Orleans, LA
*16/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesSam Houston Coliseum -Houston, TX
*18/05/1973 flagicon|United States Memorial Auditorium -Dallas, TX
*19/05/1973 flagicon|United States Tarrant Country Convention Center -Fort Worth, TX
*22/05/1973 flagicon|United States Hemisphere Arena -San Antonio, TX
*23/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesUniversity Arena -Albuquerque, NM
*25/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesDenver Coliseum -Denver, CO
*26/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesSalt Palace -Salt Lake City, UT
*28/05/1973 flagicon|United StatesSan Diego Sports Arena -San Diego, CA
*30/05/1973 flagicon|United States The Forum -Inglewood, CA (show postponed after Page sprains his finger. New date arranged for June 3)
*31/05/1973 flagicon|United States The Forum -Inglewood, CA
*02/06/1973 flagicon|United StatesKezar Stadium -San Francisco, CA
*03/06/1973 flagicon|United States The Forum -Inglewood, CA
*06/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesChicago Stadium -Chicago, IL
*07/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesChicago Stadium -Chicago, IL
*08/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesMarket Square Arena -Indianapolis, IN
*09/07/1973 flagicon|United States Civic Center -St Paul, MN
*10/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesMilwaukee Arena -Milwaukee, WI
*12/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesCobo Hall -Detroit, MI
*13/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesCobo Hall -Detroit, MI
*15/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesBuffalo Memorial Auditorium -Buffalo, NY
*17/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesSeattle Center Coliseum -Seattle, WA
*18/07/1973 flagicon|CanadaPacific Coliseum -Vancouver, BC
*19/07/1973 flagicon|United States The Spectrum -Philadelphia, PA
*20/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesBoston Garden -Boston, MA
*21/07/1973 flagicon|United States Civic Center -Providence, RI
*23/07/1973 flagicon|United States Civic Center -Baltimore, MD
*24/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesThree Rivers Stadium -Pittsburgh, PA
*27/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesMadison Square Garden -New York, NY ("The Song Remains the Same" film and soundtrack album)
*28/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesMadison Square Garden -New York, NY ("The Song Remains the Same" film and soundtrack album)
*29/07/1973 flagicon|United StatesMadison Square Garden -New York, NY ("The Song Remains the Same" film and soundtrack album)External links
* [http://www.ledzeppelin.com/timelinebrowse Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)]
* [http://www.bootledz.com/setlists.htm Led Zeppelin concert setlists]
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ledzeppelin/articles/story/6085498/led_zep_rule_the_us_in_1973 Article on the tour in "Rolling Stone" magazine]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117377988734231201134.000456cd5e5396d3e4864&ll=37.09024,-93.603516&spn=53.564699,79.101563&z=4 View in Google Earth]References
*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.
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