Fifty-two years ago, September 2, 1970, I went to see Led Zeppelin at the Oakland Coliseum. It was a memorable concert with mounds of empty glass bottles and the smell of marijuana lingering in the air. Apparently, Van Morrison and Seatrain were supposed to open but they were both no-shows. It seemed like we arrived late anyway, having spotted a poster for the show that night at the Fillmore. My friend Alan and I ran up and down hills to the car parked near Fisherman’s Wharf without enough money to ride the trolley back. Our cash stash was in the glove compartment of the car so we hastily drove to the venue and paid for our tickets – about $3.50 each at the very top of the arena. 

It was Led Zeppelin’s 6th concert tour of North America. According to Wikipedia, the set list was as follows:

  1. “Immigrant Song” (Page, Plant)
  2. “Heartbreaker” (Bonham, Page, Plant)
  3. “Dazed and Confused” (Page)
  4. “Bring It On Home” (Page, Plant, Dixon)
  5. “That’s the Way” (Page, Plant)
  6. “Bron-Yr-Aur” (Page)
  7. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” (Page, Plant, Jones)
  8. “Organ Solo”/”Thank You” (Page, Plant)
  9. “What Is and What Should Never Be” (Page, Plant)
  10. “Moby Dick” (Page, Jones, Bonham)
  11. “Whole Lotta Love” (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)

    Encore:

I have a bootleg album of the event but the recording is horrible. The “Blueberry Hill” encore is what I remember most and was the subject of an unpublished novel I once wrote called “Thank God There’s An Ocean.” (See Post #295). I do vaguely remember a projection screen so we could actually see the tiny figures that played on the distant stage. Concert promoters called it “Concert Closeup.” Like everyone else, we rushed towards the stage for the encore. It was my very first concert experience and A Whole Lotta Love!