1969.05.25 Led Zeppelin Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia

1969.05.25
Led Zeppelin
 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia

Here is the link
https://mega.nz/#!okwmQKhL!rZMmTE2-sCGCOCUwowBU6kx2mNeuXNEBvOw8UBOIGxk

This is only the encore for the show and all that exists from the show. It also happens to be the second time ever (see April 26th, 1969 for the first) time Whole Lotta Love was played live. A very different version that is excellent, with a long guitar solo in the middle and great vocals from Robert. A very interesting comment about that evening comes from one of the Who's crew: "I had the unenviable task of throwing Zeppelin off the stage," recalled Jeff Wolff. "They were playing over time, stringin' it out, and there was a curfew, so I was saying, "I've got to get you off!" I had to pull the plug on them, otherwise we were never going to go on!" (The quote comes from the book written by Andy Neill and Mark Kent titled "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere - The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958-1978". Many thanks to the authors for sharing these memories.)


I was there by Dana Thompson
I knocked down the fence at Merriweather to see the Who. My buds and I spread out on the lawn. I thought Led Zeppelin was a local band called Coyote until I heard "How Many More Times" then I stood up and started paying attention. The sound was unbelievable. To this day that is my favorite Led Zep song. I said "Who are these guys?" just like Butch Cassidy said to the Sundance Kid later that year. The next day I called a friend of mine, Debbie Pierce, and told her about this band I had heard at Merriweather. She said that was Led Zeppelin silly. Thay have an album out with a blimp on the front. Straight to the record store I went. I bought the 8-track and wore it out. The rest is history. I still get chills when I retell the story. Those Merriweather concerts were the greatest. Hendrix, Janis, CCR, the Doors, the Who. It was a rock n roll hall of fame in 1967-1970

zeppelin/who at merriweather 1969 by richard pfleiderer
Living in Baltimore, this concert was something my friends and I were not going to miss, although Led Zeppelin was still in its infancy. I'd been listening to their first LP for a few months, over and over again. There wasn't another band which played like that. But the prime reason for going to the show was The Who. they'd been around for a number of years and had proven themselves live and on record. I remember being blown away at Zeppelin's act--unpretentious with no frills, but played like madmen. I was even more hooked. And, then, to have The Who finish up the night (with a selection or two from their "upcoming" rock opera, Tommy) was something I'll never forget. When I tell folks about seeing both bands at the same show, they find it hard to believe, as I still do after all these years.