Today in 1969 Zeppelin started their fourth North American tour (in less than 12 months), with two shows in one night at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Zep became the first rock act to play the Hall since the Rolling Stones in 1964. Bonham in particular was thrilled, as it was where his idols Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa had played.
Setlist: Included Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, White Summer, Black Mountain Side, Moby Dick, How Many More Times.
Review: Led Zeppelin became the first hard rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Rolling Stones tore the place up some five years ago. Even up against Donovan at Madison Square Garden (a complete sellout), both of Zeppelin’s shows went clean, with tickets being scalped for as much as twice their original price!
Though the management was uptight at half the audience dancing on top of their seats, and tried desperately to control the encores, the group managed to pull off one of the most exciting performances ever. They featured a selection of material from their new album, in addition to Jimmy Page’s haunting “White Summer” solo and Bonzo’s 25 minute attack on the skins. – J. Harris, Oct 1969
