Led Zeppelin's Summer 1970 North American Tour was the sixth concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour commenced on 10 August and concluded on 19 September 1970.
Overview This concert tour was a massive success for Led Zeppelin, as they played to wildly enthusiastic audiences. It was their highest-grossing tour to date (for the two New York City concerts alone, the band grossed $100,000).Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. , p. 58.Michael Leonard, "Heaven Sent", Q Led Zeppelin Special Edition, 2003. With The Rolling Stones off the road at the time, only The Who could now compete with Led Zeppelin for the title of the world's top concert attraction. The band were widely hailed as bigger than The Beatles, dethroning them in the polls for the first time in rock history.Luis Rey (1997) Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes, Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 126.
This concert tour was originally scheduled to commence on 5 August at Cincinnati. However, the first week was rescheduled due to the ill health of the father of bass player John Paul Jones. The itinerary was amended several times, leading to much confusion, with the band erroneously being billed to appear at the Strawberry Fields Festival on the weekend of August 8–9.Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. , pp. 52-53. The tour eventually commenced on August 10 at Hampton.Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
During this tour the band mixed their third album at Ardent Studios, Memphis, in August 1970. The album was released in October 1970, shortly following the conclusion of this tour.
Tour set list The fairly typical set list for the tour was:
"Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) "Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Page, Plant) "Dazed and Confused" (Page) "Bring It On Home" (Page, Plant, Dixon) "That's the Way" (Page, Plant) "Bron-Yr-Aur" (Page) "Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones) "Organ Solo"/"Thank You" (Page, Plant) "What Is and What Should Never Be" (Page, Plant) "Moby Dick" (Page, Jones, Bonham) "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
Encore: "Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page) "Out on the Tiles" (Page, Plant, Bonham) (On 4 September, 6 September (late), and 19 September) "How Many More Times" (Page, Jones, Bonham) (On 19 September) "Train Kept A-Rollin' (Bradshaw, Kay, Mann) (On 2 September) "Blueberry Hill" (Lewis, Stock) (On 2 September and 4 September) "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Bredon, Page, Plant) (On 6 September (late))
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.
Tour dates The original itinerary before John Paul Jones' father's illness was: Date City Country Venue5 August 1970CincinnatiUnited StatesUnknown6 August 1970DetroitOlympia Stadium7 August 1970ClevelandCleveland Public Auditorium8 August 1970PittsburghPittsburgh Civic Arena9 August 1970BostonBoston Garden10 August 1970HamptonHampton Coliseum11 August 1970CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum12 August 1970JacksonvilleJacksonville Memorial Coliseum13 August 1970HollywoodHollywood Sportatorium14 August 1970Chestnut HillBoston College Alumni Stadium15 August 1970New HavenYale Bowl19 August 1970Kansas CityKansas City Municipal Auditorium20 August 1970Oklahoma CityOklahoma State Fair Arena21 August 1970TulsaTulsa Assembly Center22 August 1970Fort WorthTarrant County Arena23 August 1970San AntonioHemisFair Arena24 August 1970St. LouisKiel Auditorium25 August 1970NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium27 August 1970MilwaukeeMilwaukee Arena29 August 1970WinnipegCanadaWinnipeg Arena1 September 1970SeattleUnited StatesSeattle Center Coliseum2 September 1970OaklandAlameda County Coliseum3 September 1970San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena4 September 1970InglewoodThe Forum5 September 1970HonoluluNeil S. Blaisdell Arena6 September 19707 September 1970RaleighJ.S Dorton Arena12 September 1970ClevelandCleveland Public Hall14 September 1970RochesterWar Memorial Auditorium17 September 1970PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum19 September 1970New York CityMadison Square Garden20 September 1970Washington, D.C.Cole Fieldhouse While the final tour dates were: Date City Country Venue10 August 1970 HamptonUnited States Hampton Roads Coliseum15 August 1970 New Haven Yale Bowl19 August 1970 Kansas City Municipal Auditorium20 August 1970 Oklahoma City State Fair Coliseum21 August 1970 Tulsa Assembly Center22 August 1970 Fort Worth Tarrant County Convention Center25 August 1970 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium26 August 1970 Cleveland Public Auditorium28 August 1970 Detroit Olympia Stadium29 August 1970 Winnipeg Canada Man-Pop Festival, Winnipeg Arena31 August 1970 MilwaukeeUnited States Milwaukee Arena1 September 1970 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum2 September 1970 Oakland Oakland Coliseum3 September 1970 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena4 September 1970 Inglewood The Forum6 September 1970 Honolulu Honolulu International Center2 shows9 September 1970 Boston Boston Garden19 September 1970 New York City Madison Square Garden2 shows
References
External links Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website) Led Zeppelin concert setlists
Sources Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. .