Led Zeppelin May 28, 1973 San Diego, CA US Sports Arena Pt.1

Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song The culmination of all rock ‘n’ roll of a decade appears to have occurred with Led Zeppelin and the crowning achievement capable of its star instrument, the guitar, seems to be the possession of Jimmy Page, the British group’s leader, if such there be. Appearing Monday night in the Sports Arena before a sold-out house of 16,000 persons who began to gather outside the entrances at noon, Led Zep attested to all praises that have preceded its performance here, namely sold-out concerts all around the country and gold record sales that continue to mount. Accompanied by John Bonham, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant in combinations on vocals, guitar, drums and keyboards, Page shone as the supreme master of the heavy fuzz box guitar riff. His evolution from the early days of British rock with the Yardbirds appears complete. Nobody, but nobody plays guitar like Page. His is the final force, the power of a riff. A few solos Monday night were too excessive, but the sheer driving power of most over-shadowed any inadequacies. Led Zep devoted themselves an on other dates on the tour to the entire concert performance without a second act on the bill, which made for a full evening of immersion into their heavy metal rock. A drum solo, Moby Dick, interrupted the screaming flow of Page’s guitar once during the show, but that was because the time was needed to find a missing piece of guitar we were told. Essentially, however the set was as powerful as rock ‘n’ roll ever gets. Raunchy, flashy, and full of fuzzy sheet metal noise that brought a musical form to its culmination – or, perhaps just into another dimension. Whatever, Led Zep has the power. (Carol Olten, S.D. Union, May 1973)