LED ZEPPELIN - ROCKPILE, TORONTO, AUGUST 18TH 1969

Finally a great 2 set performance, captured complete, showing that in between truncated festival appearances and hurried sets in strange venues booked to fill gaps in the tour and keep the financial ball rolling, Led Zeppelin were maturing fast and capable of some remarkable light and shade nuances even at this early stage of things. 

They performed two sets, and the first was a short, frantic 55 odd minute dash through similar to the open air smash and grab raids throughout the summer. The recording is flat and poor but discernible enough to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere and interaction between band and a very receptive and raucous audience. I Can't Quit You Baby loosens everything up, with Jimmy teasing and testing his band mates with crazy stop start licks and Robert ad libbing shades of As Long As I Have You in response.

The blues numbers certainly stand out tonight, and You Shook Me is both intense and relaxed, steaming hot with a dangerous sex groove laid down by what is fast becoming the hottest rhythm section out there. They even get into a Rock Me Baby groove in the middle. The two performances of YSM tonight are among my absolute favourites, just shaded by the (to my ears) near perfect crunch from the Winterland April 25th show I first heard as a teenager on the Wizardo 'Caution;Explosive!' 2LP bootleg vinyl.

How Many More Times brings the 5 track first course to a close, no bizarre classics this time (wait for the second set) but extended instrumental passages and grooves nonetheless.

The second set is something else. There are two versions of the tapes, and once speed corrected it's much better quality than the opening blast. 

Led Zeppelin repeat those 5 numbers from earlier on in the evening, adding Jimmy's showcase, a host of rock 'n' blues fanfares and a crushing encore. Robert is constantly talking, joking, laughing, almost as if he's playing in his living room to 3 or 4 friends. The atmosphere is superb. 

There's a mention of trouble with their long hair in San Antonio (they'd played there the previous friday), a Birmingham band called Yellow Rainbow and the stupefying heat causing all sorts of tuning problems. 

Dazed And Confused is dramatic and slightly unnerving, and once again You Shook Me stands out. Back in the summer of '69 Robert could, on a good night, match any note or cascade Jimmy threw at him. Tonight he nearly gets there, collapsing into laughter as he doesn't quite make it. 

High spirits continue with a How Many More Times to savour, A protracted introduction, including fantastically Bonzo ribbing his old sparring partner to the delight of everyone, leads us into a wonderful closing medley, almost a party. 

After the compact first set version, all manner of songs and snippets are thrown in this time, including Feel So Fine, The Hunter, Truckin' Little Mama, Red House, Cumberland Gap, Hideaway, Needle Blues (Think You Need A Shot), Lemon Song, Love Me and a host of other lyrics Robert teases and delights with. The climax is spectacular. 

The confidence and swagger even this early in the game is palpable. To close the second set with a 25 minute maelstrom of musical brilliance just a couple of hours after a shorter, compact version to close the first set is as stunning as it is telling! 

Encore time is a brilliant Communication Breakdown, including a funky jam in the middle and even some lyrics from Donovan's There Is A Mountain.

One of my favourite shows of the era, a real pleasure to listen to. Led Zeppelin were doing it their way, building a solid and incredibly loyal fanbase through performances like this. And still not a year since their first show.

The tapes circulated in the late 80's, possibly early 90's if I remember and were immediately transferred to CD. There are a few versions out there, the later and more expensive certainly better and done with a bit more care and attention. One of the best.