Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. Volume 1 - Break & Enter. Frank Reddon
American appearance and their first ever in Canada. They opened up that First U.S. and Canadian Tour of 1968-69 in Denver, Colorado on Boxing Day, December 26, 1968. Then Seattle on December 27, Vancouver, December 28, 1968. To me, Vancouver has always been a bit of a “hot bed” for touring bands. Just to get an overall sense of theVancouver music scene in the late 1960s, who else did you see around that time period?
DAUM:
There were lots of bands coming through. I know Vancouver was often used to start lots of these bands’ tours. For some reason, I guess these groups figured they could practise and get it right here in Vancouver or something early on in those tours! Seattle is close to Vancouver, too. I don’t think I kept that ticket stub. But I did keep others from that era, including my Hendrix ticket stub.
REDDON: Did you see Hendrix in Vancouver as well?
DAUM:
Yeah, I think that was ’69 at the Pacific National Coliseum. It was a fun, but long, day. There were four bands on the bill. It opened with Eire Apparent, an Irish band. The second band on the bill was Soft Machine. The third band was The Fudge…there’s that Vanilla Fudge again! And then The Jimi Hendrix Experience came on. So, you know, it was an eight o’clock start, from what I remember. It was around midnight when Hendrix went on. But for all of that, all four bands, it was $4.50!
I also saw Blind Faith with Clapton on guitar and Rory Gallagher’s Irish blues band, Taste. I paid about $4.50 for that ticket, as well. So I usually kept the ticket stubs, if I had them.
REDDON: Yeah, me too. One decided advantage I’ve found to being a pack-rat!
DAUM:
I know! It’s great looking back at those things, all these years later. So I guess it would have been around $4.50 for the Vanilla Fudge/Led Zeppelin show, too.
REDDON: Any other favourite groups or artists pass through Vancouver at that time?
DAUM: Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple - most of those bands came through Vancouver.
REDDON:
So those bands you just mentioned, like Fleetwood Mac, did they just play at the Pacific National Coliseum or were there other good venues to see concerts in Vancouver that were haunts of yours?
DAUM:
There were several great venues. There was an excellent auditorium on the Pacific National Exhibition Grounds called The Garden Auditorium.
REDDON:
I’m glad this came up. You mentioned at the beginning how the Pacific National Coliseum is on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. I wasn’t sure about the listings I’ve seen for Zeppelin gigs in Vancouver in different books and websites. I never knew if they were the same place or not. The Pacific National Exhibition and the Pacific Coliseum are used almost interchangeably at times. Thanks for clearing that up.
DAUM:
Yeah, that’s right. The Pacific National Coliseum is on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. The Garden Auditorium I just mentioned is also on the PNE grounds. It’s much smaller than the Pacific National Coliseum but it’s a great, great place for concerts. The sound was much better. I saw Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac there, among others.
Another outstanding place for music in Vancouver at that time was called The Retinal Circus. It was sort of a psychedelic thing. The Doors and a lot of those San Francisco bands of the 1960s played there. It was a great spot. Vancouver had a pretty good music scene back then. A lot of local bands plied their trade here, too. Since Vancouver is on the West Coast, we saw a fair number of West Coast bands, naturally enough.
REDDON:
Just out of curiosity, I know on that First U.S. and Canadian Tour of 1968-69, Zeppelin drove to lots of gigs on the West Coast. How far a drive would it be from Vancouver to San Francisco, for example?
DAUM: It’s a long haul. Probably about an eighteen hour drive.
REDDON: Really, it’s that far? No wonder they flew to San Francisco from your neck of the woods in the Vancouver/Seattle area when you first saw them in December 1968.
Next year (2008) will be the 40th anniversary of Zeppelin’s formation. Does it seem like forty years ago to you, Phil?
DAUM:
I know! I was talking to my friend, John – the guy I saw Vanilla Fudge and Zeppelin with in 1968. I don’t see him too often. It’s kind of funny. Whenever I do see him, it’s usually at the transfer station where you take things to be recycled. John still lives in the same neighbourhood where he was living at the time we saw that Zeppelin gig, which is kind of mine as well. We both went to the same high school. I think he’s a few years older than I am. Anyway, I was talking to him about that concert and he was excusing himself from any further discussion, because it’s so long ago now!
REDDON:
I’ve been told that a few times by people who aren’t into Zeppelin. Hard to believe, but they really do exist!
DAUM:
I was totally captivated by the whole thing. I really could have listened to Led Zeppelin all night.
REDDON:
Thanks very much for sharing those phenomenal recollections with me. I learned a lot and enjoyed that very much.
DAUM:
My pleasure, Frank. I’m looking forward to seeing the book. That’ll be quite a read!
BOB STALL
PROVES THAT LED ZEPPELIN REALLY DID PLAY IN PORTLAND. HE EVEN TELLS WHEN!
Bob Stall is a professional musician in Portland, Oregon. He saw Led Zeppelin perform on the group’s historic First U.S. and Canadian Tour of 1968-69. Until now, whether or not Led Zeppelin actually performed in Portland in December of ’68 has remained a mystery in the group’s literature. This interview with Bob Stall confirms that Led Zeppelin did indeed perform at the Portland Civic Auditorium on December 29, 1968 on the group’s inaugural trek through the United States and Canada. As further evidence, I was able to unearth the advertisement for this particular show. This interview was conducted in person in Portland, Oregon in March 2000.
REDDON:
As I mentioned, Bob, I’m doing research on Led Zeppelin’s First U.S. and Canadian Tour of 1968-69. It has always been somewhat of a mystery as to whether or not Zeppelin ever played in Portland in 1968 on that initial tour. You did, indeed, see them in December of 1968?
STALL:
Yes, that’s right. My friends and I saw them at the Portland Civic Auditorium in December of 1968. But the main reason we went to that concert was because we wanted to see Vanilla Fudge. The Fudge was huge at that time and Led Zeppelin opened for them. We didn’t really know who Zeppelin was. We’d heard of it but that’s not the reason we went.
REDDON:
I went to the Portland Library today and I was lucky enough to find the advertisement for the Vanilla Fudge/Led Zeppelin concert in the December 20, 1968 edition of The Oregonian. You wouldn’t happen to still have your ticket stub from this Portland December 29, 1968 performance, would you?
STALL:
I don’t think so, that was so long ago. That’s good you found the newspaper clipping, though. That should help you out, right?
REDDON:
Yeah, I was thrilled. The advertisement said it was presented by Concerts West, in conjunction with KISN GOOD GUYS.
STALL:
Concerts West put on most of the big rock shows during the late 1960s, around the Portland and surrounding