Lineup: Taj Mahal, Led Zeppelin, Country Joe & The Fish. (Country Joe And The Fish reportedly give up their second set so Led Zep could play their complete show.)

Press Review: The Led Zeppelin: Impressive New Rock Group - Hail and farewell this weekend at Fillmore West. Goodbye to Country Joe and his Fish, who swim their own ways after Sunday night and greetings to Led Zeppelin, as impressive a new British rock group as we’ve ever heard.

The Zeppelin has had some KSAN radio play in recent days but otherwise came in cold; no LPs, only two months organized and a pile of ad agency flack.But this Zeppelin is no lead balloon. They already sound like a veteran group and soon ought to be ranked in the company of the Who, Rolling Stones and the late Cream.

Basic musical considerations account for my enthusiasm. Led Zeppelin plays in tune, on pitch and with a primarily ensemble approach. They’re musicians, not electronic tinkerers. Their rhythm is steady but imaginative, moving easily through various tempos and juggling 2-4, 3-4 and 6-8 meters with informal ease. Drummer John Bonham even had a bolero beat going in the midst of a blues.

Led Zeppelin is awfully loud but not distorted. Lead singer Robert Plant doesn’t affect any southern or Negro influences but still wails and moans the old blues line like a Mississippi Delta veteran. He’s from Birmingham, England, by the way as is Bonham.

The Zeppelin has fewer solos than most groups but guitarist Jimmy Page (a Yardbird alumnus) is so strong and distinctive that even in ensembles his work is markedly personal. He knows everything about wah-wah pedal techniques and knocked me out with his long-line refrains played with a violin bow on the electric guitar strings.

The Zeppelin sticks pretty close to the blues in their sets. Their “How Many More Times” starts with a lazy Jimmy Yancey-style beat (or Elvis Presley for a later generation) and works up to a block-busting climax; Dazed and Confused features a Plant vocal that’s like an extra powerful male Janis Joplin, if you can imagine. [SF Examiner / Jan. 11, 1969]

Fan Review by Ron Sanchez:  It would have been late in December when KSAN began playing the Led Zeppelin album. What we heard was a pleasant surprise. Of course, we knew Dazed and Confused. Black Mountain Side was also familiar territory. The music was fresh and compelling. The production was in the same league as the Stones and Beatles. All these years later it’s still an exciting album, never sounding dated. Plus it created quite a buzz. You didn’t have to even know who the Yardbirds were. It held up on its own merits.

It was decided we’d go up for the Friday show. I think it was the first night we could all go because of school. That turned out to be a lucky choice. Zep was the middle of a strong bill. Taj Mahal with his band opened. I have no doubt Jimi and Robert were paying close attention to that band that featured Jesse Ed Davis on guitar. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had heard Taj on the popular compilation, The Rock Machine Turns You On. Country Joe And The Fish were headlining. That band was splintering. Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane had stepped in to play bass for this final series of gigs. Despite that, they were in fine form. Always one of my favorite Bay Area bands. Curiously they were recorded over the weekend. Shame Peter Grant didn’t think to take advantage of the recording facilities. 

The band came out, said hello, and then BANG! Right into Train Kept A Rollin’. Our gang was immediately blown away with this carryover from The Yardbirds.  This was the first of four Yardbirds songs they’d play. Third song in was As Long As I Have You. I didn’t know the Garnet Mimms original at the time. The extended arrangement was also a nod to the long medleys the Yardbirds had done on the last tour. 

During the band introductions at the start of How Many More Times, Jimmy threw in the Smokestack Lightning riff. With the Yardbirds, he’d done it the other way around, playing the How Many More Years lick in the middle of the Smokestack Lightning medley. 

This was clearly a band that was playing for keeps. It was confirmed when the band discussed this very show and their aggressive assault on the audience in the Becoming Led Zeppelin documentary. They were confident and precise, never arrogant.  They were playing with explosive energy. 

They finished the first set with Dazed and then opened the second set with the White Summer/ Black Mountain Side piece. The continuity with the Yardbirds was ever apparent. The thing is, except for the small hardcore fans, this was all new to most of the audience. We’d always try to get to the gigs early, so we’d get a spot close to the stage. It was always the same group of people there. Some were locals who’d go to every show. We’d find out which side the guitar was on and discuss the setlist. It felt like a private club. 

One important point I’d forgotten until my brother reminded me recently. On Friday, Country Joe And The Fish gave up their second set “so Led Zep could play their complete show.” Like Moby Grape six months earlier, I think they could see the writing on the wall. Later in the weekend, Country Joe did host an all-star jam with the likes of Jorma and Steve Miller joining them. 

The “full show” meant we got to hear a rare performance of For Your Love as the encore. Plant acknowledged he had taken over from Keith Relf. Luckily this show was bootlegged, capturing this unique moment. 

It still amazes me that Led Zeppelin was playing out a formula that Page had carefully thought out. They could translate that onto record and then carry it out on tour and still sound that loose and spontaneous. I’ve always said this weekend was the beginning of the 70s. The shows were going to be bigger. A new audience was discovering music, even if it was only as a social event. I have to admit; I struggled with concerts held in huge arenas. The disaster at Altamont was the last straw for me.  [by Ron Sanchez, 2026)