June 3, 1977
Tampa, FL US
Tampa Stadium
Setlist:
The Song Remains The Same, (The Rover intro) Sick Again, Nobody's Fault But Mine.
Notes:
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Click here to view the US '77 Tour Programme (flipbook) |
Show ends early due to rain.
The promoters then ran a full page ad, apologizing to fans for the turn of events – it read:
“Concerts West Apologizes and is sorry for the humiliation & inconvenience to you and your faithful fans at Tampa Stadium, June 3, 1977.
You did everything that you could and wanted to do so much more. You are the best and deserve the best, not the worst treatment.
-Respectfully, Concerts West.
News Report: At Least 100 Injured At Led Zeppelin Concert
TAMPA Fla. - City officials, reeling from a mini riot which erupted when a thunderstorm washed out a Led Zeppelin concert, canceled a rain check rerun Saturday, leaving fans from as far as Michigan and New York holding "rain or shine" ticket stubs.
"If I were in Buffalo, I'd go home right now," said Bonnie Strickland. The 19-year-old youth and three companions had driven 24hours to get to Florida for the concert. Strickland said they were the first ones in the stadium when the doors opened at 11:30 a.m. Friday for the8:30 p.m. concert. After spending the day in 90-degree weather on the sun baked football field, they settled down for the concert.
The British band played for 20 minutes before the thunderstorm hit. About 45minutes later the concert was called off.
The cry "We want Zeppelin. We want Zeppelin" came from the 70,000 fans as rocks and bottles began flying onto the stage."We had what had to be called a small riot. There were between 3,000 and4,000 people who were unruly and disorderly," Tampa Police spokesman Johnny Barker said.
About 250 police officers, all in riot gear and using billy clubs, broke up the rioting and herded the fans out of the stadium. The scene was followed by 26 reported traffic accidents near the grounds. "The cops didn't give any warning," one teen-aged girl said. "They just waded in. I ended up at the bottom of the crowd and a cop kicked me in the head. My brother got a broken leg and broken ribs."
The melee left an estimated 100 fans with injuries. Eight were arrested. Shift Commander Tom Wilson said "in the neighborhood" a dozen officers were treated for injuries." One had a concussion, there was one with a broken hand, one with a broken ankle, one with cut lips and some teeth knocked out, one with a dislocated shoulder..." There were so many people you just couldn't move," a 32 year-old man from West Palm Beach said: "I was just trying to get away. The ticket said rain or shine."
Persons holding ticket stubs can get refunds, but we are encouraging them to mail in their refund requests," Barker said. (Newswire - June 5, 1977)
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June 3, 1997 Led Zeppelin Show at Tampa Stadium
Two buddies and I -- all having just completed 9th grade -- got dropped off that day at the stadium soon after the gates opened so we could get a good spot on the field for our first concert ever -- to see the greatest rock band ever. We ended up right in the middle of the field, center stage at about the 50-yard line. There was no opening act, but I remember them blasting the recently released Hotel California album over the sound system for what seemed like most of the afternoon while Frisbees flew and we baked in the sun. As the show started, it was just about dusk and I recall looking over the top of the stadium and seeing a very ominous bank of dark clouds rolling in. It seemed like it got dark much faster than it normally does at sunset, but Zep was playing and all was right with the world. As the rain began to fall very hard, we moved over to the edge of the field and got up on a cement wall so we could see over everyone in front of us. The band ended up leaving right after "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and as we waited for them to return, we noticed the tarp above the stage was sagging badly from the water it was collecting. Then the stadium lights came on and we started seeing people running away from the stage, some of whom looked roughed up. We made it over to the nearby mall without an issue and were safely picked up by our parents after quite a while -- who having heard the local news accounts and dealing with the traffic chaos, apparently were a bit worried about us!
As I read elsewhere here, I too wish I had not mailed in my torn and water-logged ticket stub -- for the "big" $10 refund.