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)
Comments
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tampa show 1977
i was there at the tampa stadium gig that night and even though it was only 3 full songs, it was truly a rockers dream. robert plants hair was blowing in the wind feverishly from the eminent storm that was to come. jimmy was riffing and sounding just like the album.then the rains came down . i remember talking with my friend that night saying theres not a cloud in the sky.however as the day turned to night the clouds became omnious and black and the first thought that came to mind was the title of the book.."the hammer of the gods". ill say! it became a storm almost within hours and the rain lightning and wind was of biblical proportions. soon zep left the stage as this was before technological advances and electrocutions on stage wasnt unheard of. the announcer said they would come back on when the storm passed. but it didnt and after 20-30 minutes the announcer came back on and said the show was cancelled and refunds would be coming just hold on to your ticket stub. well the floodgates open of despair as zep fans travelled from all over the southeast for the gig. we wanted our zep and thats that. as we stood at the bleachers we witnessed a riot team and dogs charging the field and assaulting those refusing to leave. it almost reminded me of mayor daleys chicago police with the anti war demonstrators in 68. my saving grace in all this was i heard zep firing on all cylinders for 3 great songs,i have a ticket stub and its still the landmark concert of all my 300 shows. hope to see them soon. we miss you bonzo!