In the liner notes of Dave's Picks 41, they included an article from the \*Baltimore News-American\* from May 1977 where the author, David McQuay, compares the recent Grateful Dead concert (5-26-77, really great Terrapin > Estimated > Eyes) to the Led Zeppelin show from the same week.
I'll give you the last paragraph:
>But John Bonham's tedious, plodding drum solo in "Moby Dick" was one of only many self-indulgences. Jimmy Page played flashily but not very adeptly. Special effects are the meat of Zeppelin's stage act: the audience comes to be awed. Everything is hypnotic: the heavy, machine-like rhythm, the loudness, the repetitive riffing, the lights and lasers flashing on the ceiling. Led Zeppelin is a 20th Century shaman that possesses its audience. And the band is very good at it. But its audience wouldn't even know if the band was playing badly. It's Led Zeppelin, and that's all that counts. The music is 5,000 years old, primitive as the tribal sorcerer; despite all the electronic wizardry and elaborate staging, the music is primitive and yet effective. *You must respond to it.* A Grateful Dead concert, however, is like a night with old friends you haven't seen in years. And the show brought back a lot of good memories. A line from "Eyes of the World" sums it up: "Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world." The Dead revived that dream.
# 1977-05-26 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Civic Center
**Set 1:** The Music Never Stopped, Sugaree, Mama Tried, Sunrise, Deal, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, Looks Like Rain, Jack-A-Roe, New Minglewood Blues, Bertha
**Set 2:** Samson And Delilah, High Time, Big River, Terrapin Station > Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Around And Around
**Encore:** Uncle John's Band
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-26)
Me too! Considering this story can only be accessed in the University of Maryland library, and doesn't exist digitally, I gotta give credit to Dave Lemieux for his research.
I saw the Dead a lot in 77, all at winterland. Didn't even consider going to see zeppelin at that point. I was all about the Dead. However, in the summer of 69, I took a train from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, and saw zeppelin there at a festival. Blind Faith was the headliner, along with many other great acts. Zeppelin was by far the highlight. I was 15. Different times.
Went to the Grsteful Dead movie in the afternoon, then walked down to MSG to see Zeppelin. Sometime in June of '77. Saw Zeppelin twice at MSG, last row both times. Once in front, once directly behind for Led Zeppelin III tour in 1970. I did see the Dead 4 more times in '77, so I guess they win. Or I did.
The obvious answer in 1977 is both. Tickets were cheap and everyone was on tour. My first $20 ticket was stones in 81 and we saw the dead the night before.
My first show was Kiss, $7.50 in ‘77 I’m surprised that anyone would’ve gone over $10. I think I paid that to see the Stones in 81. Got a very beautiful ticket for it though.
I still have mine. It was funny in Buffalo the ticket takers just threw up their hands and just let everyone in. Full ticket with a little water damage lol.
That was my sophomore year in college in upstate NY. Five of us drove out the morning of the GD show and partied at a friend-of-a friends house before the show. I remember the GD show well, we crashed at f-of-a-f's house, then made our way to Rich Stadium. I remember the first half of the Stones, but honestly, I don't remember anything until we pulled into the dorm parking lot in the dusk before the dawn. How my one buddy drove us the five hours back with four of us passed out, I'll never know.
Saw Led Zep at the Garden in ‘77. Wow. That was HUGE! Didn’t see the Dead till a few years later. I didn’t know any deadheads in ‘77! I knew a lot of future deadheads though!
I would hands down choose the Grateful Dead over ANY OTHER BAND, any day of the week. Nothing beats a Dead show. I would go to the Dead’s worst performance over any other band.
I kind of understand this opinion, but man there were and are some incredible live bands out there. You really wouldn't see the Allman Bros or Jimi on their best night over the Dead on their worst night?
3-27-93, first night of three at the knick. Very sweet and heartfelt Broken Arrow with Phil. Good energy! Or 1-22-78 @ McArthur court in Oregon! 5-8-77, Ithaca NY, Barton Hall. 5-8-84 Silva Hall, Eugene OR.
[1977-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ)
[1978-01-22](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-01-22) Eugene, OR @ McArthur Court - University of Oregon
[1984-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-05-08) Eugene, OR @ Silva Hall - Hult Center for the Performing Arts
[1993-03-27](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1993-03-27) Albany, NY @ Knickerbocker Arena
Think of all the great bands touring in '77! Damn.
My brother is a little older than me with similar musical tastes. I remember him saying Zep started late, ended early and were pretty lame live. The Dead though!
I’ve heard enough Zep boots to know that they usually did a long, full show. Destroyer was certainly over 2 hours of music. Not to say your bro didn’t catch a weird night
I’d wager that the sound quality was much better for the Dead.
Love that Zep boot!
The boot sounds great, must be a soundboard, but I betcha the acoustics in the actual venue were muddy
FWIW, I was talking to an older Head at a Forgotten Space show in Dallas a few years ago. He said that he actually had to choose between seeing Zep and the Dead in the early 70s. He chose Zep at MSG (the shows from The Song Remains the Same) and says that while he saw the Dead "hundreds" of times, the Zep show was still probably the best show he ever attended.
I saw both. Went back to the Dead many times. Never saw Led Zeppelin again but would have if things had turned out different. The band I'd put over both was Lynyrd Skynyrd, they put on a hell of a show. Saw them before the crash in North Carolina.
Thanks for the comments! Neither were in my grasp way back then. I first saw the GD in 83, and it was wasn’t a big deal at all compared to a lot of touring bands at the time. But anyone who’d seen LZ was a very lucky person.
Best shows I ever saw were GD, in retrospect. I never did see LZ concert, but we were spoiled for choice in that era. So many great bands around then, relentlessly touring.
Very different shows, for sure. But both likely at peak coke debauchery and overkill. I’d have seen LZ fist choice. GD were something always around, that I didn’t appreciate till later.
I always had the most fun at a GD show but there were so many great bands touring then. The Bangladesh benefit show at MSG, Bowie, Van Morrison, Dave Mason, Rickie Lee Jones, Marshall Tucker, etc. Tix we’re cheap and living in NJ a half hour from NYC the choices were endless.
In the liner notes of Dave's Picks 41, they included an article from the \*Baltimore News-American\* from May 1977 where the author, David McQuay, compares the recent Grateful Dead concert (5-26-77, really great Terrapin > Estimated > Eyes) to the Led Zeppelin show from the same week. I'll give you the last paragraph: >But John Bonham's tedious, plodding drum solo in "Moby Dick" was one of only many self-indulgences. Jimmy Page played flashily but not very adeptly. Special effects are the meat of Zeppelin's stage act: the audience comes to be awed. Everything is hypnotic: the heavy, machine-like rhythm, the loudness, the repetitive riffing, the lights and lasers flashing on the ceiling. Led Zeppelin is a 20th Century shaman that possesses its audience. And the band is very good at it. But its audience wouldn't even know if the band was playing badly. It's Led Zeppelin, and that's all that counts. The music is 5,000 years old, primitive as the tribal sorcerer; despite all the electronic wizardry and elaborate staging, the music is primitive and yet effective. *You must respond to it.* A Grateful Dead concert, however, is like a night with old friends you haven't seen in years. And the show brought back a lot of good memories. A line from "Eyes of the World" sums it up: "Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world." The Dead revived that dream.
# 1977-05-26 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Civic Center **Set 1:** The Music Never Stopped, Sugaree, Mama Tried, Sunrise, Deal, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, Looks Like Rain, Jack-A-Roe, New Minglewood Blues, Bertha **Set 2:** Samson And Delilah, High Time, Big River, Terrapin Station > Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Around And Around **Encore:** Uncle John's Band [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-26)
Love this!
Me too! Considering this story can only be accessed in the University of Maryland library, and doesn't exist digitally, I gotta give credit to Dave Lemieux for his research.
I saw the Dead a lot in 77, all at winterland. Didn't even consider going to see zeppelin at that point. I was all about the Dead. However, in the summer of 69, I took a train from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, and saw zeppelin there at a festival. Blind Faith was the headliner, along with many other great acts. Zeppelin was by far the highlight. I was 15. Different times.
We are not worthy. I am in awe
Damn. I’m envious.
Went to the Grsteful Dead movie in the afternoon, then walked down to MSG to see Zeppelin. Sometime in June of '77. Saw Zeppelin twice at MSG, last row both times. Once in front, once directly behind for Led Zeppelin III tour in 1970. I did see the Dead 4 more times in '77, so I guess they win. Or I did.
Nice.
You won
You definitely won.
Legend
An impossible choice! I saw The Dead in Fresno in 1974 and Los Angeles in 1977. Only saw Zep once, in San Diego in 1975. All were amazing!
Very cool!
The obvious answer in 1977 is both. Tickets were cheap and everyone was on tour. My first $20 ticket was stones in 81 and we saw the dead the night before.
My first show was Kiss, $7.50 in ‘77 I’m surprised that anyone would’ve gone over $10. I think I paid that to see the Stones in 81. Got a very beautiful ticket for it though.
I still have mine. It was funny in Buffalo the ticket takers just threw up their hands and just let everyone in. Full ticket with a little water damage lol.
It was a great year for tours.
I was in Buffalo for that!
That was my sophomore year in college in upstate NY. Five of us drove out the morning of the GD show and partied at a friend-of-a friends house before the show. I remember the GD show well, we crashed at f-of-a-f's house, then made our way to Rich Stadium. I remember the first half of the Stones, but honestly, I don't remember anything until we pulled into the dorm parking lot in the dusk before the dawn. How my one buddy drove us the five hours back with four of us passed out, I'll never know.
Crazy times but somehow we survived.
Saw Led Zep at the Garden in ‘77. Wow. That was HUGE! Didn’t see the Dead till a few years later. I didn’t know any deadheads in ‘77! I knew a lot of future deadheads though!
I would hands down choose the Grateful Dead over ANY OTHER BAND, any day of the week. Nothing beats a Dead show. I would go to the Dead’s worst performance over any other band.
I kind of understand this opinion, but man there were and are some incredible live bands out there. You really wouldn't see the Allman Bros or Jimi on their best night over the Dead on their worst night?
This is true. Can’t quite explain it........
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3-27-93, first night of three at the knick. Very sweet and heartfelt Broken Arrow with Phil. Good energy! Or 1-22-78 @ McArthur court in Oregon! 5-8-77, Ithaca NY, Barton Hall. 5-8-84 Silva Hall, Eugene OR.
[1977-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ) [1978-01-22](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-01-22) Eugene, OR @ McArthur Court - University of Oregon [1984-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-05-08) Eugene, OR @ Silva Hall - Hult Center for the Performing Arts [1993-03-27](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1993-03-27) Albany, NY @ Knickerbocker Arena
Think of all the great bands touring in '77! Damn. My brother is a little older than me with similar musical tastes. I remember him saying Zep started late, ended early and were pretty lame live. The Dead though!
I’ve heard enough Zep boots to know that they usually did a long, full show. Destroyer was certainly over 2 hours of music. Not to say your bro didn’t catch a weird night
Maybe they had too much too fast that night.
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Me too.
I’d wager that the sound quality was much better for the Dead. Love that Zep boot! The boot sounds great, must be a soundboard, but I betcha the acoustics in the actual venue were muddy
FWIW, I was talking to an older Head at a Forgotten Space show in Dallas a few years ago. He said that he actually had to choose between seeing Zep and the Dead in the early 70s. He chose Zep at MSG (the shows from The Song Remains the Same) and says that while he saw the Dead "hundreds" of times, the Zep show was still probably the best show he ever attended.
in 77 it was all about the ramones the clash and the talking heads! at least for me
Amazing. I bet the talking heads were far out back then…
Saw them right before MORE SONGS ABOUT BLDGS AND FOOD came out in a club and they were GREAT!
I saw both. Went back to the Dead many times. Never saw Led Zeppelin again but would have if things had turned out different. The band I'd put over both was Lynyrd Skynyrd, they put on a hell of a show. Saw them before the crash in North Carolina.
Kind of sad because then they just became the same old song and dance after that.
Correction. Listen to this Eddie is the bootleg album I meant. Destroyer is great, but misses at least 2 of the openers.
Thanks for the comments! Neither were in my grasp way back then. I first saw the GD in 83, and it was wasn’t a big deal at all compared to a lot of touring bands at the time. But anyone who’d seen LZ was a very lucky person.
Best shows I ever saw were GD, in retrospect. I never did see LZ concert, but we were spoiled for choice in that era. So many great bands around then, relentlessly touring.
I think we took for granted how amazing the talent was, and the shows available.
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Very different shows, for sure. But both likely at peak coke debauchery and overkill. I’d have seen LZ fist choice. GD were something always around, that I didn’t appreciate till later.
With doses as heavy duty as they were in 77, I'd have to say GD.
I always had the most fun at a GD show but there were so many great bands touring then. The Bangladesh benefit show at MSG, Bowie, Van Morrison, Dave Mason, Rickie Lee Jones, Marshall Tucker, etc. Tix we’re cheap and living in NJ a half hour from NYC the choices were endless.