Robert Plant Celebrates Birthday in Schenectady

On September 7, 1968, the marquee at a Danish school youth club may have put The New Yardbirds in lights but the players were Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, soon to be known as Led Zeppelin. That show launched a run of over 600 performances ending with the December 10, 2007 show, featuring the surviving members, at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Over that 40 year span, Led Zep played shows all over the world including 2 shows in 1 night right here in the Capital Region. The Daily Gazette confirms that Zeppelin played the Aerodome, located at 1588 State Street in Schenectady, TWICE on August 20, 1969. There was an 8pm show and 11pm show! Oh and it was Robert Plant's 21st birthday!

*notice the misspelling of the band's name in this Gazette advertisement 

Tickets $4.00 in advance and $4.50 at the door! Was 50 cents an incentive in 1969? To put this in perspective, by August 1969, Led Zeppelin's first album had been out 7 months and "Good Times Bad Times" was the only single officially released to FM Radio.

LedZeppelin.com documents the set list from the shows in Schenectady:

1. The Train Kept A-Rollin'
2. I Can't Quit You Baby
3. Dazed and Confused
4. You Shook Me
5. How Many More Times
6. Communication Breakdown

What is interesting about the list is that "Good Times Bad Times", the band's only single, is not on the list. Even though Led Zep didn't play it live very often you would think it would be part of their first North American Tour.

Based on the Wikipedia article, the Aerodome had a capacity of approximately 3,000 and held live performances by Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, Chicago, Jeff Beck Group, Vanilla Fudge and more.

Check out Led Zeppelin's 1969 Tour Book.

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