Heard them perform in Chicago in 1969 if I remember correctly. The venue was the Kinetic Playground (AKA Aaron Russo's Electric Theater) where the weekend crowd at that time was small (2000-2500) and we all sat on the floor in front of the stage which was about 36" high. Needless to say, it was intimate. We were about 25 feet from the stage and I can assure everyone that John's drumming style was not conceived with the assistance of recording tricks. He was very heavy handed at times but always in control. Another similar style drummer who I heard at even closer range was the drummer for Lee Michaels. He was a big guy who I thought was going to end up putting his foot pedal thru the bass drum and his sticks thru the snare. Surely not as fast as Bonham but similarly loud. It was just him accompanying Lee on organ so he had his work cut out for him. Both drummers created a real driving force when heard live. Another incredible note on the Zepplin concert-on the bill with them that night was two other little known bands...Savoy Brown and Jethro Tull. And as incredible as it may seem, tickets at the window were 5.00 a head.....and that's no BS. Ahh, the good old days!
