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Support act: Orpheus.

During the show, Robert Plant announces that "although the band had been travelling for 18 days without stopping", he and his colleagues "were willing to give a try to to a first - their first appearance onstage performing a number, What Is and What Should Never Be."

News Report: Zeppelin takes off at Carousel

Led Zeppelin is the British rock quartet whose appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival last month was an off-again, on-again affair. It seems the producer of that show, in an attempt to get gate crashing rockers out of town, denied that the group would ever appear; yet, in the end, it did.

Apparently, Carousel Theater's Frank Conley had such trepidations last night, even with the massed lurking on the hill that overlooks his Framingham tent. Before a packed house of 2,600, the Zeppelin proved to be made of something more than of air.

The first half of the program featured Orpheus, a Boston based group that is turning up everywhere these days. A sort of East Coast (hard) version of the Beach Boys, they ran through a tight set that featured rich vocal blendings.

Then the Zeppelin flew in, total theater of blues-rock, lead singer Robert Plant was the shrieking flight engineer, guiding the ship (imagine, if you will, a male Janis Joplin). Lead guitarist Jimmy Page was the orange-bedecked pilot, the man really in charge. Drummer John Bonham was the engine, always roaring lest the Zeppelin crash. And bassist John Paul Jones was the-passenger, seemingly along for the ride.

Most of the tune's came from the group's album (Atlantic SD 8216). There was Willie Dixon's Down and 'dirty Blues, "I 'Can't Quit You Babe," featuring a fine Jimmy Page solo, Later came Page's own earthy "Dazed and Confused," to be greeted by a standing ovation. Next there was a zinging Indian-influenced solo tune by Page again; then "But 'What Is and What Should Be" (never before done on stage); and at last Dixon's "You Shook Me."

The Zeppelin flew high all right, and therein may be its problem; it has a tendency to soar, rather than keep on a straight flight plan. In short, many of the tunes wander, and some people feel the blues should be played only straight ahead. But, after all, Zeppelins are flying machines. Even the kids on the hill must have liked the takeoff. (Aug. 1969 | N.COBB, Globe Staff)
 

BRAD WHITFORD: "I got to see Zeppelin for the first time not long after I first heard their debut album. I saw them in August of ’69 at the Frank Connelly’s Carousel Theater in Framingham, Massachusetts. I drove all the way down to the show, but when I got there it was sold out. The beauty of the show was it was being held in a tent, a theatre in-the-round tent. I knew I could at least listen to the show because it was a canvas tent. My girlfriend and I walked up to the police line, which was all the way around the theatre and asked one of the officer’s where the bathrooms were. So he points behind him and said, “The bathrooms are right over there” and he let us walk right past him. So we walked in, sat down and got to see the bulk of the show. They didn’t have any fancy clothes on. They were wearing dirty jeans and dirty t-shirts. They were these hippies up there. Their hair was really long. You could barely see their faces half the time. They looked unkempt. It was just so pure and they delivered. At one point the PA went down and the band kept on playing and you could still hear Robert singing. He just kept on singing. Something had broken down temporarily and they didn’t stop. Jimmy was playing through two stacks and it was loud. And it was like, “Holy shit, you can still hear him sing.” I was dumbfounded. They were that good. It was so fuckin’ primal. I was on an adrenaline high from that show for like 12 months. That was the best I ever saw them perform. It was still so fresh and new to them and they were just nailing it."