This was quite a magical show, as I remember, to myself and the band.   School had just ended for the year and my friend Donna & I received a last minute invite to join her older brothers on the trek to Portland to see Led Zeppelin.  I was thrilled just to be going along with the "big kids" - little did I know that I would be hearing songs for the first time that would later be released on my favorite album of all time - Houses of the Holy. When we arrived at the Portland Coliseum, Donna and I headed for the bathroom to liberally apply our blue eye shadow out of our stacking eye shadow tubes.  We chatted with several girls we recognized from the Seattle shows.  It was so exciting that Zep was back in the Northwest, so soon! Our seats were up high, but we made our way up to nearly the front, by the end of the show.  Donna even had to bribe a security guard with something from her purse, so that we could get onto the floor. The crowd and the band were obviously very excited about the new songs.  The crowd was really loud and enthusiastic.  Robert had a look of pleasure and amazement on his face, throughout the show.  I could tell that he was so excited about the new songs that they had written.  At one point, at the end of Dancing Days, I believe, he said hello to a girl in the audience, who I think he knew from some misadventures at the Edgewater Hotel. I don't know that Portland '72 ranks among the best Zep shows that I saw, but it was certainly a very special night and captured the essence of Led Zeppelin - their great sense of musical adventure.                                  BACK