11/04/2023
Led Zeppelin’s performance at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco — “There were two cages behind the amps on stage, each containing six white doves […] Robert Plant’s a real hippy at heart, so the idea was that at the end of Stairway to Heaven, we’d release the doves and they’d fly off into the air as a homage to peace and love.
But when the cages opened, the birds flew out and one did a low pass over the audience, then must have taken too deep a breath of the San Francisco air – remember, this was 1973 and there was a high chance of being dosed by some deadhead.
Anyway, it turned back to the stage and Robert stuck out his hand. The dove landed on it, purely by chance – this was not a trained bird. It was there for about five seconds.”