Who did Keith Moon perform with for his final time onstage?
No artist goes out onstage thinking it’s the last time they will ever perform. Most musicians are looking to have a good time and share their party with millions of fans whenever they hit the stage, and even if they aren’t the most gifted musicians in the world, the true artists can at least leave the audience with a smile on their faces by the time those final notes ring out. Although Keith Moon managed to bring his madcap energy to every stage he set foot on, one of his final performances didn’t even feature The Who with him.
Throughout the final years of his life, though, it’s hard not to look at Moon’s rapid drinking as a sprint towards the end. He could still turn in a strong performance on Who records, but when looking back on the way that Who Are You came together, it was clear that the amount of booze in his system had started to take a toll on the drummer, who seemed to be practically indestructible.
If there was anyone who could give Moon a run for his money during this time, it was John Bonham. Along with being a drinking buddy, seeing Bonham leather the life out of his kit every time Led Zeppelin played was like taking those quirky drum fills from ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ and managing to stretch them out for the length of an entire stage performance.
So, naturally, Moon wasn’t going to be outdone when he crossed paths with Led Zeppelin during their performance in Los Angeles in 1977. While people would have expected a drumming masterclass from ‘Moon the Loon’ alongside Bonham, the result felt like a sad postscript for Moon’s career, knowing what we know now.
How did Keith Moon join Led Zeppelin onstage?
Moon was far from rivalling Zeppelin throughout their career. Despite Pete Townshend having some colourful words for the hard rock giants in retrospect, Moon was the first one to throw a few cheap shots at Page when assembling the band together, even giving the group their name when saying that Page’s idea would have gone over like a metal-clad airship.
If there’s one gig that did go the way of that visual, though, it would have to be this gig, complete with Moon playing a single bass drum alongside Bonham during ‘Moby Dick’ and shaking a tambourine during pieces of the set. For all of the good-natured fun about this gig, it would end up being hauntingly morbid once Moon was found dead of an overdose months later, having swallowed a handful of pills that were meant to help with his withdrawal symptoms from alcohol.
Then again, it’s still superhuman to think that Moon could still play this well in his inebriated state. Most rock fans had seen what horse tranquilisers had done to him at the best of times, but seeing him try his best and come out on the other side still matching Bonham puts him in the same league as fellow rock and roll mutants like Jimi Hendrix.
However, this kind of ramshackle performance is only a tiny helping of what Moon could do on a normal day for The Who. He may have had the same heart and muscle in everything that he did, but no one seemed to know how important that musical heartbeat was until it wasn’t beating anymore.
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