For me, 1966 was the year of the Yardbirds. Two albums, "Rave Up", "Over Under Sideways Down" and two shows - one at the Carousel Ballroom in August and one at the Fillmore in October.
The Beatles changed how rock music was written, the Who, how it was performed but the Yardbirds changed forever how it was played. They smashed so many barriers and bent so many rules that it's hard to know where to begin. The Eastern flavored melodies, harmonies and arrangements were unheard of. They began in 1964 as a blues band (featuring Eric Clapton) but were soon twisting blues and rock into something new and exotic (Jeff Beck and then, Jimmy Page). The awesome soaring power of what rock music and the electric guitar could be started with the Yardbirds.
And so it was with great, almost giddy anticipation that we headed off to the Carousel Ballroom to see our heroes. We arrived 2 or 3 hours early and were among the first dozen or so people in line. When the doors opened and we finally got inside, it was ON! We sprinted toward the stage at a full run. I think I might have actually elbowed a few people out of my way. We pulled up at the very front of the waist-high stage panting, laughing and punching each other in the arm (15-year old boys).
The opening act that I remember was Loading Zone - a fine, local, hard rocking band with great vocal harmonies. But we were there to see those masters from the future, the Yardbirds and, in particular, the original guitar god, Jeff Beck. Right before they hit the stage, it was announced that Jeff was in the hospital with an illness and that taking over on lead guitar would be Jimmy Page. Stunned confusion. All I knew about Jimmy Page was that he was a British session player who had replaced the recently departed Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith. Great. Instead of the all-powerful Jeff Beck on lead guitar, we were getting Jimmy Page the bass player. We didn't have much time to grumble about it. The lights came down and the guys came on stage and started plugging in to the cheers of the crowd including us. Our guitar hero couldn't make it but this was the freaking Yardbirds, man! Let's go! Simultaneously, the stage lights came on and the band punched into the staccato power-chord of "Shapes of Things" and my life changed forever. For the first time I felt (literally) the power of rock and roll. It was the Yardbirds musical innovation and vision with the added bonus of hundreds of watts of Jordan amp power and thousands of watts of British rock attitude. I had no idea Jimmy Page, the session guy who was supposed to be playing bass, could play guitar like that. I had no idea anyone of this world could play like that.
We went home worn out, truly happy and with Jeff Beck momentarily pushed to the back of our minds. Five months later on October 23, 1966, that would change. But first, in 4 short days, we had another concert to attend - The Beatles at Candlestick Park.