Led Zeppelin

[Milky Tears]

You've got a good chance of getting a ticket. Only an estimated 20 million people have tried to register so far.

[Pip Madeley]

If they're as crap as they were at Live Aid, a lot of people will be disappointed.

[MacNimon]

At £125 a whup, I don't think I'll even bother trying...


...and no 'typical mean Scotsman' jokes, please...

[Rob McCow]

For £125 quid you could probably have gone to all of their concerts before they split up the first time.

It's got to be worth trying, MacNimon! You'd probably have to buy two tickets anyway, so that's £250 plus booking fee.

[Wayne]

If they're as crap as they were at Live Aid, a lot of people will be disappointed.

That was brilliant compared to their appearance a few years later at the Atlantic Records 40th(?) birthday bash.
I've never been so embarrassed since the original broadcast of 'Time & the Rani'.

[Dave Tudor]

It seems 980,000 people are going to end up disappointed:

"More than one million fans have applied for tickets to see Led Zeppelin reunite on stage for the first time since 1988.

Just 20,000 tickets are available for November's show at London's O2 arena, which is being held as a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

Tickets are being issued by ballot for the show, which also features Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and Paolo Nutini.

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said he was "overwhelmed" by the demand. Fans who have tickets will be told by 1 October.

Entries to the ballot have now closed. Winners will have to pay £125, plus booking fees, per ticket."

(From BBC News - full story here.)

I thought 20 million were supposed to have applied?

So the ballot has closed, then? I forgot to apply. Ah well.

[Pip Madeley]

That was brilliant compared to their appearance a few years later at the Atlantic Records 40th(?) birthday bash.
I've never been so embarrassed since the original broadcast of 'Time & the Rani'.

Oh I've got that on tape (well, my dad taped it at the time). They were bad there, I agree. Genesis played the same show, they did a 20-minute medley of their hits... which also sucked (because the transitions between songs were a bit forced).

But at Live Aid, they were just unprepared and that's why they blocked the inclusion of the performance on the Live Aid DVD set - Page was particularly bad, and yet he had the cheek to try and blame it all on Phil Collins who was sharing the drumming with Tony Thompson.

[Milky Tears]

It seems 980,000 people are going to end up disappointed:



I thought 20 million were supposed to have applied?

So the ballot has closed, then? I forgot to apply. Ah well.

One of many reports from last week:

Twenty million fans bid for Led Zeppelin comeback tickets

Most of them probably gave up.

[Milky Tears]

Some reviews from last night:

Rave reviews for Led Zep reunion, calls for tour
Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:54am EST
By Mike Collett-White

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Led Zeppelin had a lot to live up to after the hype surrounding their reunion gig on Monday night, but the British rockers pulled it off so successfully that critics and fans are begging for a world tour.

Reviewers were virtually unanimous in their praise of the band, which has played together only a handful of times since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980 after a drinking binge.

"Simply blown away by the world's greatest band", the Telegraph's critic David Cheal wrote.

"Bizarre, beguiling and better than ever," was Guardian music writer Alexis Petridis' headline above a five-star review.

There was praise for all three original members, whose average age is 61, and for Bonham's son Jason who acted as drummer for the night.

At 59, Robert Plant may have strained for some of the higher notes, but his performance through a 16-song set lasting just over two hours was better than some had dared to expect.

"Older equipment may take a while to get going, but once the requisite valves heat up, the quality is unmistakable," wrote Pete Paphides in the Times.

Jimmy Page, 63, drew some of the biggest cheers for his power chords and improvisation, including a trademark turn with a violin bow across his guitar strings, while John Paul Jones, 61, won plaudits for providing a rhythmic bedrock on bass.

Jason Bonham did his father justice on drums, adding a funk element not there in the original lineup "which kicks the songs along with more elan," according to the Independent.

TOUR ON CARDS?

For several reviewers, two of the night's highlights were "Black Dog", the third song performed, and "Kashmir" towards the end of the setlist.

"The moment Page and Bonham locked into 'Kashmir' something transcendent took hold," said the Times' Paphides.

For the more casual Zeppelin fan among the 20,000 who crammed the O2 Arena in London, "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll" were a fitting way to end a night billed as one of the biggest concerts in years.

Led Zeppelin showed their range of styles with the blues-inspired "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and the funk-rock fusion of "Trampled Under Foot".

Speculation has been rife that Led Zeppelin will follow in the footsteps of other ageing rock acts by launching a lucrative world tour.

There were few clues on Monday as to whether it would happen, with Plant, pursuing a successful solo career, widely seen as the least willing band member to agree.

"And so, was it all for a one-off show in memory of their label boss Ahmet Ertegun?" asked the Times. "Come on. With a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now."

The Daily Mirror tabloid put it more succinctly in a brief editorial: "Come on, lads - please play again."

Led Zeppelin return to the stage

A whole lotta thrills on Led Zeppelin's big night



The return of rock and roll: Led Zeppelin at The O2 London




Five stars from The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/st...225610,00.html

OTHER PRESS REVIEWS:

The Sun: LEDgendary: Zep can still rock (includes concert footage from Sky News report)

The Mirror: Led Zep verdict - Led Zep back on UK stage for 1st time in 27years

NME: Led Zeppelin reunion: the review




The Times: Led Zeppelin: the mothership of all reunions (also includes concert footage)

New York Times:Led Zeppelin Finds Its Old Power

Telegraph:Then it got better still (more video footage)




Seems to have went quite well.

[Milky Tears]

Forgot to add the set list:

Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time Of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Underfoot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Loving You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains The Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir

Encore 1
Whole Lotta Love

Encore 2
Rock And Roll

Wot, no 'Immigrant Song' or 'Communication Breakdown'? I'd demand a refund!

[Dirk Gently]

I've never heard a Led Zep Album. I did ask Wayne if he could do me a compilation album of their best work to see if I'd like ther stuff when we were on the way to Jonno's. But I'm not sure he can remember it.

[Wayne]

I've never heard a Led Zep Album. I did ask Wayne if he could do me a compilation album of their best work to see if I'd like ther stuff when we were on the way to Jonno's. But I'm not sure he can remember it.

oops, i do remember you asking, but i admit i totally forgot all about actually doing it.
Maybe i'll get it together in time for christmas.
*(The factory is overburdened with such a heavy workload at the moment. I could do with about 10 PC's.)

[Pip Madeley]

If they tour, will Wayne go?

[Dirk Gently]

No worries, Wayne. When ever you have a spare few minutes.

[Wayne]

I'll sort it, Tim.

Honest.

If they tour, will Wayne go?

No. I haven't read any of the reviews, bar what's actually in James' post, but i'm not easily convinced that they're not past it. Even if they're better than i would've given 'em credit for, i don't want to see a rock band that are 'good for their age'.
Don't get me wrong, bloody good luck to 'em, But i'd have to blown away by a bootleg of the O2 gig to even consider it. Call me an old cynic, (& i am) But i can't shake the feeling of this being the 'emperor's new clothes' syndrome magnified by media hype.
That said, even at their worst, they're still probably 20 times better than what passes for a 'rock' band today. Why do you think i got into Jazz?

[MacNimon]

Why settle for a bootleg? I've no doubt that an official dvd will be available sooner rather than later...I'd rather fork out for that rather than £100+ for a ticket!

[Pip Madeley]

I'd rather see the Foreigner set. Two members of a certain band were there though:





Leather jacket at his age, rock on Tony.

[Philipnet]

I'll turn this into our Led Zeppelin thread (it's seems to be the closest) and post this link to the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29550639

Jimmy Page: How we wrote Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven was one of the biggest rock songs of the 1970s - loved, imitated and sometimes parodied.
Now Led Zeppelin's classic track is back on the turntable, on a re-mastered version of the band's fourth album.
Forty-three years after its release, the song continues to hold a place in many music fans' hearts.
Guitarist Jimmy Page gives a personal account of how a rock anthem came together.

[MacNimon]

I'm pretty sure that the album (remastered again, naturally) is due a re-release shortly as a double disc Special Edition with unreleased alternative versions of each track on the second disc. I don't have any links handy, though!