Sonic Boom ad
Advertisement

Seventh report from fans in London

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Michael traveled from Montreal to attend the Led Zeppelin reunion concert. When his night was finally over, he had a few words to send over the Internet:

It's 5 am Zulu time, finally back in my hotel room.

If I were to write a full, lengthy report right now, it would be gibberish. I'll save that for when I'm sober and lucid and back home in the suburbs of Montreal. Suffice to say it was everything we all hoped it would be x 10.

You know the setlist by now, I'm not going to scoop it for anyone. When Robert said "We need to do one last (?) great show..."--I don't know if it'll be the last, but oh, my Lord, it was Great.

If I had to pin it down to one song that did it for me, it'd be "Since I've
Been Lovin' You." Those of you who I've had the pleasure to get to know online and, in some cases, meet in person know that's my ultimate live Zep tune. And tonight, they brought it on home for me. That was when I got the goosebumps and my tears, they fell like rain.

In the words of Ahmet, "It is a great life, this life of music."

Michael wrote another update last night, supplying the top photo shown here:

Got back home a little earlier this evening, safe and sound and still blown away by what I and 20,000 or so other lucky souls from 50 countries had the privilege to experience for two hours in London, England, on December 10, 2007.

The other photos shown here are from Simon W. in the United Kingdom, who supplied the photos taken Sunday just before the soundcheck, including the pictures of the line that had formed of hardcore fans willing to camp out overnight. Here's word from one of the fans shown in those pictures, another guy named Michael:

That was me in the front of the line in the pics of fans queuing for the show (the guy from Nebraska who is working on his doctorate in music, blue jacket and proudly wearing my dress rehearsal pass as well).

I had front row between Robert and Jimmy and close enough to get some great photos all night. I'll post them on picasa and send the link to you all next week. It was a great experience, like you have been hearing.

I spoke to Robert's assistant today at the airport who was also heading back home to Nashville and he said the guys in the band thought it was an ok show, but mentioned that the crowd was a bit disappointing and lackluster. (I agree, but I genuinely think we were all in a but of shock and awe seeing this happening before our eyes.) Anyway, there is my viewpoint of things.

0 comments:

Led Zeppelin Reunion


Photo courtesy of Simon Keeping

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin regrouped in 2007, with Jason Bonham on drums, to perform a year-end tribute to Ahmet Ertegun. Their widely praised concert was witnessed in person by fewer than 20,000 people. It is likely never to be repeated, and there are no announced plans to release the concert for home viewing. However, clicking the image above will bring up multi-cam footage of the entire Led Zeppelin performance as it happened on Dec. 10, 2007, at the O2 arena in London.

Many posts on LedZeppelinNews.com have centered on the possibility of a full-scale Led Zeppelin reunion, noting particularly the inaccuracies reported by the popular press.

Page


Jimmy Page stars with fellow guitarists Jack White and The Edge in this guitar documentary, directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), which had widespread theatrical showings beginning in August.

LedZeppelinNews.com provided a review of "It Might Get Loud" at that time.

"It Might Get Loud" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Dec. 22 in the United States. Click here to pre-order on DVD or Blu-Ray. Prior to this, "It Might Get Loud" will be available on iTunes for two weeks beginning Dec. 8.

- What else should I know about "It Might Get Loud"?

- What else is Jimmy Page up to?

Plant


Just prior to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007, Robert Plant released the album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. Their partnership has been the subject of much critical and commercial success, including victories at the Grammy awards two years in a row.

A follow-up to that album has been in pre-production, but Krauss's current priorities are new recordings and eventual touring with her signature band, Union Station. Progress on the second Plant/Krauss album is anticipated following the completion of the Union Station tour.

More recently, Plant entered the studio with famed U2 producer Daniel Lanois for some recording sessions, the nature of which has not been disclosed.

Following the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant went on to a rewarding career as a solo artist. He released six albums of his own between 1982 and 1993, two collaborative albums with Jimmy Page between 1994 and 1998, and two more solo albums since that time. Yet until Raising Sand, his biggest commercial success came in releasing an EP of classic cover material under the name The Honeydrippers.

- What else is Robert Plant up to?

Jones


John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.

One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.

- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?

- What else is John Paul Jones up to?

Jason Bonham


Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.

John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."

In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."

- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?

Who Else

Archives