Led Zeppelin to Re-Unite For Concert

[Hootad Binky]

Led Zeppelin to Return for a Tribute Concert

By BEN SISARIO

Published: September 13, 2007

Following weeks of intense speculation by fans and the news media, a concert promoter announced yesterday that the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones — would play a concert in London on Nov. 26. Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham, who died in 1980, will fill in for his father on drums.

The show, at the O2 arena, will be a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the Atlantic Records founder who died in December. The promoter, Harvey Goldsmith, said that the bill also includes Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman, Foreigner and Paolo Nutini, a 20-year-old Scottish heartthrob who was the last act Mr. Ertegun took under his wing.

“During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord,” Mr. Plant said in a statement. “For us he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator.”

Led Zeppelin, which has sold well over 100 million albums in the United States alone, broke up in 1980 after Mr. Bonham’s death, but fans have become accustomed to periodic reunions and semi-reunions. First there was Live Aid in 1985, with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson of Chic on drums. In 1988 the three surviving members recruited Jason Bonham to play at a 40th-anniversary show for Atlantic. Six years later Mr. Page and Mr. Plant played an “MTV Unplugged” session that turned into a tour and an album that included reworked Led Zeppelin songs.

And while the concert will benefit an educational charity in Mr. Ertegun’s name, it also coincides with the release of two major Zeppelin reissues: “Mothership,” a two-disc hits set due Nov. 13, and an expanded version of “The Song Remains the Same,” the soundtrack to the band’s 1976 concert movie, to be released Nov. 20.

Mr. Goldsmith said that the Ertegun concert will be a one-time show, but didn’t rule out other performances. “If something materializes after that, I’ll be thrilled,” he told Reuters.
Craig Kallman, the Atlantic chairman, said Led Zeppelin transformed Atlantic from an R & B and pop label into a major force in rock. But the bond between Led Zeppelin and Mr. Ertegun was more than musical.

“They were great partiers, too,” Mr. Kallman said. “Ahmet was an incredible, consummate man about town, and they partied like the rock stars that Zeppelin were.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/ar...13zepp.html?hp

[jizzybloke]

20,000,000 people have applied for the 20,000 tickets already!

[daveboy]

Should have done it at wembley for at least 21 nights

[Hootad Binky]

Hopefully there'll be more concerts...

[Begbie]

Stairway to Heavan might seem appropriate considering their advanced age.

[Hootad Binky]

Their last effort involving a Morrocan ensemble was a bit a bit of a muddle, frankly.






Actually it was awful.

Page was a shadow of his former self, truth be told.

Hopefully he'll have his chops in better shape this time.

[kayo]

they;re not gonna try anything new. Just re-hash their legendary classics. Yes with Bonham's son on drums, as they have in the past.

I heard it was scheduled for the 17th though (nov)

[taxexile]

should be even better than the cream reunion.

[Hootad Binky]

I heard that was a bit sloppy...

[taxexile]

the dvd of that show might change your mind.

[Hootad Binky]

^ True, I love Cream.

[chinthee]

Two Zeppelin tickets make $170,000 in charity sale

LONDON (Reuters) - A man from Glasgow paid 83,000 pounds ($170,000) for a pair of tickets to a one-off Led Zeppelin reunion gig in London on December 10, according to the BBC which organized the charity auction.

Two Zeppelin tickets make $170,000 in charity sale - Yahoo! News

[Marmite the Dog]

Page was a shadow of his former self, truth be told.

I saw The Firm support AC/DC (I think) in the mid-80s and he was shite then.

[chinthee]

Led Zeppelin's time has come again

Monday's reunion in London has quickly become one of the most anticipated concerts of all time.

Whether a larger tour will follow could depend on how well Zeppelin's members — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and the late drummer John Bonham's son Jason — perform in front of a frenzied audience.

If the result of the band's early rehearsals is any indication, Zeppelin fans have reason to be hopeful.

Bonham told Rolling Stone that the band clicked immediately, right from the opening notes of the first song they tried: the haunting dirge "No Quarter."
"When the riff came in, there was this look that went around. It was brilliant." After blasting through "Kashmir" next, Bonham told the magazine that the band stopped and Page said, "'Can you give me a hug?' And Robert (Plant) shouted, 'Yeah, sons of thunder!'"

The 63-year-old Page echoed those sentiments to Q music magazine, saying the initial get-together was "so exhilarating and fun that I did feel I would like to do more."

Led Zeppelin's time has come again - Yahoo! News

[Mid]

Led Zeppelin: Crossing cultures


Zeppelin legends: Guitarist Jimmy Page, right, with Robert Plant [EPA]


Since their formation from the remnants of the British band The Yardbirds in 1968, Led Zeppelin have consistently been in the vanguard of amalgamating musical themes from around the world.

In Physical Graffiti, for example, guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John Bonham, vocalist Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones incorporated Middle Eastern musical themes into their hard rock riffs, unleashing a torrent of east-meets-west influences in the years to come.

Ahead of Led Zeppelin's reunion in London on December 10, two musicians - Salman Ahmed and Mark Levine, from Pakistan and the United States respectively - offer their interpretations of how successful the band has been in using music to bridge the cultural divide.

snip

Plant, right, jams with US guitarist Nile
Rodgers, left, and Turkish-born Ertegun [EPA]

english.aljazeera.net


Aljazeera rocks ........................

[sabang]

Hopefully they'll make a DVD of the concert, which I and a few hundred thousand other Zeppelin freaks will religiously buy. The tickets will be way overpriced, and I'm not really bothered with big concerts and sporting events anyway.

Music just ain't been the same since Zeppelin and Floyd, although the Sex Pistols gave it a fair blast.

[chinthee]

^ Led Zep is arguably the best rock band in history. Floyd, The Who and a few others are on my short list of best ever.

[Mid]

the best rock band in history

Ladies and Gentlemen ......... The greatest rock and roll band in the World, The ROLLING STONES!!!

[chinthee]

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Led Zeppelin played its first concert in 19 years today in front of 20,000 fans who had won tickets in a ballot of more than a million people.

The audience at London's O2 Arena went wild as the English rock band's three surviving members -- guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones -- launched into the opening notes of ``Good Times Bad Times,'' joined by Jason Bonham, son of their late drummer, John Bonham.

led zeppelin - Google News

[kayo]

^ Led Zep is arguably the best rock band in history. Floyd, The Who and a few others are on my short list of best ever.

I like your style!

[barbaro]

I saw "Page and Plant" in 1997 or 98, and I was surprised at their tightness and energy.

That was only 1 show, though.

It's good they're getting back together, but I'll stick to my "Song remains the Same" DVD, and music they made long ago.

[kayo]

Footage of the Dome reunion concert now on Youtube.
Look up "Led Zeppelin Reunion"
or Led Zeppelin 2007

[terry57]

Hopefully they'll make a DVD of the concert, which I and a few hundred thousand other Zeppelin freaks will religiously buy. The tickets will be way overpriced, and I'm not really bothered with big concerts and sporting events anyway.

Music just ain't been the same since Zeppelin and Floyd, although the Sex Pistols gave it a fair blast.

I seen the sex pistols when they came to perth quite a few years ago.

johhny came on stage spitting and screaming, played for 60 minutes and then foked off.

It was friggin brilliant.




Any way,

Im sure it wont be too long until we see a dvd surface in thailand of the zepplin gig, ive just seen some footage on tv and it seems to have been brilliant.

Roberts looking a tad aged but has an awesome head of hair.

[kayo]

Having read all the news reports of the "critics" it was a resounding success.
I was only forty five minutes away, and at home listening to old albums of theirs.

All Photo's nabbed with credit to the NME Website

Remember, the year I was born, was the last time they played together a full gig live/ 1979//



Then: and Now:


Robert PLANT








Full set list

Good Times Bad Times

Ramble On

Black Dog

In My Time Of Dying

For Your Life

Trampled Under Foot

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

Encores:
Whole Lotta Love

Rock And Roll



From the Guardian (Uk)

Tonight, however, after a tentative, feedback-scarred opener of Good Times Bad Times, it's difficult to believe this is a band who have barely played together for the best part of three decades. They sound awesomely tight.

from the (london) times online:

At a rehearsal a few weeks ago, Plant was heard to complain about the challenges of divining a voice of a 20-year-old from the body of a 60-year-old man.

He needn’t have worried. Older equipment may take a while to get going, but once the requisite valves heat up, the quality is unmistakeable. And so it turned out 15 minutes in, when a bracing round of call-and-response oh-yeahs triggered an incendiary Black Dog. Plant’s quick kick to the base of his mike stand sent it flying up into the path of his hand. Page
dispensed powerchords like an aged Thor lobbing down thunderbolts for kicks. It had been good before, but something of the devil seemed to get hold of them at this point

....
Their heaviosity has always been the cornerstone of their reputation but it was astonishing to see how funky they could be for a rock band.

...
With a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now

From the Telegraph (UK)

could it possibly live up to the expectation? Well: I was blown away.
...I felt a little sorry for the string of support acts who had warmed up the crowd - star names such as Bill Wyman, Keith Emerson, Paul Rodgers and Foreigner, but whose contributions were immediately swept away like dust in the breeze by the awesome foursome.

Then it got better.
...

Then it got better still...
...
Byzantine riff, pulverising drums, hollering vocals....

How much better could it get? Here's how much: In My Time of Dying, driven by such a dark, filthy, shivery blues riff, the electrifying change of pace, drums and guitar locked into a sensational groove. It scarcely seemed possible that a group could be this good.

...

Bonham was astonishing

From the Sun (UK)

MOST modern number one hits could fit into one of their guitar solos.
LED ZEPPELIN returned to the stage last night with their first full set in 19 years — and younger members of the crowd had heard nothing like it.

Manufactured pop is ruling the charts and young music fans are an impatient sort.

Maybe that’s why the bars at the O2 Arena in Greenwich filled during some of the band’s winding rock epics.

But their classics proved music doesn’t rock like it used to.
....

Original members JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT and JOHN PAUL JONES were joined by ...drummer JOHN BONHAM’s son, JASON, 41.

The trio — with a combined age of 183 — burst on stage and opened with Good Times Bad Times, the first track of their debut album.

Robert Plant... still had the energy to strut his 59-year-old body across the stage.
...
As the band settled into a series of songs....
Some of the old Zeppelin remained — during a monumentally long instrumental, Plant had time to go off stage as Page continued to play.

One thing not so new was when in the middle of Dazed And Confused, Page got out his violin bow and started to play his guitar with it, in his trademark style.

After more than an hour the bulk of the fans got what they seemed to want most — a rendition of Stairway To Heaven.

When the lights went out a massive demand for an encore brought them back to play Whole Lotta Love.

The adulation of 20,000 almost-equally tired fans ringing in their ears, they trooped away into the darkness.

Fans of all ages had travelled from around the world to see the group and they weren’t disappointed – giving huge ovations and raving after the show.

Support act PAOLO NUTINI, 20, told The Sun: “I wasn’t alive the first time around but I’ve seen the footage on DVD.

“Now watching them live, I’ve been taught a true musical lesson.

“They were just so intense and so tight, even after all these years.

“I was just blown away.”

and finally - for this post: NME Music Magazine:

Led Zeppelin played a storming show at their first (full) UK gig in (27) years at the 02 Arena in London tonight (December 10).

The long-awaited performance was the headline slot at a tribute show for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died earlier this year and was instrumental in building the band's career in the 1970s.

Frontman Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones were joined by Jason Bonham on drums - son of John, the band's original drummer who died in 1980 signalling the end of the original band's 12-year career.


There had been brief reformations before - including Live Aid in 1985 - but tonight was the first full set the group had played since headlining Knebworth in 1979.

An estimated nine million people applied for the 18,000 tickets, and despite the quiet sound there was mass hysteria as the band performed their classics before a crowd including Paul McCartney, Oasis' Noel and Liam Gallagher, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Lulu, Arctic Monkeys, Kate Moss and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

The 16-song set kicked off at 9pm GMT prompt and included classics such as opener 'Good Times Bad Times', 'Kashmir', 'Ramble On', 'Black Dog', 'Dazed And Confused', 'Whole Lotta Love' and rousing closer 'Rock And Roll', during the second of two encores.

There were also a few surprises thrown in - the disco funk of 'Trampled Under Foot' from 1975's 'Physical Graffiti' made an appearance, as did 'For Your Life' from 1976's 'Presence' - the first time the band have ever performed the track live.

Plant spoke little during the show, but when he did it was mostly to pay tribute to Ertegun, who he said after first encore 'Whole Lotta Love' "ran the best label in the world" in Atlantic Records.

After playing classic 'Stairway To Heaven' the singer exclaimed: "Ahmet, we did it!"

He also said before 'For Your Life': "The past few weeks have been full of a thousand emotions for Ahmet, for bringing Jason (Bonham) in."

He also individually introduced each other member of the band during the course of the two-hour performance.

The four-piece, dressed almost entirely in black except for Page's white shirt, played in front of a massive video screen which featured straight shots of the band at first, but then exploded into psychedelic colours for 'Kashmir', the best received song of the evening.

Before that track, Plant declared: "There are people from 50 countries here. This is the 51st."

:wub:

[Thormaturge]

Funny to see Thatcher performing a "wai" in the general direction of Gordon Brown. He has increased the UK personal bankruptcy rate to more than Thatcher's. She must be in awe of him. He should join the Conservative party.