Tales of an Amorphic Destiny

Led Zeppelin Reunion!

December 11th, 2007 at 09:09pm James

When we heard about Led Zeppelin’s reunion gig, my first thought was "I have to be there no matter what". However being one the most anticipated gigs of all time, it wasn’t any surprise to see that overwhelming demand (20 million+ applications for less than 20,000 seats) meant that our chances were always going to be slim.

Sarah bravely stepped up to the challenge and recruited friends, family etc to sign up for tickets on our behalf, but when the first ballot was held and we heard nothing, we figured we hadn’t been one of the lucky ones. Then, a week or two later a casual email arrives from Sarah’s ex-workmate Scott with no less than a ticket code valid to buy two seats at the gig!!!

I still have a couple of very large bottles of alcohol waiting at home with Scott’s name on them. Thanks to him, (and despite the promoter’s warnings about exchanging ticket codes) we found ourselves amongst the throng of eager Zeppelin fans queuing for our wristbands at London’s O2 Arena, (formerly the Millennium Dome).

There was still a hint of nervousness until we had our wristbands but once they were on the reality set in that we were going to be there when the Led Zeppelin mothership landed!

We enjoyed a couple of beers in the bar while waiting for a table at one of the O2’s many restaurants. A couple more pints and some very tasty steaks later, (does life get any better???) and it was time to enter the Arena…

Of course the place was packed to the rafters and as the lights dimmed, the huge crowd erupted as the band took the stage, breaking straight into "Good times, Bad Times".

To actually be witnessing Led Zeppelin live was completely surreal and the whole thing took a while to sink in. There were a few precarious moments of feedback early in the piece but after that the sound was flawless for the entire night. The setlist is well documented on the ‘net but I’ll add it for good measure:

“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 Lovin’ You”
“Dazed and Confused”
“Stairway To Heaven”

“The Song Remains the Same”
“Misty Mountain Hop”

“Kashmir”

Encore:

“Whole Lotta Love”
“Rock and Roll”

There were plenty of hits in there that I’d been expecting to hear but also a few personal faves that I hadn’t. Absolutely stoked to finally hear Zeppelin themselves playing "In My Time of Dying" and "No Quarter"! Plant had the whole crowd wailing along to "Nobody’s Fault But Mine" and I was very impressed to see Page break out the twin-neck SG for "Stairway to Heaven".

We had to wait until the very end of the set for "Kashmir" but when it came it sounded every bit as epic as one would expect – another one of those moments when it was hard to take in exactly what one was witnessing! Special mention goes to John-Paul Jones’ work on keyboards. I’d fully expected a ton of overdubbed synth but from what I could see he was doing most of it himself. Talented guy.

The encore of “Whole Lotta Love” and “Rock and Roll” rounded things off on an upbeat high and there were nothing but smiles as elated fans of all ages and walks of life poured out of the O2 Arena.

Before this gig there had been much speculation as to whether these 4 blokes would be still be able to do justice to the music that has meant so much to so many. But after more than 2 hours on stage tonight, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that Led Zeppelin can still rock ‘n’ roll with the best of ‘em.

There’s a few more pictures from the gig here.

Entry Filed under: Gigs, Life in England