Ilan Rubin's take on Led Zeppelin live in London on 12.10.07
lostprophets
Dec 11, 2007
Led Zeppelin returns for the charity show at London's O2 Arena and yup that is right I (Ilan Rubin) was there to witness the whole thing!
As a Led Zeppelin fan of over ten years, I must say I was blown away. The band's three surviving members - singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums. Although they’re all a few decades older, they had no problem kicking ass. Robert Plant’s voice sounded great, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page played incredibly well, and Jason Bonham had a near- flawless show. The immediate crowd around me included celebrities and legends such as Jeff Beck, Chad Smith, Marilyn Manson, Juliette Lewis, and the all-mighty Brian May. I later found out that others like Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Dave Mustaine were there. I didn’t really catch any of the other bands, but seriously, who cares?
The set started off with "Good Times Bad Times"; a great call and very classy way of starting the set, considering it was the first song on their first album. They continued with songs like Ramble On and Black Dog and later threw in a little twist by playing For Your Life off the Presence album; a song they’d never played before in public. The jamming during songs was great even though they didn’t extend them as much as they used to. Page’s leads were awesome, Jones’s bass playing and keyboard playing was amazing, and Jason Bonham, playing what seemed to be his dad’s Ludwig Vistalites from The Song Remains the Same, did a great job. The only negative point was at the end of the fast jam in the middle of "Dazed and Confused" where he seemed to come in a bit early which through off the next 10 to 15 seconds of the song. It was a borderline train wreck, but they definitely got it back together and continued without skipping a beat. Also, I have to say that the violin bow stuff was a lot more entertaining in person. From there on out the set was pretty perfect.
I’d have to give the song of the night award to "Kashmir." It was the best sounding song of the night and had the dark, epic qualities you’d want to hear live. They of course played other classics like Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, but some personal favorites of the night were Trampled Underfoot, No Quarter, Misty Mountain Hop, and The Song Remains the Same. When the set was done, I was pretty high after having watched my heroes play. Not only that, they cured the curiosity of a possibly under-whelming set. As cliché as it sounds, I’m gonna give them a 10 out of 10 because they went above and beyond and killed it. Hopefully a DVD comes out and those who couldn’t make it to the show will get a chance to see it for themselves. For those of you who are interested, the set list was as follows:
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
Whole Lotta Love
Rock ‘n’ Roll
As a Led Zeppelin fan of over ten years, I must say I was blown away. The band's three surviving members - singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums. Although they’re all a few decades older, they had no problem kicking ass. Robert Plant’s voice sounded great, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page played incredibly well, and Jason Bonham had a near- flawless show. The immediate crowd around me included celebrities and legends such as Jeff Beck, Chad Smith, Marilyn Manson, Juliette Lewis, and the all-mighty Brian May. I later found out that others like Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, and Dave Mustaine were there. I didn’t really catch any of the other bands, but seriously, who cares?
The set started off with "Good Times Bad Times"; a great call and very classy way of starting the set, considering it was the first song on their first album. They continued with songs like Ramble On and Black Dog and later threw in a little twist by playing For Your Life off the Presence album; a song they’d never played before in public. The jamming during songs was great even though they didn’t extend them as much as they used to. Page’s leads were awesome, Jones’s bass playing and keyboard playing was amazing, and Jason Bonham, playing what seemed to be his dad’s Ludwig Vistalites from The Song Remains the Same, did a great job. The only negative point was at the end of the fast jam in the middle of "Dazed and Confused" where he seemed to come in a bit early which through off the next 10 to 15 seconds of the song. It was a borderline train wreck, but they definitely got it back together and continued without skipping a beat. Also, I have to say that the violin bow stuff was a lot more entertaining in person. From there on out the set was pretty perfect.
I’d have to give the song of the night award to "Kashmir." It was the best sounding song of the night and had the dark, epic qualities you’d want to hear live. They of course played other classics like Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, but some personal favorites of the night were Trampled Underfoot, No Quarter, Misty Mountain Hop, and The Song Remains the Same. When the set was done, I was pretty high after having watched my heroes play. Not only that, they cured the curiosity of a possibly under-whelming set. As cliché as it sounds, I’m gonna give them a 10 out of 10 because they went above and beyond and killed it. Hopefully a DVD comes out and those who couldn’t make it to the show will get a chance to see it for themselves. For those of you who are interested, the set list was as follows:
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
Whole Lotta Love
Rock ‘n’ Roll
