Led Zeppelin live - December 10, 2007

December 11, 2007 7:27 AM

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know.
The piper's calling you to join him.
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know,
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind...
Led Zeppelin live - December 10, 2007
posted by Pastabagel (90 comments total)

Yaaay! I've been waiting for this to show up somewhere.

I would check DimeADozen for a field recording, but it appears that my account has lapsed due to inactivity.

Does anybody have an .... ummmm .... friend of a friend with an audio copy?
posted by Afroblanco at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2007

Does anybody remember laughta?
posted by Miko at 7:36 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Concert reviews:

Rolling Stone
The Australian
Telegraph
AP
Reuters
NME
posted by psmealey at 7:36 AM on December 11, 2007

Is it me, or does Robert Plant look like Theoden?
posted by notsnot at 7:39 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

That first video is painful.
posted by zippy at 7:40 AM on December 11, 2007

The only message they left behind was, “We were the best — and still are.”
posted by halogen at 7:41 AM on December 11, 2007

Miko, I sure do.
posted by Partial Law at 7:42 AM on December 11, 2007

Ha I was just looking for anything. Seems the only thing folks got in was their shitty camera phones. Guess we'll wait for the DVD.
posted by poppo at 7:44 AM on December 11, 2007

I haven't even watched it yet, and I think I just came a little.
posted by kalimac at 7:52 AM on December 11, 2007

Sure, it's all done in a lower register, and Page and Plant, bless their hearts, have been rode hard and put up wet, but damn...for senior citizens, they surely do rock the house.
posted by dejah420 at 7:55 AM on December 11, 2007

Yeah, sorry about the craptacular video quality of some of these. These were the best I could find. I really hope they do at least one show in North America.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:58 AM on December 11, 2007

Led Zeppelin live

Tell that to John Bonham.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 7:59 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Better quality Kashmir
posted by poppo at 8:00 AM on December 11, 2007

Man, I wish I was there.

It looks like Jason is playing his pop's old kit. I wonder if it is. Maybe just very similar.
posted by chillmost at 8:04 AM on December 11, 2007

I really hope they do at least one show in North America.

Yeah... I'm pretty sure I would pay significant sums of money to see them live just about anywhere in North America.

Better quality Kashmir

Great minds think alike, no?. ;)
posted by dejah420 at 8:06 AM on December 11, 2007

I'm sure we can expect a reunion tour as long as no one chokes to death on his Lipitor.
posted by planetkyoto at 8:06 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

Credit to Bonham. Watch that Kashmir clip - he's really driving.
posted by davebush at 8:09 AM on December 11, 2007

Robert Plant's voice is awesome, but it's not the same voice of the 22 year old who sang "Whole Lotta Love." Page and Jones seemed to be going through the motions - or was it the wobbly camera phone? Jason Bonham did an admirable job of living up to the legend. But this is not Led Zeppelin. It is a bunch of guys who used to be Led Zeppelin plus one guy whose dad used to be in Led Zeppelin. The magic of that era - for good or for bad - is long gone.

The songs, however, remain the same which is why these guys still rock.
posted by three blind mice at 8:10 AM on December 11, 2007

wow, not bad at all.
posted by tremspeed at 8:11 AM on December 11, 2007

From the Rolling Stone review:

"Robert Plant was a golden god, not yet a Viking elder..."

BAAAARRRFFFFFF
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:11 AM on December 11, 2007

Yeah... I'm pretty sure I would pay significant sums of money to see them live just about anywhere in North America.

I really had my doubts about this, but seeing the reviews and the videos, I have changed my mind. I really thought it was going to be the three of them out there on walkers and little buddies (like the Cream show at the Royal Albert Hall), but they brung it.

My only concern is that the (first and) last time I had Led Zeppelin tickets, when when I was 12 years old and one of them turned up dead. I think I may wait at least until they cross the Atlantic before shelling out any money.
posted by psmealey at 8:11 AM on December 11, 2007

@dejah: whoops didn't see yours :)
posted by poppo at 8:15 AM on December 11, 2007

It's just too easy to dismiss the whole thing with "they're old / it's just not the same" attitude, but based on the video and reviews I've seen, this show was clearly better than most people expected. If making a fortune from a world tour doesn't matter to them, they should just go away quietly and let this show resonate forever.
posted by davebush at 8:18 AM on December 11, 2007

But this is not Led Zeppelin. It is a bunch of guys who used to be Led Zeppelin plus one guy whose dad used to be in Led Zeppelin.

True dat. But, I'd still rather here these old farts play 40 year old rock songs than hear Jack White, or the guys in Jet or Wolfmother* do their versions of same.

*To be fair, Wolfmother resembles more the Machine Head era Deep Purple, but they're not far off.
posted by psmealey at 8:21 AM on December 11, 2007

FREEBIRD!!!!
posted by Koko at 8:22 AM on December 11, 2007

/shoots koko
posted by psmealey at 8:25 AM on December 11, 2007

Robert Plant's voice is awesome, but it's not the same voice of the 22 year old who sang "Whole Lotta Love." Page and Jones seemed to be going through the motions - or was it the wobbly camera phone?

A lot of people are mentioning Plant's voice. Plant has been recording and performing fairly consistently since the band broke up, it isn't like he came out of hibernation. If the band had stayed together and had never stopped recording or touring, his voice would still sound like this. People age. No one wants to see 59 year olds acting like 25 year olds. It appears that they took this gig very seriously and worked very hard to sounded better live than they have in decades, including some of the years when they were still together. That they worked so hard is a sign of some humilty, and I respect them for that.

It seems like as rock bands get older, there are paths they can take. They can be the Stones, or Kiss, and try to reproduce how they were when they were young, to basically copy the younger versions of themselves. Or they can be like Pink Floyd, and Zep, and age with some grace and dignity, and thereby help to age the music gracefully as well.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:27 AM on December 11, 2007 [6 favorites]

I'm looking forward to the "Nirvana" reunion tour featuring Frances Bean Cobain on vocals.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:28 AM on December 11, 2007 [3 favorites]

Wolfmother resembles more the Machine Head era Deep Purple

My gut reaction to Wolfmother has been a polished version of early Black Sabbath.


You know who does a decent cover of Led Zeppelin? Lez Zeppelin. Yahoo Music turned me over to them on a "If you like this, you'll like this..." search (i.e. I don't go out looking for Lesbian music, typically). The lead singer reaches back in time and tries to grab some of that Plant emotion, and does a fairly good job of it.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:34 AM on December 11, 2007

I'm looking forward to the "Nirvana" reunion tour featuring Frances Bean Cobain on vocals.

Right, I didn't realize until you said that that John Bonham was the principle songwriter and lyricist and front man in Led Zeppelin. That's exactly analogous.
posted by psmealey at 8:37 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

thereby help to age the music gracefully as well.

Fuck aging with grace and dignity. This is the point, Pastabagel. I don't want the music to age. I don't want "the band" to age. I have enough reminders of my age, thank you very much. Reminders of my youth are harder to come by. When I listen to "Out on the Tiles", I want to feel 16 years old. Everytime. Even if the reason now that I crank it up to 11 is just to hear it.

This incarnation of Zeppelin - and this IS good - is nothing but tarnish.
posted by three blind mice at 8:40 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

Does anybody remember September? Sure, psmealey's concerns about it being like a Cream reunion seemed more urgent back then, but maybe it was just the times. Hey, we're all a bit older now, no? I have to say that pastabagel kicked off this morning's show with an enthusiasm tha totally erased the 90 days since the last thread. Took me right back. And I loved hearing "Not the Same Without Bonham" again. I hope somebody plays "Zeppelin Sucks!" I'm dating myself, but I lost my virginity to that one.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:49 AM on December 11, 2007 [5 favorites]

Pastabagel writes "A lot of people are mentioning Plant's voice. Plant has been recording and performing fairly consistently since the band broke up, it isn't like he came out of hibernation. If the band had stayed together and had never stopped recording or touring, his voice would still sound like this."

Yeah ... but the earlier stuff was written for a younger voice. Not only that, but I've seen several examples where Plant couldn't pull it off back in the days before Bonham died, including in the film "The Song Remains the Same," and in the two previous Zep reunions back in the '80s. Glad to know he took this one seriously and rehearsed.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:58 AM on December 11, 2007

three blind mice writes "Fuck aging with grace and dignity. This is the point, Pastabagel. I don't want the music to age. I don't want 'the band' to age. I have enough reminders of my age, thank you very much. Reminders of my youth are harder to come by. When I listen to 'Out on the Tiles', I want to feel 16 years old. Everytime. Even if the reason now that I crank it up to 11 is just to hear it. "

I used to think that way, but I heard Jethro Tull on their 25th Anniversary Tour back in the '90s, and they were spectacular. I've seen other aging bands really pull it off, but it helps if the band really plays the shit out of their old stuff, not just plays through it, like they're having fun with it. The dimension that experience adds to a well-practiced band is something a younger band can't pull off - several reviewers alluded to the fact that Zeppelin sounded together and experienced. I'd rather grow old with music than have it be trapped in amber. Music is not just for the young. It can get better with age.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:06 AM on December 11, 2007

Looks like Page is still playing through his Marshall Plexi setup but not with his trademark 59 Les Paul standard. I wonder if he got an endorsement deal with Gibson for a new line of burgundy Custom Shop Artist LP standards?
posted by psmealey at 9:19 AM on December 11, 2007

I'm dating myself, but I lost my virginity to that one.

That sentence could have been worded a little better.
posted by spiderwire at 9:59 AM on December 11, 2007 [8 favorites]

They sang about hobbits, people. They're just a harder rocking version of Leonard Nimoy.

And I think that's AWESOME.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:01 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

Here's a fact I read somewhere: Of all the men who have read Lord of the Rings more than three times, Robert Plant has slept with the most women.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:07 AM on December 11, 2007 [15 favorites]

just curious- did they have any opening bands? i know paolo nutini was scheduled for the original show, but nobody is mentioning who performed last night. whoever it was, i wouldn't want to be in their shoes.
posted by kidsleepy at 10:14 AM on December 11, 2007

whoever it was, i wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

Foreigner, dude. You wouldn't want to be in their shoes under the best of circumstances.
posted by psmealey at 10:19 AM on December 11, 2007

Fuck aging with grace and dignity. This is the point, Pastabagel. I don't want the music to age. I don't want "the band" to age. I have enough reminders of my age, thank you very much. Reminders of my youth are harder to come by. When I listen to "Out on the Tiles", I want to feel 16 years old.

Damn, you're my brother-in-law who thinks that good music ended sometime in 1978, aren't you?
posted by spock at 10:20 AM on December 11, 2007

I think by definition the best of circumstances would not involve foreigner's shoes in any way.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:37 AM on December 11, 2007

Meh. I saw them when I was 14. And when I was 16. They were pretty shambolic live, if memory serves.
posted by jokeefe at 10:43 AM on December 11, 2007

So are rumours flying for them to headline Glastonbury next year? Guess I could google.
posted by jokeefe at 10:44 AM on December 11, 2007

Okay, I can say for a fact that the version of Kashmir linked above, from the camera phone, was better than any version I saw them do live at what was supposedly the height of their powers.
posted by jokeefe at 10:47 AM on December 11, 2007

I'm looking forward to the "Nirvana" reunion tour featuring Frances Bean Cobain on vocals.

****

Right, I didn't realize until you said that that John Bonham was the principle songwriter and lyricist and front man in Led Zeppelin. That's exactly analogous.

Come on, psmealey. No need to make shit up. Here's how the situations would be analogous: a band that broke up due to the death of a member gets back together years later with two original members and the offspring of an original member and calls themselves by the original band's name.

If you think only the songwriter/lyricist/front man is important in rock music, I remember a certain band that would have disagreed with you. They were called Led Zeppelin.

In December of 1980, Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding, saying they could not continue without Bonham.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 10:47 AM on December 11, 2007

SSFlanders, I may give Plant a run for his money.
posted by Dantien at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2007

a band that broke up due to the death of a member gets back together years later with two original members and the offspring of an original member and calls themselves by the original band's name

Three of four original members. A bettter analogue would be the Who with Kenney Jones (a great drummer in his own right) after Keith Moon died. Not the same, but still, definitively, the Who.

I think that Bonham was one of the greatest all time drummers in the history of rock 'n' roll, and also that Led Zeppelin were always greater than the sum of their parts, but it's entirely acceptable and appropriate for them to call themselves "Led Zeppelin" even without Bonzo, even 27 years hence.

Such was the imprint of Kurt Cobain on Nirvana, I'm not "making shit up" by calling bullshit on your absurd and hyperbolic Nirvana analogy. Your posit would be more akin to Ringo and George getting together in the 90s as "the Beatles" with Stella McCartney on bass and Sean Lennon on guitar (assuming Paul died in a Japanese prison in the 80s).
posted by psmealey at 10:58 AM on December 11, 2007 [2 favorites]

Absurd? Hyperbolic? Wait 'til it happens, dude.

John Bonham was the principle songwriter and lyricist and front man in Led Zeppelin.

That's what I meant by "make shit up." That's not what I was getting at all, as I elaborated in my later comment.

Not the same, but still, definitively, the Who.

it's entirely acceptable and appropriate for them to call themselves "Led Zeppelin" even without Bonzo

This is where we disagree.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:10 AM on December 11, 2007

I would love to see them live. It sounds like they're playing their songs a little differently, which makes sense, they're older now. Sure it's not the same as it was but it's still better then a lot of the stuff out there live! So many great songs...
posted by cell divide at 11:11 AM on December 11, 2007

that's not what I was getting at, at all
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:13 AM on December 11, 2007

I don't dispute that you have a legitimate gripe with the band, Fuzzy Monster. My issue was with the Nirvana without Cobain = Led Zeppelin without Bonham analogy. It's miles off target. Bonzo was unquestionably a unique and critical key part of the overall mix, but not, in my view, irreplaceable. Especially now, after his influence spawned two generations of drummers that sound very much like him. Nothing against Dave Grohl or Novoselic, but Nirvana without Kurt Cobain simply cannot be.

As for Led Zeppelin stating in 1980 that they couldn't go on without him, I believe that. I have seen some concert footage from around the time of Bonham's death, things were coming apart at the seams for them. Just terrible, phoned-in shows. Whatever fire was there had long since gone out. When he passed, it was natural that they threw in the towel without hesitation.
posted by psmealey at 11:23 AM on December 11, 2007

*Pulls plug for amp*

Hey, you, yeah you in the tank top with the Stratocaster, can't you read the damn sign?

*Points to sign over the Fender section reading, "Absolutely No Stairway To Heaven Permitted"
posted by Pollomacho at 11:33 AM on December 11, 2007

Yes, Led Zeppelin is one of the best blues cover bands ever to hit the stage.

Glad they could come back to make a few million more.
posted by docjohn at 11:38 AM on December 11, 2007

Not the same, but still, definitively, the Who.
I disagree. Keith Moon's drumming was an essential, elemental part of The Who's sound, especially with their three-instrument lineup. And the two albums they did with Kenny Jones (Face Dances and It's Hard) felt more like Pete Townshend solo albums than Who albums to me.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:39 AM on December 11, 2007

Nirvana without Kurt Cobain simply cannot be.

Thank God for this.
posted by chlorus at 11:40 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

My issue was with the Nirvana without Cobain = Led Zeppelin without Bonham analogy.

Fair enough. To me Nirvana touring with Frances Bean instead of Kurt would be just as nonsensical as Zepplin touring (or playing one show... we'll see!) with Jason instead of John. The "offspring of famous fathers" tour. Here's a better analogy for you: Led Zeppelin with Jason instead of John = The Beatles with Zach Starkey instead of Ringo.

Nothing against Dave Grohl or Novoselic, but Nirvana without Kurt Cobain simply cannot be.

I agree completely.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:46 AM on December 11, 2007

felt more like Pete Townshend solo albums than Who albums to me.

Agreed. I didn't care for it much either (but the Who were already starting to run out of ideas by Who Are You, which Moon was on) but when Entwhistle, Daltrey and Townshend want to record, perform together as the Who, who am I to disagree?

I think the Guns N' Roses model (or at an extreme, the Allman Brothers model) puts this to the limit... but when you have the two principle songwriters, vocalists and such still around, and all you're missing the guy behind the traps, it's fair dinkum to bill yourselves as the same band.

Fuck, if you had to change your band name every time your drummer quit, flaked out, got fired or died, you'd never build a fan base.
posted by psmealey at 11:48 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Wow, great stuff. That version of Kashmir is excellent. Bonham Jr really thumps it out. I had Physical Graffiti back in the day, and thought it was their best album.
posted by carter at 11:54 AM on December 11, 2007

Fuzzy Monster writes "In December of 1980, Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding, saying they could not continue without Bonham."

Yet they played two shows in the following decade.

Who cares what the band name is? It's for them to decide anyway what name they use. These things aren't sacred. It's just music (and I dearly love music, but I don't have the energy to devote to this sort of angst anymore), but it's the music that's important, not the name. It's for the fans to decide if they accept it, but from what I can tell, seems like they did a good job this time musically. And that's all anyone is going to care about.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:55 AM on December 11, 2007

it's the music that's important, not the name.

I wish that was always true.

Think about latter-day Elvis. Some of those Vegas shows were just terrible: he couldn't hit certain notes, he would become confused, he would forget lyrics... yet the crowds still ate it up. They still screamed and threw their panties, not because the music was any good, but because he was ELVIS.

In this case of this "Zeppelin" concert, the promoters sold the show to the fans as a chance to see ZEPPELIN. I'd be willing to wager that the concert wouldn't have generated nearly as much interest had the promoters billed them as "3/4ths Zeppelin Plus One Son."
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 12:30 PM on December 11, 2007

at an extreme, the Allman Brothers model
It's the talented ones die, band carries on Southern rock pattern. See also: Little Feat and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Although the Allman Brothers is the most egregious example since half of the eponymous brothers died. Maybe they should've renamed themselves Allman Brother's Band.

when Entwhistle, Daltrey and Townshend want to record, perform together as the Who, who am I to disagree?
What if it's just Daltrey and Townshend?
posted by kirkaracha at 12:34 PM on December 11, 2007

Did they have to use a 70's local Tampa news segment to float the Beatles comparison? That song-stealer Page isn't worthy of carrying the Beatles songbook, I don't care how great a player he is or how much more cooler the riffs are... The Beatles made a connection with their audience in a way LZ never will... the latter's output is just too fey.
posted by crowman at 12:50 PM on December 11, 2007

What if it's just Daltrey and Townshend?

No way. Re: rock and roll, corporate shareholder rules must apply. I think you have to have at least a majority share. In the Who's case this was four more or less even shares. They could continue after Keith was gone, but not after Entwistle. By contrast, in the case of GnR, you have two guys with a 60% share, so you need both both Slash and Axl, otherwise it doesn't happen.

In the metal space, you can continue without your frontman, but only as a joke.

It's interesting that the Stones have gone through Brian Jones, Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood over the decades, and no one would ever consider them anything but the Stones so long as Mick and Keef are out front.

Oddly enough, Kiss could continue without Ace Frehley (who was the only guy in the band with any talent), but I think we're past rock n roll at that point.
posted by psmealey at 12:53 PM on December 11, 2007

Napalm Death has no original members remaining.

In other news, all but one or two of those videos has already been DMCA'd out of existence.
posted by anazgnos at 1:32 PM on December 11, 2007

Gotta love this shit:

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group"

Thanks, WB. Thanks a pantload.
posted by VicNebulous at 1:34 PM on December 11, 2007

(assuming Paul died in a Japanese prison in the 80s).

Hey, that's the premise of my new alternate universe spec-fiction ebook coming out this spring! Has it been leaked already?
posted by bluejayk at 1:40 PM on December 11, 2007

Foreigner, dude. You wouldn't want to be in their shoes under the best of circumstances.

That was cold as ice.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 2:10 PM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

My double vision got the best of me.
posted by psmealey at 2:13 PM on December 11, 2007

fuzzy monster:Think about latter-day Elvis. Some of those Vegas shows were just terrible: he couldn't hit certain notes, he would become confused, he would forget lyrics... yet the crowds still ate it up. They still screamed and threw their panties, not because the music was any good, but because he was ELVIS.

And your point is what, exactly? That those crowds (whose only crime, it appears, is that they have less-hip taste than You Almighty) were enjoying themselves? That Elvis chose to continue to perform and practice his trade rather than quit at such a time as would preserve his hip image?

It's all just a little too hipper-than-thou for me. Those old Elvis records STILL exist - go listen for yourself! If you don't want to see that fat and bloat - DON'T. Ditto Zep - "Black Dog" still rocks as hard on IV as it did in the early 70s - go listen to it for yourself. Does that fact that they are performing now ruin the recording for you? That's some pretty sensitive cultural snobbery, in my opinion.

For what it's worth, I've been listening to Zeppelin for about 25 years, learned to play guitar (which is how I make a living) largely by listening to Pagey, and experienced more rites of passage (chemical, sexual, and other) accompanied by Zeppelin than I care to remember. And for my money, "Kashmir" (the only clip I've watched) rocked hard, on every level.

So, fuzzy monster and all you other haters, thanks for not gumming up the ticket lines when/if the American dates go on sale!
posted by fingers_of_fire at 2:23 PM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

I didn't really understand that point either. The best I can figure it is, it's not really Led Zeppelin if it's not Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham playing it in 1972.

I'll be the first to admit that I was skeptical about the show, I feared it was a cynical ploy to cash in while they were still upright and ambulatory (more or less). But after a couple of listens, I came to the realization that it's pretty damn good, passionate and authentic, and I'll be happy to count myself among the great unwashed that go see them if and when they come to New York.
posted by psmealey at 2:32 PM on December 11, 2007

Funny that no one has mentioned AC/DC.
posted by bwg at 2:57 PM on December 11, 2007

Geeze, enough with the absolutes. For the band it was a tribute to a man described as "one of the most significant figures in the modern recording industry" (Frank Zappa named one of his sons after him for Christ's sake!). To the fans it was a chance to see a legendary band that they had never seen before, or a chance to relive a moment in their lives, or a chance to brag about attending London's biggest yet still exclusive event of the year, and to a select few the chance to poo poo all that is bigger than them.
posted by furtive at 3:09 PM on December 11, 2007

"Oh if you like authentic blues, you've just gotta see Blueshammer! They're so great!"
posted by dydecker at 4:32 PM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Funny that no one has mentioned AC/DC.

Bon Scott could sing like a motherfucker, Brain Johnson is just a choked-chicken rawthroat screamer, but I liked 'em both. That said, I reckon the boys were a better band before Bon bit the big one, but they carried on for a couple of albums pretty well before lapsing into total self-parody.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:53 PM on December 11, 2007

Brain Johnson

HA! Funniest typo I've made in a while.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:00 PM on December 11, 2007

Damn, you're my brother-in-law who thinks that good music ended sometime in 1978, aren't you?

Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
posted by oncogenesis at 5:06 PM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

Is it me, or does Robert Plant look like Theoden?

And you know what, he's still such a LOTR fan he'd consider that a compliment. We're talking about a man who named his dog "Strider" after all.

My only disappointment with this is that there was no acoustic set. But if I had been there, you wouldn't have heard me complain.

And to all you hipper-than-thou kids, get off my lawn!
posted by Ber at 5:34 PM on December 11, 2007

I got to see them perform in Phoenix around 69' or 70'. They did about three songs then Page collapsed on the stage and they had to carry him off. Everyone smoked weed and flicked lighters for about 45 minutes. The band (minus Page) performed the rest of the show somehow. It was not good. I have a old reel-to-rell tape of one of their albums. They were the "band" back then.
posted by razzuli at 6:16 PM on December 11, 2007

Fuzzy Monster writes "In this case of this 'Zeppelin' concert, the promoters sold the show to the fans as a chance to see ZEPPELIN. I'd be willing to wager that the concert wouldn't have generated nearly as much interest had the promoters billed them as '3/4ths Zeppelin Plus One Son.'"

That's odd. Do you think anyone going to the show who cares about authenticity already didn't know that John Bonham died in 1980? Do you think the promoters are trying to sneak one past us and fool us into thinking Bonham rose from the dead?
posted by krinklyfig at 6:21 PM on December 11, 2007

That's not a Led Zeppelin ticket! That's a Def Leppard ticket with 'Leppard' crossed out and 'Zeppelin' written in in crayon!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:35 PM on December 11, 2007

all you're missing the guy behind the traps, it's fair dinkum to bill yourselves as the same band.

Not when your drummer was the crucial ingredient that made your band.
posted by jonmc at 7:18 PM on December 11, 2007

Think about latter-day Elvis. Some of those Vegas shows were just terrible: he couldn't hit certain notes, he would become confused, he would forget lyrics... yet the crowds still ate it up. They still screamed and threw their panties, not because the music was any good, but because he was ELVIS.

I saw one of the last James Brown shows when he could hardly stand on stage. While I remember tighter shows at my local bar, when I listen to JB I'm damn glad I saw the Godfather of Soul before he died. I'm a bit shocked that you don't want a ticket for the Second Coming of Elvis Tour but I'll have to ask someone else to come with me.
posted by ersatz at 7:29 PM on December 11, 2007

Crucial ingredient? Okay, I'm not as big a music historian as you, but I still think Jimmy Page's guitar noodling/instrumenalization and Robert Plant's unintelligible hippy-dippy lyrics/rock god stage persona were the crucial ingredients in Led Zeppelin's enduring presence and mystique. John Bonham was a great drummer, but to say he was THE crucial ingredient is overstating his case a bit, I'd say.
posted by yhbc at 7:36 PM on December 11, 2007

Full disclosure - I saw Zep on March 3, 1977 in Oklahoma City (still have the ticket stub!) and here's a few random memories of the show:

Sneaking in a cassette tape recorder but hiding it in my jacket pocket the whole show so I didn't get caught; only pulling it out for "Kashmir" when I finally said aw, the hell with it.

The fat guy with lots of cameras who kept running around urging us to "rush the stage". Um, no thanks.

Gee, Robert Plant can't hit a LOT of the high notes on the albums. Must be a cold.

To a sixteen year-old boy, playing a guitar with a violin bow and "shooting" the reverb to the far points of the room is the coolest thing in the world. It doesn't matter how it sounds.

Driving home after the show - I had gotten my license not one month earlier, and the engine overheated. It died ten miles away from home.

Still, it was a great show!
posted by yhbc at 7:45 PM on December 11, 2007

Anybody ever notice that the name is not like "Iron Butterfly" evoking something light which has been made "heavy" but "Led Zeppelin" meaning something light which is led around.
posted by telstar at 8:09 PM on December 11, 2007

Everything I've read so far is that that show last night was incredible. I'm for their just calling it quits now and going out at the top of their (very old) game.
posted by hwestiii at 9:00 PM on December 11, 2007

Dime to the rescue (hope you have an account).
posted by zouhair at 4:02 AM on December 12, 2007

Good Times, Bad Times and some other song

Won't last long, I'm sure
posted by JaredSeth at 6:04 AM on December 12, 2007

And your point is what, exactly?

My point was that some singers and bands transcend the music and become brands. I was responding to krinklyfig's comment that a band's music is more important than the name. My point was in terms of promoting a show, often the name is more important than the music.

That's it. Wasn't trying to be "Hipper-Than-Thou." Definitely wasn't trying to be a "hater."

Does that fact that they are performing now ruin the recording for you?

No way, man. I love Zeppelin. (Elvis, too.) For me, Zeppelin includes John Bonham. For others, the drummer is replaceable. It's a difference of opinion, that's all.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 9:20 AM on December 14, 2007