Been a Long Time Since they Rock ‘n Rolled
Last night in London, Led Zeppelin played its first full set since 1980, when drummer extraordinaire John Bonham died. Whether or not they tour remains an open question, but I though I’d pass on the setlist for those of you who care, courtesy of NME:
‘Good Times Bad Times’
“The set started with a clip from ‘The Song Remains The Same’ DVD with an American news clip telling of they broke The Beatles’ attendance record for a gig in 1973 in California. Simple stage set, video screen behind the band.”‘Ramble On’
“‘Ramble On’ done in extremely slow, bluesy manner, with shards of electric guitar from Jimmy Page.”‘Black Dog’
“Page wearing dark shades, quite muddy sound. Crowd singing the ‘ah-ah’ bits back at Plant.”‘In My Time Of Dying’
“Page is playing bottleneck guitar. Plant spoke for the first time before song, saying ‘Good evening’.”‘For Your Life’
“That’s not something you get to hear often these days, Led Zeppelin giving a song its live debut.”‘Trampled Under Foot’
“Before starting Plant told the crowd it was the band’s attempt to sound like Robert Johnson’s ‘Terraplane Blues’.”‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’
“There are huge screen’s dominating the O2 Arena, they split into four sometimes, goes monochrome, colour etc…quite spectacular.”‘No Quarter’
“Following the song Plant paid tribute to John Paul Jones, who played keyboards and bass on the track.”‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’
“A bit of a style guide for you, all the band are dressed in black bar Page who is rocking a white shirt. As for the song they gone for the epic version….very bluesy.”‘Dazed And Confused’
“Settle yourselves in, we’re expecting a ten minute version of this classic… it was. At the end of it of the song Plant told the audience ‘On guitar Jimmy Page, just as he did on ‘The Song Remains The Same’ DVD which was filmed in Madison Square Garden in the 70s.”‘Stairway To Heaven’
“What do you think happened? Right! From the moment those opening notes rang out the whole audience went absolutely crazy. The atmosphere is electric. Afterwards Plant said “Ahmet, we did it!”‘The Song Remains The Same’
“A fairly straight version of the classic. The sound is still a bit muddy and quiet though.”‘Misty Mountain Hop’
“Plant kicked this one off by praising the job drummer Jason Bonham has been doing, stepping into his late father’s shoes tonight.”‘Kashmir’
“Yet another epic, as this song cracks the ten minute mark. Plant introduced this one declaring ‘We’ve got people from 50 countries here and this is the 51st’. Afterwards they left the stage to loud applause. Will they do an encore? What do you reckon…”‘Whole Lotta Love’
“… of course they come back to deafening applause. And it’s an extended version of the old ‘Top Of The Pops’ theme. Then once more the band leave the stage with a visibly emotional Plant declaring:
‘Thanks to everybody. Thanks Ahmet Ertegun, this one for is Ahmet Ertegun as we remember the days when Atlantic Records was the best label on the planet!’.”‘Rock And Roll’
“Just time for one more, as after two hours the night reaches its climax, and what a stomper to go out on. And after the hype, the millions of people who entered the ticket ballot and the speculation, Led Zeppelin’s reunion show is over. A one off? We dearly hope not.”
hank Says:December 11th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Alan, Many thanks from an “aging hipster” for the set list.
What memories Zeppelin brings back. “Whole Lotta Love” and “Immigrant Song” were big at the ice rink in Riverside Park on winter nights, back when it was outside.
Skipping school to go to Twin Fair to get Led Zeppelin 4. Run back home and stick it on the stereo, listened to the whole thing. turned the stereo back off and said “Oh my God! What a KILLER Album!”
I got my son (now 26) into music at a very young age. He could tell you what groups were playing on the radio when he was 4. I let him listen to my albums, and I got the right result for it. Though he’s into modern groups like Phish,Korn,etc–He’s serious about the Doors, Grateful Dead and especially Zeppelin. He’s got the ZOZO properly tatooed on the back of his neck. And he tells his friends–”My Dad’s a little odd, but he knows good music”.
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TheRover Says:December 11th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham…Brought it on Home last night. Excellent reviews. Biggest concert of the decade and they did it for charity. Pure class.
When John Bonham died and Zeppelin called it quits it was like losing a very dear old friend. I hope for a tour so that just maybe I can hang with my old friend just one more night.
BobbyCat Says:December 12th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I liked Zeppelin well enough but they were never first on my playlists. I didn’t follow them. Glad to see a reunion, though. I would have like to see a proper cation on the photo, identifying the band members. I know that Zepplin fanatics would scoff at the idea that ANYBODY couldn’t name the band members and still grieve for John Bonham, but believe me - most readers can’t and don’t. A simple caption would solve the problem.