Saturday night, part of my older daughter’s birthday present was to take place. She and a friend were to see Vanessa Hudgens (of High School Musical fame) perform at the Fair.

It was a great late afternoon, not too hot, lots of people. We got some food and took a walk over to the Moo-ternity ward before heading over to the grandstand.

We had some pretty decent seats, too, as we watched the opening act, Rooney, perform:

Halfway through Rooney’s act, it began to rain buckets, and I kept my eye on the radar because storms off on the horizon looked very ominous indeed:

At 7:37, a bit before Rooney took the stage:

Just before 8:00, as the rain began during Rooney’s set:

They ended their set at around 8:30, and we waited 1/2 hour for Hudgens’ act to set up. By 9:00, it wasn’t looking good:

The lightning began getting closer and closer, and we caught a glimpse of Hudgens being hustled backstage as they began breaking everything down for the passing electrical storm. The audience was sent to wait in the grandstand area while a decision was made.

As the crew lowered the overhead doors in the grandstand area, I asked an usher why they hadn’t called it yet. The storms were only getting worse. She replied that it didn’t look like it was going to happen, and they were waiting for a final decision to be made. Kudos to the Fair organizers for handing out free ponchos, without which we would have been completely drenched to the bone during our 15-minute walk back to the car.

Best Christmas song in the last 50 years?

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.”