GIG REVIEW: Led Zeppelin
- Posted on December 12, 2007 10:29 AM
- 1 comment
Led Zeppelin
Monday 10th December
O2 Arena, London
Review By Joe Cohen
Let’s forget the trappings for a moment; let’s forget the entire music industry flying to London for this show and let’s forget for a moment the speculation of the TOUR.
Let’s focus for one moment on an eleven-year-old in Cleveland, listening to Physical Graffiti and feeling winsome that he would never see this band play LIVE. Let’s focus for a moment on the eleven-year-old and his two closest friends, together imagining what it would have been like had they been four years older – that was the margin between seeing them live and John Bonham’s death and the end of the performance. Let’s for a moment roll forward twenty eight years to Monday night at the O2.
The three friends are together again, seeing what they thought they would never see. We’re older, the band is older; it’s all older but the song remains the same. I’d like to say that the show was simply amazing - which it was - that the nostalgia played no part. Frankly speaking, I’m ill-qualified to say so but I still hope it to be true.
Robert Plant is likely to be the greatest Blues singer of a generation, John Paul Jones is a great bass player and Jason Bonham muscularly filled some very large boots in what was seemingly a more emotional night for him than the rest of the band. I’ve seen Clapton play a bunch of times… ‘nuff respect. I’ve seen BB King, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Ingwe Malmsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmour, Steve Morse, Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Neal Schon, Brian May, Pete Townshend and Dickie Betts (I never saw Hendrix play which is my loss) but I’ve never seen a human do with a guitar what Jimmy Page did Monday night.
This was the best musical performance I have ever witnessed. There - wow. Twenty thousand people were all taken back to an earlier point in their lives when they connected with the music and the band. It was one big time machine. As I told my wife that evening, ‘all the BS and cynicism developed from being around the live entertainment business (like a callous) washed away the minute I saw Led Zeppelin on stage.’
For the next two hours all that remained were the world’s greatest rock band and an eleven-year-old kid from Cleveland.
Were you lucky enough to see Led Zep at the O2? What did you think? Please leave a comment below.
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Comments (1)
Ash
I didn't want to see the band until after the event. So I am glad that there are rumours of a tour. But, really, Robert Plant - the greatest Blues singer of a generation? Doubtful. Until I see Page play in the flesh, I can't really comment on his live performance, but between SRV and Jimi Hendrix, the Gods of blues guitar (and, therefore, rock) are completely immovable.
Posted on December 12, 2007 12:13 PM
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