It's Been a Long Time Since They Rocked and Rolled

We don't give nearly enough attention to singers and musicians here at Blog Stage, it seems. But those oft-neglected performers deserve a little love now and then.

Or even a "Whole Lotta Love." For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few months, Led Zeppelin played their first full concert since 1980 at London's O2 Arena on Monday night, with John Bonham's son Jason filling in for the deceased drummer. The group's first full show since Bonham's death (an appearance at Live Aid in 1985 and at the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert in '88 are regarded as brief, sloppy, and not at all representative of the band's full power and glory) was part of a night in tribute to late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

Monday night's 16-song, two-hour-plus show has already become legendary, spawning rumors of a full tour, or at least a few shows in NYC next year. But we obviously couldn't be there to see it for ourselves, so we'll trust the transcendent reviews, of what was apparently the greatest show ever, to speak for us:

Rolling Stone's David Fricke writes:

The band that played underneath those memories last night was not the one that misfired at Live Aid in 1985 or again in New York in 1988. This one was rehearsed, ready and out to kill. This band was Led Zeppelin in every way.

Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham the Younger opened their two-hour show with the confident wit and colossal nerve of “Good Times Bad Times,” the first song on Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut album. Even before Plant opened his mouth, the original fury — a surprisingly lean, dub-like crossfire of cannonshot chords, frantic, gulping bass runs and polyrhythmic swagger — was in order and in force.

Ray Bennett writes for The Hollywood Reporter:

Thanking all the people who had come from more than 50 countries, Plant declared, "This is the 51st country" and commenced "Kashmir," which was the song most Led Zeppelin fans said they wanted to hear in a music magazine poll. It left the singer in tears and the audience, which had been long on its feet, hollering for more.

Back onstage, the encore inevitably took the form of "Whole Lotta Love." At the end, Plant saluted Ertegun and Atlantic Records and said good night. It looked like it was all over, but then, Led Zeppelin burst back for a resounding version of "Rock and Roll," leaving the packed house celebrating the extraordinarily good fortune that allowed them to witness it.

Enjoy a video of "Kashmir" below:

 Billboard's Ed Christman reviews the show song by song for the Jaded Insider blog:

"For Your Life," from Presence, is unfurled for the first time in the band's history. Anybody who relegated it to the lower echelons of the Zep workbook are quickly shown how badly mistaken they are. A highlight of the evening.

Read the NME review, and check out Rolling Stone or The Daily Swarm for roundups of other glowing review excerpts. And in the meantime, "Stairway to Heaven" still rocks:

But what do you think? Are the three surviving band members too old and gray to stage a full tour together again? Or do you still want one more chance to see them live?

- Daniel Lehman

Comments

[Dan]

It's the drumming people.
It's one thing to learn a few Bonham licks, that in and of itself is great. But,that's not what Bonham was all about!!
As a drummer myself, it's just not that moving, seems stagnant and crusty!!