Just goes to show if you're determined enough, you can sneak in anywhere no matter how heavy the security. There's a guy that is infamous for always being able to crash the Oscars, the Grammys, Super Bowl Parties, whatever. Then there's those publicity whores who got into that Barack Obama dinner a couple of years ago. I, myself, have managed to scam my way in to some exclusive events. Of course, the risk and drawback to all this is that if you're caught, you'll be pounded by security.

P.S. Before I get flamed, I am aware there are quite a few women...and hipsters...who enjoy sports as well as "reality" tv.

Rick, you missed the point of my thread. I wasn't comparing one sport to another, I was espousing my love for sports in general, whether that be football, tennis, basketball, surfing or whatever sport you enjoy. I could have just as easily used the example of the St. Louis Cardinals comeback win against the Texas Rangers in last year's World Series...or the New York Giants upset over the undefeated New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl or North Carolina State's last-second victory over Houston in the 1983 NCAA Championships or Kerri Strug's unbelievable vault while injured to seal the Gold Medal for the U.S. in the Summer Olympics. It just so happened that I was moved to write this thread today with Manchester City's win fresh on my mind, but it's actually a case for all athletic endeavors. No matter how many hipsters or women sneer or roll their eyes at my love of sports, I'm not going to give it up. I'm certainly not going to let someone who watches "reality tv" affect my desire to enjoy athletic competition. As for Major Major not knowing who the Dallas Cowboys are, maybe he does maybe he doesn't. Given his British impish nature, I suspect he may be taking the piss knowing how easy it is to wind you up. Besides, the world of sports has been cross-pollinated for so long now, that it is possible to know more about foreign sports than ever before. The Glazer family of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also involved with Manchester United and a Russian Billionaire owns the New Jersey Nets(soon to be Brooklyn's Nets). And for your information, ALL of yesterday's Regulation Sunday games in the English Premier League were available to watch on American TV...although for some reason, Fox chose to call it Survival Sunday. Besides, it doesn't matter how popular soccer is in the U.S. This is a site for Led Zeppelin, a British band, and I wager there's a pretty good number of Brits on this board. And I'm sure a fair number of them had an interest in Relegation Sunday.

When you are into sports, you are frequently asked by women...and by a few men, too...why you bother to watch a bunch of overpaid spoiled men playing a kid's game. Yesterday's incredible Manchester City vs. Queens Park Rangers game is all the evidence you need to refute the "sports are a waste of time" naysayers. Forget for a moment all that was on the line with this game...the EPL title for either Man City or Man U; relegation for QPR if they lost. In fact, Relegation Sunday is one of the great days in all of sports, and it is something I sometimes wish American baseball would consider. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A04pILjNyf8&feature=youtube_gdata_player How can you not be moved by that outpouring of joy and emotion? Even without all the drama of the final day of the season attached to the game, it was the aesthetics and sheer improbable lunacy of the game itself that reinforced my devotion and appreciation for the thrill that is athletic competition. First, there is the wonder and glory of watching the human body in motion. Forget computers...to my mind, the inner workings of a computer can't compare to what goes on with the human brain when it comes to firing up the body's muscles and tissues and setting it in motion. There are few sights as exhilarating to me as seeing the human form in athletic endeavor...the grace and the power. One recalls the great Shakespeare monologue from "Hamlet": "What a piece of work is man!" Then, there is the unpredictable and unscripted nature of sport itself. In a world of increasing mediocrity and bland predictabilty and faux-drama masquerading as "reality", sports are one of the few things left that are unpredictable and the fickle finger of fate and chance are always in play. No matter how great something is, every time you read a book or watch a play or a movie, the narrative remains the same. Romeo and Juliet die. The Titanic sinks. Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry get hit by the train. Thelma and Louise drive off the cliff. In sports, the outcome is not predetermined. There exists still in sport the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat...that heightened sense of electricity surging within you when the outcome is in doubt. You feel "alive". Sports is a joy and it is also a release...a pressure valve, especially in this modern world...and I make no apologies for my love of sports.

You're a lucky man...I always wished I could have been old enough to see the 1971 tour as that is one of my favourite years of Led Zeppelin. They seemed to be "ON" every night that year...and "Celebration Day" always floors me the way they played it that year, with Jimmy using the double-neck and Jones and Bonham going berserk on the rhythm. Plus, I believe Liverpool is one of the few times Led Zeppelin played the "Theme from Shaft" during "Dazed and Confused"...am I right? I wish they would have kept the "Shaft" jam a little longer...at least through 1972, so that I could have heard it, hehe.

I'm not going to lie...I have a sinking feeling about tonight's Laker vs. OKC game. I think Oklahoma will bury the Lakers...a 10+ point winning margin at least. After needlessly being extended to 7 games by Denver, the Lakers come to Oklahoma on a short turnaround with old, tired legs. Baby Bynum and Gasol rarely play consecutive great games, so after playing well in game 7 I don't expect much from them tonight...especially being on the road. The bench sucks(what the fuck happened to Matt Barnes?) and who knows when World Peace is gonna blow his top again? On top of all that, we have the richly ironic circumstance of the steady, tough leadership of Derek Fisher that the Lakers used to have now being in Oklahoma's locker room. You know D-Fish is looking forward to raining big 3's on the Lakers. Right now, Kobe Bryant is the only Laker that I can count on to show up motivated every game. But this isn't 26-year-old Kobe...this is old Kobe, a Kobe who has already surpassed Michael Jordan in minutes played in his career. How much juice is left in those legs of his? The NBA schedule makers also didn't do the Lakers any favours by scheduling games 3 and 4 back-to-back Friday and Saturday. I pick Oklahoma in 5 games. As a Laker fan, I hate the Spurs...hey, they're our rivals, it comes with the territory. Like hating the Celtics. That said, as much as I want the Clippers to beat the Spurs, with Paul and Griffin not 100%, the odds are slim. San Antonio is a team that rarely beats themselves. They are grounded and execute their game plan well. The L.A. Clippers on the other hand, are still a young and inconsistent team. Plus, there's word that the players don't always see eye-to-eye with their coach Vinny Del Negro. Which is not the state-of-mind you want to have when going up against San Antonio, whose players would fall on their bayonets and take a grenade for their coach, the ever unflappable Greg Popovich. San Antonio Spurs beat the LA Clippers in 5, maybe 4 games. The Eastern Conference I care less about, ever since god or David Stern or whoever decided to tilt the field in Miami's favour by having so many game-changing injuries affect Miami's rivals in the East, basically gift-wrapping the Conference title to the Heat. Indiana has no chance against Miami...even if Bosh is out the rest of the series. The proud and ancient Boston Celtics are the only team left in the East that has a puncher's chance of stopping the Heat. As you might surmise from that statement, I don't put much stock in Philadelphia's chances of beating the Celtics. This year is the Celtics Big Three of Pierce, Garnett and Allen's final stand. Nope, it'll be Boston vs. Miami in the Eastern Conference finals and San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals.

Why so perplexed?

Mayve if it was 1976-77. I have a bootleg video of Stereolab playing the Cat's Cradle in 1996, and henceforth, I've always been curious about the place and hope to eventually see a show there. We are now in the 5th month of the year and I have only seen 10 concerts...I must be slowing down in my old age. Fortunately I'm picking up the pace...saw Jack White and his new band The Peacocks play the Mayan the last day of April(amazing as always) and I'm booked for at least 4 concerts this month, beginning tonight. May 12: Brian Jonestown Massacre @ the Wiltern This will be my 13th Brian Jonestown Massacre show. Lucky 13. The last time I saw BJM was 2005 or 2006, when they played a spectacularly psychedelic set, including a nearly 30-minute jam on "Sailor"...and I wasn't even on drugs. So it's been a good long 6 years or so and I'm curious as to how the band sounds now...or even who is in the band( besides Anton of course) given the revolving-door nature of BJM. I just hope Tambourine Man extraordinaire Joel Gion is still manning his post. I don't know anything about the opening band Blue Angel Lounge. But then, it doesn't matter as I am seeing a movie first, then going to the concert, so I will miss the opening bands.

At this point I'm rooting(good thing I'm not in Australia) for the Clippers more than the Lakers. Andrew Bynum has me so disgusted that I think I want Denver to win so the Lakers will be forced to blow this team up and start over. The Kobe-era is winding down and I don't even want to contemplate a Bynum-era. Shudder. Rest assured, if Denver does win game 7 tonight, it will get ugly here in Lakerland. It's one thing to lose in the Conference finals to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks...BUT to get knocked out in the first round by the likes of JaVale McGee and the Nuggets would be SHAMEFUL!!! I know one thing...I won't be watching the game tonight. At least not live. I'm going to two events tonight: a Robert Bresson movie at 7:30pm and after that, the Brian Jonestown Massacre concert. If I make it through the night without hearing the score, I'll watch the game on tivo. If not, I'll just catch the highlights on ESPN later. Would love the Clippers to advance...their fans have suffered enough.

Unless you're a Cubs fan, hehe. Actually, I shouldn't talk with the way the Angels are going lately. 2002 seems oh so long ago...indeed it's been 10 years since our moment of glory. Those days are over.

Sounds good but Jagger will probably ask him to lose weight before he can play with the Stones again. Tickets will be $1000.

Greg Allman is appearing next Tuesday at the American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre in Santa Monica...his only scheduled appearance in conjunction with his book. http://americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/live-talks-la-an-evening-with-gregg-allman Gregg Allman In Person! Live Talks LA: An Evening with Gregg Allman Presented by Live Talks Los Angeles and Co-Presenting Media Sponsors KPCC and KCET The one and only Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, shares his triumphant and tragic life story with Live Talks Los Angeles - his only national stage appearance in conjunction with the publication of his memoir 'My Cross To Bear.' Allman's soulful and distinctive voice is one of the defining sounds in the history of American music. At this year’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the Allman Brothers Band was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, and Low Country Blues received a nomination for Best Blues Album. Allman will be in conversation with music journalist Alan Light. Tickets only available at www.livetalksla.org . $21 for Cinematheque fans. Use promo code CINEMATHEQUE. 75 min. Aero Theatre • Tue, May 15 • 8:00pm

The Dallas setlist was as follows: "The Song Remains the Same" "The Rover intro-Sick Again" "Nobody's Fault but Mine" "In My Time of Dying" "Since I've Been Loving You" "No Quarter" "Ten Years Gone" "Battle of Evermore" "Going to California" "Black Country Woman" "Bron-y-aur Stomp" "White Summer/Black Mountainside" "Kashmir" "Over the Top/Moby Dick" Jimmy's solo "Achilles Last Stand" "Stairway to Heaven" Encores: "Black Dog" "Rock and Roll"

Got any pics from Hong Kong Juliet or Walter? I've seen the Lady GG three times(2 times on her own and once at a benefit with Yoko Ono), and she does what a pop star is supposed to do: put on a fun and glitzy show. She still comes across as a little too derivative of Madonna sometimes, but Madonna is a little long in the tooth to be "Madonna" these days, so Lady GaGa gives this generation of kids a more viable pop alternative than dreck like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry, Jonas Bros., Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, and Nikki Minaj. I hope to take my nieces when GaGa tours L.A. again. Madonna will always be my #1, though.

You got ripped off then...it's nowhere NEAR that long.

Both Blake and CP3 hurting...the Clippers Curse lives. Re the Lakers: I'm so tired of Andrew Baby's bullshit that I'm nearly at the point of not caring if they win or not. Further cementing my point that no matter how many titles Kobe wins, his Laker teams will never be as beloved as the Magic teams.

Well it's not that long...only 15 seconds or so I think.

Jered Weaver's no-hitter has been the only highlight of the Angels season so far. And may well remain so for the rest of the year. I swear I looked at the roster the other night and 4 of our starter's batting averages were around the Mendoza line...including the $240 million man, Pujols. Good for the Weaver kid, though. I always figured he'd be great and I think he'll pitch a couple more no-hitters before he's through. Whether he's still pitching for the Angels when he does is another matter. Thank god I've got the NBA Playoffs to distract me from the Angels miserable beginning. Oh wait...the Lakers are in trouble against Denver and Bynum is once again acting a fool and disgracing the Lakers. Hmmmm...how about those LA Kings? GO KINGS!!!

Tape flip. He was recording on cassettes not reel-to-reel.

I don't BELIEVE that at all. Knowing how the Glimmer Twins felt about Led Zeppelin, the idea is preposterous that Mick and Keef would consider Zeppelin their "equals" and be subservient and share the stage with them. Everybody's buddy Ronnie Wood or Keith Moon...yes. But not aristocratic jet-setter Mick. As for whether there was a second encore on May 30, 1977 Landover...didn't Rick aka LedZeppFan77 go to this gig? He should be able to provide the answer...unless he was one of those types to leave early to "beat the traffic".

Well, your "correction" is still wrong. The last LA show in 1973 was June 3...and that was the end of the first leg of the tour. The second leg didn't start until July so I doubt the band was anywhere near LA on June 25, 1973. From the sound of Jimmy's guitar, Bonham's drums and Percy's voice, I say it's more likely this tape is 1973 and not 1975. In fact, I'd wager my complete Zeppelin album collection and say it's not 1975. I laugh at people who say it can't be 1973 because some song or another was on Physical Graffiti, which came out in 1975. THIS is a band who played "Whole Lotta Love" months before the song was released. In fact, on three consecutive tours of the U.S. from 1970 to 1972, Led Zeppelin played multiple songs from albums that were months away from being completed. This was also a band that would extrapolate song ideas from jams they did in concert: i.e. the riff of Whole Lotta Love from How Many More Times and Achilles Last Stand from the "San Francisco"part of Dazed and Confused. So why would it be far-fetched to think the band would be working on some new riffs and song ideas in 1973? A rehearsal in 1974 is an interesting and feasible idea...but I repeat, I'd wager my entire Zeppelin collection and say it's not 1975.

Can't wait for both the book and Demme's "Neil Young's Journeys". Neil Young has always remained in my All-time Top 10 while others have fallen...I'm looking at you Pink Floyd and the Doors.

Yeah, not only is it a poorly worded and conceived poll, but, as The Rover pointed out, this matter has already been addressed in a superior fashion here before. If you're going to bump a thread, at least bump the right one.

When MCA didn't make the HOF ceremony, I kind of prepared myself that the end might be closer than I realized. Still...when I heard the news last night, it hit with a shock. The Beastie Boys were a giant part of my musical life in the 80s and 90s, so it's going to take some time to process this sad news before I can write anything. The Beasties might have sprung from New York but after recording "Paul's Boutique" in Los Angeles, they were a major presence and cultural force in L.A. Adam Yauch and the BBs were such a force of life it is hard to think of any of them being gone at such a young age...Adam was two years younger than me. What a terrible loss. This sucks. Here's a nice appreciation written by Randall Roberts in today's L.A. TTimes http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/05/an-appreciation-age-wisdom-tamed-beastie-boy-adam-yauch.html