[The Firm in LA]

I saw the Firm 3 times if memory serves. Twice in 85' and once in 86'.

 

The first show was March 14, 1985 at the LA Forum. I had seen Page there in 1983 at the Ronnie Lane ARMS show, which was amazing. I still remember that night clearly.

The Firm was solid at the Forum on 85. I remember  Page wearing white pants tucked into leather boots, similar to his outfit  from Day on the Green (day 2 ) in 77'. I also remember  being excited  when he played the red/purple Les Paul #3 that is briefly shown in TSRTS. Back in 85' that was the only video available of Zeppelin, there was no internet,  so we took what we could get. 

By then I had come across the BBC 1969 radio shows Zeppelin did, so I recognized the origins of "Midnight  Moonlight" from `White Summer'. It made me feel like I was in on the secret!

Of course the bow solo was the highlight, although I never thought it got that well with the Firm vibe. He essentially played the same solo as he did in 77', with the haromizer at the beginning  ut without the theremin.

I saw them again a few nights late at the Pacific Amphitheatre is Costa Mesa, Ca. I don't remember  much of that show...just that I had better seats and that they played 'Live in Peace', a song that was not released yet but I had seen the Hammersmith 1984 video so, again, I was in the loop!

In 86 I saw them again at the Pacific  Amphitheatre.  This show was much more the 'Jimmy Page Show'. He played a lot of Zep style extended solos, which was GREAT! I did leave with the feeling that he had grown bored with the band and sure enough he quit before the end of the year. 

I clearly  remember  Chris Slades drum solo with the mirrors over the drums, and Page using a neon light violin bow. Very cool effect.

2 years later I got to see Page again at the Forum on the Outrider tour from about 15 rows back. He SLAYED THAT NIGHT!

 

[The Firm Thread]

On 3/3/2010 at 7:33 AM, ro_a said:

 

So he played the Paul on this tour. Man. I dreamed at night about the Paul in 1984, and thought Jimmy was done with blazing leads forever. To me, the brown tele represented weakness, remorseful sloppy solos with no mids or bottom tonality. I learned tp appreciate the B string bender vocabulary years after he stopped using it. Then I would listen to my 7" of "Together" when no roomates were around to catch me in my moment of sap. Back in the day I would have killed to see Page unleash the Paul. I bought every mag that carried a pic of Live-Aid Page w/Paul. 

From what I remember when I saw The Firm in LA was that he only used the #1 LP for the bow solo. I definitely remember him playing the Puple #3 Les Paul at the end of the 1985 Forum show. 

[Jason's double bass pedal]

On 9/2/2015 at 5:39 PM, Moddey Dhoo said:

Hopefully someone out there has heard the same tthing I heard. I am a guitarist not a drummer, but I have never heard anything like this before. It is on the LZ DVD, disc #2, select interviews and promos, then select promos. The'fillersong' here is The Song Remains the Same. Bonzo is incredible on this! I have never heard him play this fast before! No overdubbing has been done on this version. 

Two questions for you drummers, could this be double bass drums? The footage is to grainy to tell? 

Second question, when and where was this concert and is there a soundboard recording of it?

Thanks, I have always been intrigued by just this very small snippit of perfection, it's a shame it wasn't of better quality so as to be used in the DVD in its entirety.?

That clip is from the LA Forum, June 21rst 1977. It is from the famous bootleg "Listen to this Eddie". 

As for double bass drums Bonham used them for a few shows in the Summer of 1969, but never again. He was just that good!

[Jason's double bass pedal]

Jason, God luv him, is a very modern sounding drummer. He plays like a lot of guys who came up in the 80's, double pedal and all.

Now before I make this next comment let me say that to me Jason is the ONLY drummer who should ever be allowed to play those songs under the Led Zeppelin name. He is a 'Made Man' in my book. He is family to the other guys and has Bonham blood in his veins. I met him at NAMM a few weeks after the 02 and he was super cool.

(I do think that Chad Smith would have been a great choice. Not Dave Grohl. Smith has the funky feel needed for Zeppelin)

But know this...at the O2 he didn't play any of the famous John Bonham drum licks that made JB so famous. Outside of the broken bass drum triplets there was NOT ONE. None of the LRB linear fills. None of the 77' snare rolls. The "Rock and Roll" intro was wack! None of the "top 10 Bonzo fills' that guys like Bonzoleum teach. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS5At65PSnU).

The drum sound was very modern (not really his fault) but what really bummed me out was the use of the trashy sounding Zildjian ride. That sound was very hip in 2007 (trashy rides had more high frequency sizzle). He plays Paiste 2002's now like Bonzo did from 77 on. I really wish he had pulled out the Ludwig Green Sparkle kit and the old cymbals that Pat Bonham still has at her house. 

It looks like in recent years he has added some of those Bonzo trademark parts, but there was none of it at 02.

Anyway, that's my "how many drummers needed to change a light bulb" rant.