**** PRESS REVIEWS HERE ****

[The Rover]

Please Post any Press Review you find here. Let's make this Press reviews ONLY for this Thread. Audience Reviews are being done in another Thread....

Here's a Link to the Tyler Bell Site with some Links compiled for the Press reviews:

http://blog.tylerbell.net/2007/12/11/led-z...eunion-reviews/

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ALSO.... please keep in mind that many regionaland local newspapers may be publishing reviews done by larger papers..... so we don't need to post the same NY Times Review, again and again!!!

I'm going to post my review with Font Size # 2, to make it a little easier to read . . .

And, I'm going to use the "Black" Color option, as well....

It is so much easier on the eyes that way !!

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First I'll post the NME Review:

http://www.nme.com/news/led-zeppelin/33079

Led Zeppelin reunion: the review

The first opinion from NME.COM's critic at the O2 Arena

4 hours ago

You might think it couldn't possibly live up to expectation but, it transpires, the opposite is in fact true of Led Zeppelin's first public appearance in 19 years.

They seem buoyed by the deafening roars that greet their every twitch tonight - everyone present in the O2 Arena is willing their performance to the realms of greatness. It's almost impossible to be subjective, to not be sucked in.

It takes plant three songs before he offers a cursory "good evening". By the time they've blasted through an incendiary 'Good Times Bad Times', a dramatic 'Ramble On' and the stop start rhythms of Black Dog'. He needn't say anything.

Next They launch into 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' and Zep are smiling at each other, only occupying about six foot of the enormous stage. You wouldn't believe this is a band who haven't played together for so long.

They do No Quarter' and they're locked in as tight as if it were the 1970s. Only the close ups on the screen at the back give away their advanced years.

Launchomh into a version of 'Dazed And Confused' that seems to last forever but every last second is enthralling.

Jimmy Page is lit up by lasers and at the song's climax Robert Plant yells out "Jimmy Page on electric guitar!" in a moment the resonates right back to their first heyday.

'Stairway To Heaven' follows. Ridiculous in many ways yet it is a song that everyone present thought was fated to only be performed by dodgy pub covers bands and not again by its creators.

Jimmy has the double headed guitar, bassist John Paul Jones is sat at a keyboard and Plant - contrary to the pre-gig rumours is singing beautifully.

Playing this well known classic proves a shrewd move as it gently reminds everyone present just which, giant-sized rock band they're dealing with.

The final half an hour is comprised of songs so omnipresent it's hard to make any sort of tangible judgement.

'Kashmir' finishes the main set sounding incredible the band take a bow and they're gone.

Rapturous applause follows as you might expect but its nothing compared to the sheer mania that greets the first encore song 'Whole Lotta Love'. Not many bands have one of those, you see.

The middle section veers into space rock territory any young band would be proud of and when that riff returns its well you know how it goes.

Then Led Zep blast through a second encoure of 'Rock And Roll' - paying tribute to their old mentor and the reason this concert is taking place, Ahmet Ertegun, on the way - and, well again... you know how it goes.

If there were sceptics here tonight - there weren't but just for the sake of argument consider it - Led Zeppelin silenced them and banished any rotten memories of their shambolic Live Aid reunion.

More importantly though, what they have done here tonight is prove they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation.

We can only hope this isn't the last we see of them.

Hamish MacBain, NME Live Editor

Led Zeppelin played:

'Good Times Bad Times'

'Ramble On'

'Black Dog'

'In My Time Of Dying'

'For Your Life'

'Trampled Under Foot'

'Nobody's Fault But Mine'

'No Quarter'

'Since I've Been Loving You'

'Dazed And Confused'

'Stairway To Heaven'

'The Song Remains The Same'

'Misty Mountain Hop'

'Kashmir'

'Whole Lotta Love'

'Rock And Roll'

A longer review will appear in next week's issue of NME.

[SteveAJones]

The Guardian

Led Zeppelin

London 02 Arena

Alexis Petridis

Tuesday December 11, 2007

In his musical memoir 31 Songs, the author Nick Hornby recalls seeing Led Zeppelin live in 1975, during their legendary five-night residency at Earls Court.

At the time, Led Zeppelin were unequivocally the biggest band in the world: two years previously, they had smashed attendance records set by the Beatles across America - but according to Hornby at least, the experience was so unedifying, so preposterously self-indulgent that he felt compelled to "nip out" of the show during one extended instrumental interlude, went to a nearby pub, enjoyed a pint and a game of pool and returned to find Led Zeppelin still soloing away.

Hornby's tale offers a salutary reminder that the band's return to live performance after 27 years might not necessarily be a source of unalloyed delight, the phrase he uses to describe their performance is "a bit boring" - but it would be brave soul indeed who dared offer such an opinion tonight.

Depending on whose estimate you believe, somewhere between 20 million and 200 million people attempted to avail themselves of tickets for this show: the 18,000 who succeeded are understandably not in the mood for anything more complicated than worship.

The three remaining members and Jason Bonham, deputising on drums for his late father, take the stage to a reception so ecstatic that a cynical voice might suggest they may as well immediately turn round and go home, their performance having clearly been taken as read.

That cynical voice might belong to singer Robert Plant, whose own career is positively blooming: his recent album with country singer Alison Krauss is the most acclaimed of his post-Zeppelin works and who has given every impression of taking part in the reunion solely because it commemorates the band's former label boss and mentor, the late Ahmet Ertegun, and much against his better judgment.

Resolutely downbeat amid the frenzy, he has described the show as a chance "to go out there and say look, we're not immortal, this is how it could be. This is it, do you really want this?"

If nothing else, you could never accuse him of adding to the mountain of hype surrounding the band's re-formation. He certainly doesn't perform like a man entertaining serious doubts about anything - for all the pre-emptive discussion in the media about his inability to hit the notes he once could, Plant sounds fantastic, and retains an utterly magnetic and startlingly lithe presence on stage, kicking his microphone stand to the ground, dancing with a rather cheering abandon, even setting aside his celebrated distaste for the band's most famous and overblown song and having a stab at Stairway to Heaven.

But watching Led Zeppelin, it's hard not to wonder if the frontman's reticence isn't fuelling the other members of the band. Their previous reunions have been brief and shambolic: a rotten set at Live Aid, an under-rehearsed appearance at a record label birthday party.

Tonight, however, after a tentative, feedback-scarred opener of Good Times Bad Times, it's difficult to believe this is a band who have barely played together for the best part of three decades. They sound awesomely tight.

The riff that powers In My Time Of Dying is authentically churning and queasy, Ramble On sounds not like a song that's been brought out of mothballs for a benefit concert but wrigglingly, obscenely alive; Trampled Underfoot's conjunction of jittering funk and squealing, metallic guitar seems more bizarre and beguiling than ever.

Page in particular has been open about his desire to make the reunion more than a one-off arrangement and you rather get the feeling they're attempting to bring Plant round to the idea by the sheer force of their playing: even Dazed And Confused's lengthy passages of feedback seem less like the po-faced indulgence of a self-important guitar god than something rather thrilling and experimental.

Whether Plant is won round in the long term remains to be seen, but for last night at least, it seems to do the trick. His between song-patter remains self-deprecating: "this is a song we first heard in about 1932", but at particularly intense moments, the three of them huddle together before Jason Bonham's drum riser. There's even an argument to suggest that the reformed Led Zeppelin might be slightly leaner. The kind of excesses that once sent Hornby scuttling off in search of a nearby solo-free hostelry have been trimmed out of necessity: as Page has pointed out, it's almost physically impossible for men in their 60s to play three and a half hour sets. Depending on your perspective, that's a pity or an unexpected bonus of old age. Either way, anyone nipping out last night would have missed something faintly remarkable.

[SteveAJones]

Sydney Morning Herald

December 11, 2007

Legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin opened their first public concert in nearly two decades on Monday with a mesmerizing light show and Good Times Bad Times to 20,000 fans from around the world.

Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones were joined by John Bonham's son Jason on the drums for the one-off comeback, although there has been fevered speculation that the gig may be followed by a full-scale tour.

After showing news footage comparing Led Zeppelin, who created Stairway to Heaven, to the Beatles in terms of impact and following, the stage came alive and Jason Bonham pounded out the opening salvo as flashing lights pierced the darkness.

"In the days of my youth; I was told what it was to be a man; Now I've reached the age; I've tried to do all those things the best I can; No matter how I try; I find my way to do the same old jam," the band belted out to an adoring crowd who cheered every bar and beat.

The three surviving members of the hugely successful 1970s group, also known worldwide for Whole Lotta Love, have rarely performed together since splitting in 1980 after the death of drummer Bonham following a drinking binge.

By their own admission, each reunion was a shambles, so anticipation ahead of the set at London's O2 Arena was high.

"Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," 63-year-old Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

Led Zeppelin sold more than 300 million albums and were legendary for their rock 'n 'roll excess, but their popularity is also attributed to the influence the music had on later acts.

When organizers announced the concert the Web site selling tickets crashed as more than a million people rushed for about 20,000 seats. One man from Scotland entered a charity auction last month and paid $170,000 for a pair of tickets to the show.

Steve D'Onofrio, a 17-year-old from New York accompanied by his mother Ellen, applied for tickets online having fallen in love with the band's music several years ago.

"I'm a huge classic rock fan from the music mum and dad played," he told Reuters on his way to the gig in southeast London. "I wasn't a Led Zeppelin fan until I was about the age of 10. I started listening and everything they did was amazing."

They arrived in London on Saturday and had a flight back to the United States on Tuesday.

Net profits from the concert will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund which provides scholarships for gifted children.

The Turkish-born music promoter and record label founder died last year aged 83 after slipping backstage at a concert by the Rolling Stones and going into a coma.

As well as Led Zeppelin and the Stones, Ertegun and his Atlantic Records helped launched the careers of acts ranging from Ray Charles to Aretha Franklin.

He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1923. His father, a lawyer, served as Turkish ambassador in Switzerland, France, England and the United States.

Reuters

[The Rover]

The NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/ar...ppelin.html?hp

Led Zeppelin Finds Its Old Power

By BEN RATLIFF

Published: December 10, 2007

LONDON, Dec. 10 -- Some rock bands accelerate their tempos when they play their old songs decades after the fact. Playing fast is a kind of armor: a refutation of the plain fact of aging, all that unregainable enthusiasm and lost muscle mass, and a hard block against an old band's lessened cultural importance.

But Led Zeppelin slowed its down a little. At the O2 arena here on Monday night, in its first full concert since 1980 -- without John Bonham, who died that year, but with Bonham's son Jason as a natural substitute -- the band found much of its old power in tempos that were more graceful than those on the old live recordings. The speed of the songs ran closer to those on the group's old studio records, or slower yet. Good Times Bad Times,Misty Mountain Hop, and Whole Lotta Love were confident, easy cruises; Dazed and Confused was a glorious doom-crawl.

It all goes back to the blues, in which oozing gracefully is a virtue, and from which Led Zeppelin initially got half its ideas. Its singer, Robert Plant, doesn’t want you to forget that fact: he introduced Trampled Underfoot by explaining its connection to Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blues, and mentioned Blind Willie Johnson as the inspiration for Nobody's Fault But Mine. (Beyond that, the band spent 10 luxuriant minutes each in two other blues songs from its back catalog --Since I Been Loving You and In My Time of Dying).

Ahmet Ertegun, the dedicatee of the concert, would have been satisfied, sure as he was of the centrality of southern black music to American culture. Ertegun, who died last year, signed Led Zeppelin to Atlantic Records; the show was a one-off benefit for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which will offer music students scholarships to universities in the United States, England, and Turkey, his homeland.

By the end of Zeppelin’s two-hour-plus show, it was already hard to remember that anyone else had been on the bill. But the band was preceded by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings--a good-timey rhythm-and-blues show with revolving singers including Paolo Nutini and Albert Lee, as well as a few songs each by Paul Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company) and Foreigner -- all of whom had recorded for Atlantic under Ertegun.

There was a kind of loud serenity about Led Zeppelin's set. It was well-rehearsed, for one thing: planning and rehearsals have been underway since May. The band wore mostly black clothes, instead of its old candy-colored wardrobe. Unlike Mick Jagger, Mr. Plant -- the youngest of the original members, at 59 -- doesn't walk and gesture like an excited woman anymore. Some of the top of his voice has gone, but except for one attempted and failed high note in Stairway to Heaven ("there walks a la-dy we all know{hellip}"), he found other melodic routes to suit him. He was authoritative; he was dignified.

As for Mr. Page, his guitar solos weren't as frenetic and articulated as they used to be, but that only drove home the point that they were always secondary to the riffs, which on Monday were enormous, nasty, glorious. (He did produce a violin bow for his solo on Dazed and Confused, during that song's great, spooky middle section.)

John Paul Jones's bass lines got a little lost in the hall's acoustics -- like all such places, the 22,000-seat O2 Arena is rough on low frequencies -- but he was thoroughly in the pocket with Mr. Bonham; when he sat down to play keyboards on Kashmir and No Quarter and a few others, he simultaneously operated bass pedals with his feet, keeping to that same far-behind-the-beat groove.

And what of Jason Bonham, the big question mark of what has been there's no way to prove this scientifically, but let's just round it off -- the most anticipated rock reunion in an era full of them? He is an expert in his father's beats, an encyclopedia of all their variations on all the existing recordings. And apart from a few small places where he added a few strokes, he stuck to the sound and feel of the original. The smacks of the snare drum didn't have exactly the same timbre, that barbarous, reverberant sound. But as the show got into its second hour and a few of the sound problems were gradually corrected, you found yourself not worrying about it anymore. It was all working.

Led Zeppelin has semi-reunited a few times in the past, with not much success: short, problematic sets at Live Aid in 1985, and at Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary concert in 1988. But this was a reunion that the band had invested in, despite the fact that there are no plans yet for a future tour; among its 16 songs was one the band had never played live before: For Your Life, from the album Presence.

The excitement in the hall felt extreme, and genuine; the crowd roars between encores were ravenous. At the end of it all, as the three original members took a bow, Mr. Bonham knelt before them and genuflected.

[SteveAJones]

The International Herald

Led Zeppelin returns to stage after 19 years with London concert

The Associated Press

Published: December 11, 2007

LONDON: The newest member of Led Zeppelin was given the honor of kicking off the band's reunion Monday night, pounding out the beat before the surviving founders joined in on a near-perfect "Good Times Bad Times."

After the lights went down at London's O2 Arena, newsreel footage of a 1973 performance in Tampa, Florida, was projected onstage. With thousands of fans worked into a frenzy, drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late John Bonham, began thumping the skittering beat, soon to be joined by guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.

The song, rarely played live in the band's heyday, proved a perfect starting point for this performance:

"In days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man," sang Plant, showing no trouble reproducing his trademark wail at 59. "Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can. ... No matter how I try, I find my way to the same old jam."

While Page and Bonham both sported sunglasses, Plant mercifully kept his button-down shirt buttoned up.

Today in Culture

At fairs by the beach, the sands of creativityLed Zeppelin returns to stage after 19 years with London concertBook Review: Under a microscope, Bush and his presidencyZeppelin returned for the benefit show to play its first full set since 1980, the year John Bonham died after choking on his own vomit. Robbed of "Bonzo's" pulsing drums, the band decided it could not go on and split up on Dec. 4, 1980.

Now, with an estimated 20 million fans vying for tickets pared down to a lucky 18,000 or so — including one who paid 83,000 pounds (US$168,500; €115,000) for his pair — most of the rest are hoping for more tour dates.

But Plant — with his screeching, often unintelligible lyrics leading the way during the band's 12 years and eight studio albums — may be the toughest of the three to be convinced that it is a good idea to go on tour.

"The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about," the 59-year-old Page told The Sunday Times leading up to the performance.

That certainly will not be music to the ears of millions of fans who are hoping to hear "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Kashmir" in concert again. Plant, who recently released a successful album with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, did give an indication that this may not be the last of Led Zeppelin, however.

"It wouldn't be such a bad idea to play together from time to time," Plant added.

Monday's concert was not the first Led Zeppelin reunion, but it was surely the biggest. The band played together in 1985 at Live Aid, and joined forces again three years later — with Jason Bonham on drums — to play at the 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records.

At their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1995, they teamed up with other musicians for another short set.

Priced at 125 pounds (US$250, €175), tickets have been selling on the Internet for 1,000 pounds (US$2,000, €1400) or more.

Kenneth Donnell, 25, said he paid 83,000 pounds (US$168,500; €115,000) his tickets from British Broadcasting Corp. radio's "Things That Money Can't Buy" charity auction last month.

"I was gutted that I was not born in the 1960s and able to see Led Zeppelin in the 1970s like my dad," Donnell told The Sunday Times.

Monday's show is dedicated to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. Proceeds from the show are to go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships to universities in the United States, Britain and Turkey.

The show was originally scheduled for Nov. 26, but was postponed until Monday because Page injured the little finger on his left hand.

[Mr E]

The Daily Telegraph:

Led Zeppelin: Then it got better still

David Cheal reviews Led Zeppelin at the O2 arena

"I must be one of the happiest 18,000 people in the world today," said a middle-aged man on the London Underground yesterday afternoon. And with good reason: he had a ticket to the big one. Twenty-seven years after they disbanded, Led Zeppelin were back together, for one night in London, in what was surely the most feverishly anticipated reunion gig of all time - a concert for which millions around the world applied for tickets.

Brought back together to honour Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of their record company, Atlantic Records, who died last year, Zeppelin promised that this would be just a one-off appearance, to raise money for an educational fund.

And as the lucky critic who was handed this dream ticket, I have to say that I was in my own fever of anticipation in the days building up to the big event: anxiety dreams clouded my sleep - what if they turned out to be not-very-good, or only played three songs? - while my waking hours were distracted by the thought that soon, I'd be watching the greatest band in the world on stage.

Well, three of them: on the drum-stool, Jason Bonham was replacing his dad John, whose death from a vodka binge in 1980 marked the end of the road for Zeppelin as a group. For a rock fan, and a writer who has covered some big shows over the past 20 years, gigs don't get any bigger.

But could it possibly live up to the expectation? Well: I was blown away.

The first song, Good Times, Bad Times, dispelled all fears. The familiar old sinew and swagger were still there, singer Robert Plant's voice seeming untouched by age, guitarist Jimmy Page, his hair now almost white, firing off little solos that were a taste of things to come, John Paul Jones's bass twisting and driving, Jason Bonham's drums crisp and powerful.

I felt a little sorry for the string of support acts who had warmed up the crowd - star names such as Bill Wyman, Keith Emerson, Paul Rodgers and Foreigner, but whose contributions were immediately swept away like dust in the breeze by the awesome foursome.

Then it got better. Ramble On was just sensational, and the crowd, hitherto a little subdued, began to wake up and shout. The band's body language spoke volumes: they were watching each other, playing to each other, smiling: they were a group.

Then it got better still: Black Dog. Byzantine riff, pulverising drums, hollering vocals. Magic. And no sign of Jimmy Page's finger injury that had caused the gig to be delayed. "Good evening," said Plant.

How much better could it get? Here's how much: In My Time of Dying, driven by such a dark, filthy, shivery blues riff, the electrifying change of pace, drums and guitar locked into a sensational groove. It scarcely seemed possible that a group could be this good.

Trampled Underfoot was a reminder that Zeppelin were fusing funk and rock 20 years before the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and that John Paul Jones is a great keyboard player.

And Nobody's Fault But Mine was a reminder that, contrary to myth, Zeppelin were - are - not a heavy metal band, not a prog-rock band, but a band who played and loved the blues, were electrified by it, and in turn electrified it.

And so it went on: they never flagged, although the crowd seemed a bit limp at times. Bonham was astonishing: he didn't just lock into Jones's base grooves - he played off against the guitar and the vocals. He was listening. And they had clearly done a lot of rehearsing.

I could go on but I'm running out of space. Dazed and Confused! Since I've Been Loving You! Stairway to Heaven! They were fantastic. Better than I expected.

It was a joy and a privilege to be there.

Link

[SteveAJones]

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=102073

ABS-CBN

(UPDATE) Led Zeppelin returns with rocking London reunion

Reuters

LONDON - British band Led Zeppelin blasted their way through more than two hours of high-octane rock and roll on Monday, turning back time on a night of passion and nostalgia.

The quartet had a crowd of around 20,000 at London's 02 Arena calling for more at the end of 16 tracks ranging from their most famous numbers to less familiar fare.

Many fans went away ecstatic, some even saying Led Zeppelin sounded better than in their hell-raising heyday of the 1970s.

"I saw them a couple of times in the 70s, and I think they were actually better," said John, a fiftysomething fan. "The quality of the sound was so crap back then."

There were none of the tight trousers and open shirts of the old days and the instrumentalists were largely static through the non-stop set.

But lead singer Robert Plant, 59, strutted his way through "Good Times Bad Times" to kick off one of the most eagerly-anticipated concerts in recent years.

"In the days of my youth; I was told what it was to be a man; Now I've reached the age; I've tried to do all those things the best I can; No matter how I try; I find my way to do the same old jam," Plant sang to a crowd cheering every bar and beat.

A grey-haired Jimmy Page, 63, reminded the world why he is considered one of the lead guitar greats, while John Paul Jones, 61, showed his versatility jumping from bass to keyboards.

Completing the quartet was Jason Bonham on drums. His father John died in 1980 after a drinking binge, prompting the demise of a group that has sold more than 300 million albums and influenced countless bands since.

Led Zeppelin played old favorites "Stairway to Heaven," "Kashmir" and "Whole Lotta Love" as well as less well-known tracks like "In My Time of Dying" and "For Your Life," which they performed live for the first time.

High demand

Monday's concert was the first full set Led Zeppelin had played since 1979, according to music magazine NME, which gave the group a glowing review.

"If there were skeptics here tonight -- there weren't but just for the sake of argument consider it -- Led Zeppelin silenced them and banished any rotten memories of their shambolic Live Aid reunion (in 1985)," it said.

Monday's concert, a charity tribute to Ahmet Ertegun who signed the band in 1968, has led to fevered speculation that a full comeback tour could be on the cards.

"Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

When organizers announced the concert the Web site selling tickets crashed as more than a million people rushed for the seats. One man from Scotland entered a charity auction last month and paid $170,000 for a pair of tickets to the show.

Steve D'Onofrio, a 17-year-old from New York accompanied on a three-day trip to London by his mother Ellen, applied for tickets having fallen in love with the music several years ago.

"I'm a huge classic rock fan from the music mom and dad played," he told Reuters on his way to the gig in southeast London. "I wasn't a Led Zeppelin fan until I was about the age of 10. I started listening and everything they did was amazing."

Turkish-born music promoter and record label founder Ertegun died last year aged 83 after slipping backstage at a concert by the Rolling Stones and going into a coma.

As well as Led Zeppelin and the Stones, Ertegun and his Atlantic Records helped launch the careers of acts ranging from Ray Charles to Aretha Franklin.

[SteveAJones]

Daily Herald

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=92753

Led Zeppelin reunion rocks London

Reuters

Published: 12/11/2007 12:18 am

LONDON -- British band Led Zeppelin blasted their way through more than two hours of rock and roll Monday, turning back time on a night of passion and nostalgia.

The quartet had a crowd of around 20,000 at London's O2 Arena calling for more at the end of 16 tracks ranging from their most famous numbers to less familiar fare.

There were none of the tight trousers and open shirts of the old days, and the instrumentalists were largely static through the nonstop set.

But lead singer Robert Plant, 59, strutted his way through "Good Times Bad Times" to kick off one of the most eagerly anticipated concerts in recent years.

"In the days of my youth, I was told what it was to be a man / Now I've reached the age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can / No matter how I try, I find my way to do the same old jam," Plant sang to a crowd cheering every bar and beat.

A gray-haired Jimmy Page, 63, reminded the world why he is considered one of the lead guitar greats, while John Paul Jones, 61, showed his versatility jumping from bass to keyboards.

Completing the quartet was Jason Bonham on drums. His father, John, died in 1980 after a drinking binge, prompting the demise of a group that has sold more than 300 million albums and influenced countless bands.

Monday's concert was the first full set Led Zeppelin had played since 1979, according to music magazine NME, which gave the group a glowing review.

"If there were skeptics here tonight -- there weren't but just for the sake of argument consider it -- Led Zeppelin silenced them and banished any rotten memories of their shambolic Live Aid reunion (in 1985)," it said.

Monday's concert, a charity tribute to Ahmet Ertegun who signed the band in 1968, has led to fevered speculation that a full comeback tour could be on the cards.

"Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

When organizers announced the concert, the Web site selling tickets crashed as more than a million people rushed for the seats. One man from Scotland entered a charity auction last month and paid $170,000 for a pair of tickets to the show.

Steve D'Onofrio, a 17-year-old from New York accompanied on a three-day trip to London by his mother, Ellen, applied for tickets, having fallen in love with the music several years ago.

"I'm a huge classic rock fan from the music mom and dad played," he told Reuters on his way to the gig in southeast London. "I wasn't a Led Zeppelin fan until I was about the age of 10. I started listening, and everything they did was amazing."

Turkish-born music promoter and record label founder Ertegun died last year at age 83 after slipping backstage at a concert by the Rolling Stones and going into a coma.

As well as Led Zeppelin and the Stones, Ertegun and his Atlantic Records helped launch the careers of acts ranging from Ray Charles to Aretha Franklin.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003683185

Billboard

Led Zeppelin Triumphs At London Reunion Show

December 10, 2007, 6:30 PM ET

A Billboard staff report

Tonight (Dec. 10) in London, one of the greatest bands of all time was back in front of its adoring public, if only for two-plus hours. Led Zeppelin's 16-song set at London's O2 Arena came as part of a benefit for late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, the group's first full show since drummer John Bonham's 1980 death.

Zeppelin stormed the stage just after 9 p.m. local time with "Good Times, Bad Times," from its 1969 debut album, and followed with "Ramble On," "Black Dog" and "In My Time of Dying." (For a full review, click here.)

"For Your Life," which the band never performed live in its heyday, was next, with "Trampled Underfoot," "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "No Quarter" and the epics "Since I've Been Lovin' You" and "Dazed and Confused" carrying into the show's second hour.

"It's peculiar to think of creating a dynamic evening and choosing songs from 10 albums, but there are certain songs that have to be here, and this is one of them," frontman Robert Plant said before the latter. And when Page broke out his trademark double-necked guitar for "Stairway to Heaven," thousands of lighters were held aloft.

As the show barreled towards its conclusion, Zeppelin unveiled "The Song Remains the Same," "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Kashmir." The encore featured the staples "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll."

Surviving members Page, Plant and John Paul Jones had only played live together a handful of times since the death of Bonham, who was replaced tonight by his son Jason.

Page's guitar was crisp and clear from the outset, but Plant's voice was blighted by feedback. By the second song, the microphone was functioning properly and Plant was growling and snapping just like he used to.

Page swung into "Black Dog," with Plant teasing the crowd while the guitarist chopped left and right with industrial power. Classic blues chords summoned a long and dynamic delivery of "In My Time of Dying," as the years truly began to melt away.

There is rampant speculation Zeppelin will play additional shows in the New Year, but so far, the principals are staying mum. "Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

A host of top industry executives were present on Monday, including Warner Music Group's Lyor Cohen, AEG Live's Randy Phillips, Best Buy's Gary Arnold, Apple's Jeff Jones, Rhino's David Dorn and Control Room's Kevin Wall. Dave Grohl showed off his Zeppelin tattoo and proclaimed, "I'm so excited. One of the best nights of my life."

Earlier in the evening, Foreigner performed its hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" with the St. Luke's Church of England choir from Portsmouth, saying, "If it wasn't for Ahmet, none of us would be here." Ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings were on stage beforehand, with vocal assistance from Paul Rodgers and Paolo Nutini.

By mid-afternoon, the scene at the venue was frenzied, with a 500-strong line for merchandise and huge waits at the will call windows. At a soundcheck on Sunday, select lucky fans were allowed to watch Zeppelin trying out a number of the songs that wound up tonight's set list.

The event was a magnet for celebrities and rock stars, including Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Kate Moss, members of Oasis and Genesis, Steve Winwood, Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley and Marilyn Manson.

Net profits from the concert will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships for gifted children. For more Led Zeppelin coverage, visit Billboard's Jaded Insider blog.

Reporting by Ray Bennett, Ed Christman, Tamara Conniff and Mark Sutherland in London.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news....12-11-0007.html

NBC 17 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC USA

Led Zeppelin Reunites, Shines For London Concert

LONDON -- After that performance, Led Zeppelin really must go on tour.

The reunited rock 'n' roll legends were superb Monday in their first full concert in nearly three decades, mixing in classics like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Black Dog" with the thumping "Kashmir" and the hard-rocking "Dazed and Confused."

The band's three surviving members - singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.

And it was the newest member of the band that was given the honor of kicking off the sold-out benefit show, pounding out the beat before the others joined in on a near-perfect "Good Times Bad Times."

After the lights went down at the O2 Arena, newsreel footage of the band arriving in Tampa, Fla., for a 1973 performance was projected onstage. Then Bonham jumped in, soon to be joined by the rest.

They followed that with "Ramble On," and with it destroyed all rumors that the 59-year-old Plant could no longer reproduce his trademark wail.

With his button-down shirt mercifully buttoned up, Plant roamed the stage belting out hit after hit, rarely giving his critics anything to work with.

But Page showed he still has the touch as well. Besides ripping out his patented riffs all night, he put the spotlight on himself when the band played the bluesy "In My Time of Dying."

With his left hand moving freely up and down the neck of his guitar and the metal slide wrapped around one of his fingers, Page effortlessly played a song that's not easy to master.

Page and Plant later combined to open "Nobody's Fault But Mine," a song that starts with another classic Page riff and then gets help from Plant mimicking the same sounds.

Still, it was Bonham who may have been the star of the show. At 41, he is older than his father was - 32 - when he choked to death on his own vomit in 1980.

Bonham's flawless performance and driving beat even made the other members of the band watch in awe at the end of "Black Dog."

After "The Song Remains the Same," Plant screamed: "Jason Bonham, drums! Come on!"

The 16-song set list produced few surprises. They did many of the songs expected, such as "No Quarter" and "Trampled Under Foot," and the entire show lasted a bit more than two hours, mainly because of encores "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll."

The band also played "For Your Life" live for the first time.

"It's quite peculiar to imagine ... to think about creating a dynamic evening choosing from 10 different albums. There are certain songs that have to be there, and this is one of them," Plant said in introducing "Dazed and Confused."

When Page's solo started midway through the song, many in the audience were wondering whether the guitar virtuoso would resort to his old tricks.

But after only a few seconds, the 63-year-old Page turned his back to the crowd and walked nonchalantly toward his amp. Once there, he pulled a cello bow off the top, and the fans again went wild.

They followed that with "Stairway to Heaven," the band's staple song, which many hardcore fans were hoping would be dropped from the set.

But the crowd still loved it, with many standing to dance as Page played on his double-necked guitar.

A few lighters even popped up, but they were mostly replaced by digital cameras.

Plant may have struggled a bit on the early verses - his voice a tad raspy - but it was hardly reason to believe the band wasn't ready for anything.

Fans are hoping to get to hear them do it again, and soon.

Though this show is supposed to be one-time event, there have been rumors that if all went well, it would kick off a world tour.

Plant seemed to play down those rumors, saying he plans to tour with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, but Monday's performance will only add to the fervor of the fans to see them play more gigs.

"The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about," Page told The Sunday Times leading up to the performance.

The show was Led Zeppelin's first full set since 1980. Robbed of "Bonzo's" pulsing drums, the band decided it couldn't go on and split up on Dec. 4, 1980.

Tickets for the show, a benefit for the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, were won in an Internet lottery. Proceeds are to go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships to universities in the United States, Britain and Turkey.

"Hey Ahmet, we did it!" Plant screamed after "Stairway."

Monday's concert wasn't the first Led Zeppelin reunion. The band played together in 1985 at Live Aid, and joined forces again three years later - with Jason Bonham on drums - to play at the 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records.

At their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1995, they teamed up with other musicians for another short set.

The show was originally scheduled for Nov. 26, but was postponed until Monday because Page injured the little finger on his left hand.

There were several opening acts rotating across the stage, mainly hosted by former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman.

Paul Rodgers, Keith Emerson and Foreigner got the biggest cheers.

Plant said he was told that people from 50 countries made their way to London for the show.

"I can't believe people would come from 50 countries for that," Page said after pointing out a banner in the crowd that read "Hammer of the Gods."

They came, and they saw a show that hopefully won't be the last.

[SteveAJones]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/wenn/20071211/ten...on-c60bd6d.html

Led Zeppelin reunion gig 'too emotional' for Bonham

By WENN world entertainment news - Tuesday, December 11 07:25 am

The Led Zeppelin reunion gig was almost thrown into jeopardy on Monday night when drummer Jason Bonham suffered an attack of nerves shortly before the band was due to take to the stage.

The legendary rockers reformed for a one-off show at London's O2 Arena in memory of their late friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, with Foreigner star Jason taking the place of his father, John Bonham, in the band's line-up.

But the group's reunion proved to be tougher for 41-year-old Bonham than he thought it would be.

Backstage at the concert, his Foreigner bandmate, Mick Jones, tells WENN, "It's been so emotional for Jason. He was fine up until 45 minutes before the show. He will be wretching (vomiting) before he goes on."

John Bonham died in 1980, aged 32.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2007/12/11/72164986

The Minnesota Daily

December 11, 2007

Jason Bonham kicks off Led Zeppelin reunion on Monday night

By Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - The newest member of Led Zeppelin was given the honor of kicking off the band's reunion Monday night, pounding out the beat before the surviving founders joined in on a near-perfect "Good Times Bad Times."

After the lights went down at London's O2 Arena, newsreel footage of a 1975 performance in Tampa, Fla., was projected onstage. With thousands of fans worked into a frenzy, drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late John Bonham, began thumping the skittering beat, soon to be joined by guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.

The song, rarely played live in the band's heyday, proved a perfect starting point for this performance:

"In days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man," sang Plant, showing no trouble reproducing his trademark wail at 59. "Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can. ... No matter how I try, I find my way to the same old jam."

While Page and Bonham both sported sunglasses, Plant mercifully kept his button-down shirt buttoned up.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1576186/2..._zeppelin.jhtml

VH1.com

Led Zeppelin Break Out Classics, Play A Song Live For The First Time At Reunion Show: Report

Band performed 16 songs — including 'Stairway to Heaven,' 'Black Dog' and 'Rock and Roll' — at legendary show.

by Kurt Orzeck

In what will likely go down as one of the biggest reunion shows of all time, Led Zeppelin reportedly thrilled fans with 16 classic songs, including one they had never played live before, at London's O2 arena, Billboard.com reports.

It was the first full concert performance by the group — which consists of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and recent addition Jason Bonham (son of deceased drummer John Bonham) — since 1980. The concert acted as a memorial for late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who helped launch Led Zeppelin's career and passed away late last year.

The principal Zep set list was reportedly as follows: "Good Times, Bad Times," "Ramble On," "Black Dog," "In My Time of Dying," "For Your Life," "Trampled Underfoot," "Nobody's Fault but Mine," "No Quarter," "Since I've Been Lovin' You," "Dazed and Confused," "Stairway to Heaven," "The Song Remains the Same," "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Kashmir." According to the site, the group then treated the crowd to a two-song encore: "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll." The band had never played "For Your Life" live before.

"They're starting to look tired now but that riff is still big enough to fill the 02," a person who reportedly attended the show said, according to Billboard.com, during the band's performance of "Kashmir." Once they came back and broke out "Whole Lotta Love," the crowd went "ballistic," the source said.

The show also reportedly featured performances by Foreigner, as well as former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who was joined by his Rhythm Kings, as well as Paolo Nutini and Paul Rodgers. Net proceeds from the concert will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships for children.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...73&ito=1490

(SEVERAL BACKSTAGE CELEBRITY PHOTOS ON THE LINK)

Daily Mail

The Presleys, a Beatle, the Jaggers: The night the rock clans gathered for Led Zeppelin reunion

by DONNA McCONNELL

Last updated at 12:03pm on 11th December 2007

The reunion show for legendary rockers Led Zeppelin attracted some legendary fans as the famous rock clans of the Presleys, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger gathered for the highly anticipated reunion show.

Rock royalty turned out clad in denim and leather to see the band reunited for the first time in 19 years, in a show which brought the rock gods out of their country piles and into London's O2 arena

As well as the elder statesmen of what were once two of the music world's biggest bands, the Presley women made a rare appearance in London, with daughter Lisa looking the image of her exulted father. Lisa arrived with her mother Priscilla, and daughter Riley Keough.

Jagger's children Georgina and James arrived with their mother, Texan model Jerry Hall.

Also in attendance was guitar legend Jeff Beck, Genesis' Mike Rutherford, Marilyn Manson, and the Gallaghers.

Rock chicks descended on the show, as Kate Moss rocked up looking like a young Marianne Faithfull draped in a black and white shaggy fur coat, high-heeled black boots and not much else at the star-studded gig which caused a stampede for tickets when it emerged the group would play a one-off gig.

Her pal Naomi Campbell attended too, and US rocker and actress Juliette Lewis and Pink made the pilgrimage.

Sir Paul McCartney hung out backstage, and so did actress Rosanna Arquette, who is said to be enjoying a blossoming romance with the former Beatle.

The rock clans were among those who descended on the O2 Arena to see the band that best symbolise rock 'n' roll excess take to the stage for a proper show for the first time in 27 years.

At the party in the IndigO2 venue afterwards, Noel Gallagher was warmly embraced by Naomi Campbell before chatting to actress and rock performer Juliette Lewis, who has just finished her own American tour. She said: "I thought it was magical. The earth was shaking."

Paulo Nutini, who performed in the first half of the concert, said: "They're so intense. Based on tonight, they should tour. If they could do that every night it would be phenomenal."

The reaction to the band's long-awaited reunion was ecstatic. And fans are now desperate for a full-blown tour.

Many had waited years in the hope of seeing the legendary musicians take the stage again and now hope rumours of a tour are confirmed.

The three surviving members of Led Zeppelin have played a handful of songs together a couple of times since drummer John Bonham died in 1980.

But critics agreed they were largely shambolic. Last night it was the real deal, a 90-minute set at London's O2 arena in front of 10,000 people who counted themselves among the luckiest music fans in the world.

The internet rush to buy £125 tickets to see Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Bonham's son Jason saw up to 20 million people crashing the website with the winners being drawn by electronic lottery.

At 9.04pm, the O2 Arena erupted as the lights came on and Page, Plant and Jones, with a combined age of over 180, burst on to stage with youngster Bonham, 41, and opened with Good Times Bad Times, the first track of their debut album.

Plant, in jeans not quite as famously tight as they were 27 years ago, still had the energy to strut his 59-year-old body across the stage.

Page, 63, and Jones, 61, kept less energetic pace with him.

As the band settled into a series of songs old and new, grown men in the mostly middle-aged and male audience began playing air guitar.

Some of the old Zeppelin remained, during a monumentally long instrumental Plant had time to go off stage as Page continued to play with dry ice fumes swirling about his feet.

Plant interrupted the sequence in a brief explanatory speech to say how they had put the show together from the contents of 10 different albums as well as some new items.

One thing not so new was when in the middle of Dazed and Confused, Page got out his violin bow and started to play his guitar with it, in his once trademark style.

After more than an hour the bulk of the fans got what they seemed to want most - a rendition of Stairway To Heaven.

Plant seemed to shake away the years and get livelier as the show went on and after almost two hours, when they bowed out on Kashmir, he was positively skipping about the stage.

Page responded once again and when the lights went out a massive demand for an encore brought them back to play Whole Lotta Love.

The adulation of 20,000 almost equally tired fans ringing in their ears they trooped away into the darkness.

For Leslie Wilde, 55, and her brother Steve, 43, getting a ticket for tonight's gig was a dream come true a second time.

The brother and sister from Chicago had been due to see the band at their next concert in the American city 27 years ago when the tour was called off because of drummer John Bonham's death.

Steve said: "I thought I would never ever get the chance to see Led Zeppelin again.

"When I found out I'd got the tickets we just rushed to sort out everything else like flights and hotels.

"To be honest I think we'd have swum here if we had had to."

His sister said: "I suppose you could call me an old hippy because I was a huge Zeppelin fan the first time round but I too never got to see them.

"This whole evening is in a way about memories."

Her brother added: "I heard about the last tour being cancelled on my car radio and I couldn't believe it when this one was delayed.

"I've hardly dared to look at the TV before coming here tonight."

Sue Parry, 46, and husband Simon, 48, found the trip to the O2 less troublesome. The couple live in Greenwich.

Sue, who is in a wheelchair, said: "I'm more of a Robert Plant fan than a Led Zeppelin fan but when we found out we'd been successful in applying for tickets I wasn't going to turn down the chance to see them."

Her husband said: "I suppose I'm just an old rocker. I saw them in their last concert at Knebworth and it's been a long wait since then."

Rafa Mella flew in from Madrid on Saturday having also been lucky to get his ticket in the internet scramble.

"Zeppelin are very big in Spain. Even among people my age," said the 27-year-old.

"I don't think maybe they will ever come to Spain so I have to come to them." Profits from the show will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which pays for student scholarships to universities in the UK, US and Turkey.

It will also be used to establish a music scholarship at Ravensbourne College in Kent.

The question most people wanted to know was whether this will be a one-off or the start of a continued reunion.

Having already sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide since their debut in 1968, they have now made their music catalogue available on the internet for the first time, and signed a deal for ring tones and downloads with a US mobile phone company and released a remastered greatest hits CD.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...ticle567260.ece

The Sun

LEDgendary: Zep can still rock

By PETE SAMSON

Published: December 11 2007

MOST modern number one hits could fit into one of their guitar solos.

LED ZEPPELIN returned to the stage last night with their first full set in 19 years — and younger members of the crowd had heard nothing like it.

Manufactured pop is ruling the charts and young music fans are an impatient sort.

Maybe that’s why the bars at the O2 Arena in Greenwich filled during some of the band’s winding rock epics.

But their classics proved music doesn’t rock like it used to.

Tracks like Whole Lotta Love and Stairway to Heaven had every one of the fans — who included LIAM GALLAGHER and SIR PAUL McCARTNEY — on their feet and shaking their fists.

Original members JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT and JOHN PAUL JONES were joined by dead drummer JOHN BONHAM’s son, JASON, 41.

The trio — with a combined age of 183 — burst on stage and opened with Good Times Bad Times, the first track of their debut album.

Robert Plant — wearing jeans not quite as tight as they were in his heyday — still had the energy to strut his 59-year-old body across the stage.

Page, 63, and Jones, 61, kept less energetic pace with him.

As the band settled into a series of songs old and new, grown men in the mostly middle-aged and male audience began playing air guitar.

Some of the old Zeppelin remained — during a monumentally long instrumental, Plant had time to go off stage as Page continued to play.

One thing not so new was when in the middle of Dazed And Confused, Page got out his violin bow and started to play his guitar with it, in his trademark style.

After more than an hour the bulk of the fans got what they seemed to want most — a rendition of Stairway To Heaven.

When the lights went out a massive demand for an encore brought them back to play Whole Lotta Love.

The adulation of 20,000 almost-equally tired fans ringing in their ears, they trooped away into the darkness.

Fans of all ages had travelled from around the world to see the group and they weren’t disappointed – giving huge ovations and raving after the show.

American Lisa Anderson, 57, said: “Everyone around me agreed it was an absolute triumph.

“I saw them a few times when I was younger, but for me this was the best show they’ve ever done.

"It was worth every penny."

Support act PAOLO NUTINI, 20, told The Sun: “I wasn’t alive the first time around but I’ve seen the footage on DVD.

“Now watching them live, I’ve been taught a true musical lesson.

“They were just so intense and so tight, even after all these years.

“I was just blown away.”

[SteveAJones]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/...story?track=rss

Los Angeles Times

Led Zeppelin rocks again in London

It had been a long time since they'd rock and rolled, but the band played one more time to a rapt crowd. The players aged, but the song remains the same.

By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

December 11, 2007

LONDON -- With a thunder of power chords and rock-and-roll swagger, Led Zeppelin broke a silence of two decades Monday in a laser-and-smoke reunion for which more than a million fans from around the world sought to book passage.

The band that boldly breached the barriers between rock, blues and airy mysticism and nurtured a generation on the cusp between the 1960s and 1970s emerged for a sell-out performance in front of about 20,000 concertgoers in east London -- one of the most eagerly awaited rock events of the decade.

"Out there are people from 50 countries, and there's a sign out there that says 'Hammer of the Gods,' " lead singer Robert Plant said, referring to one of the group's most famous lyrics, which has also come to be its most enduring motto. "I can't believe that people from 50 countries would come to see that -- so late in life!" he said wryly.

"This is the 51st country!" he roared then, as the band broke into "Kashmir," the exotic, melodic and deep-throated anthem that is one of its signatures, against a backdrop of wheeling batik suns and with a sweating, white-haired Jimmy Page on lead guitar.

Concertgoers from as far away as New Zealand, Japan and California made the trek after winning a ticket lottery that allocated a maximum of two seats per person at a price of $250 each, with painstaking care to prevent entries being sold off to scalpers that left some fans waiting three hours in the rain Sunday to secure their seats.

The event was organized as a tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records, and also featured performances by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, led by the former Rolling Stones bassist; Foreigner; Paul Rodgers; and Paolo Nutini.

Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's alcohol-related death in 1980 spelled the end of the band, and Monday's performance featured Bonham's son, Jason, now a drummer with Foreigner.

In a city accustomed to cultural happenings, the Led Zeppelin reunion assumed massive proportions, with many here billing it the "concert of the millennium" by "the greatest rock and roll band ever."

A band that was already being dismissed by critics as self-indulgent by the late 1970s and passé by the time new wave and punk strode onto the stage in the 1980s has suddenly acquired new currency, simultaneously earning the covers this week of Rolling Stone in the U.S. and Q Magazine in the U.K.

"I don't think they were ever appreciated for the scale of band they were," Paul Rees, editor of Q, said in an interview. "Maybe it's a sort of 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' but it's taken people time to realize the massive influence they had on an awful lot of music."

"They could be really heavy, but they could also be pastoral. They were ambitious, catchy, they had the whole thing," said Scott Rowley, editor of Classic Rock magazine. "Is it a nostalgia fest? Yeah, it probably is."

For many who flooded into London's O2 Arena, it was an unapologetic trip to a well-remembered past.

"I saw them in '73, '75 and '77. I'm what you could call hard core. It's part of your soul. It's part of everything you did in the '70s," said Tina Ricardo, co-owner of Rick's Sports Bar in San Francisco, who left her husband at home when she won the ticket lottery and came with her girlfriend.

"How many chances do you get to live something over? That's it," she said. "I'm starting to cry now, just thinking about it."

Likewise for fans from Tokyo. "I saw Led Zeppelin in 1971 and '72. That was 35 years ago. What can I say? So exciting," said Yoshihiro Hoshina, 53, who won tickets after entering the lottery with three different e-mail addresses.

"Led Zeppelin broke five hotel rooms in Japan -- that's a bit of Japan history," he said before the concert. "But they're getting old; can Robert Plant sing in that high voice? Can Jimmy Page still play so smooth?"

Answer: pretty much. The 59-year-old Plant had his shirt open modestly to the breastbone, a hint of the bare-abdomened rooster swagger of yesteryear, but managed the high screeches near the end of "Stairway to Heaven" -- still one of the most-played songs on U.S. radio, and which recently entered the charts again last week with the release of Led Zeppelin's catalog online.

"Hey Ahmet, we did it!" Plant yelled in triumph as the band concluded the song that sounded a bit mystical and silly in the old days but now has an aching touch of lost youth in its hint of possibilities: "Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on."

Or there was.

The Bic lighters once held high by audience members were replaced by the glow of digital cameras and cellphones, but there were still plenty of raised, clenched fists and waving hair -- plus plenty of beer and an occasional waft of marijuana.

A large number of the couples were father and son.

"I introduced my son to it. He wasn't into it at first, but he changed," said Owen Williams, 51, from Berkeshire. "He started playing guitar himself, and the Led Zeppelin kicked in; everything changed. He's stolen all my records and CDs."

The band opened with a clip from the newly remastered "The Song Remains the Same" DVD depicting the group's triumphal U.S. gig in 1973 that surpassed a Beatles attendance record, then kicked into "Good Times, Bad Times," the opening track from its 1969 debut album.

The concert marked the first live performance of "For Your Life," from the group's Presence album.

Instead of the old melodramatic hair-swinging and exaggerated erotic strutting, Plant; Page, 63; and bassist John Paul Jones, 61, played the first sets with easygoing confidence. Their good humor built into triumphant intensity as the night wore on; Page pulled out the cello bow on "Dazed and Confused" and worked like a shaman conjurer, glowing under a twirling pyramid of green lasers.

"It's quite peculiar to imagine. I don't know how many songs we've recorded together, choosing songs from 10 different albums for a dynamic event like this. There are certain songs that have to be there, and this is one of them," Plant said as the song began.

The finale of "Whole Lotta Love," played as the first of two encores, was as raw and mesmerizing as ever, and then the band fell into "Rock and Roll" -- It had been a long time, a long lonely, lonely time, and with nothing but rumors of a tour, no one knew for sure when, or if, it would happen again.

[SteveAJones]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musi...syndication=rss

Seattle Times

Led Zeppelin works fans into a frenzy

By CHRIS LEHOURITES

December 11 2007

The Associated Press

LONDON — The newest member of Led Zeppelin was given the honor of kicking off the band's reunion Monday night, pounding out the beat before the surviving founders joined in on a near-perfect "Good Times Bad Times."

After the lights went down at London's O2 Arena, newsreel footage of the band arriving in Tampa, Fla., for a 1973 performance was projected onstage. With thousands of fans worked into a frenzy, drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late John Bonham, began thumping the skittering beat, soon to be joined by guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.

The song, rarely played live in the band's heyday, proved a perfect starting point for this performance:

"In days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man," sang Plant, showing no trouble reproducing his trademark wail at 59. "Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can. ... No matter how I try, I find my way to the same old jam."

While Page and Bonham both sported sunglasses, Plant mercifully kept his button-down shirt buttoned up.

Zeppelin returned for the benefit show to play its first full set since 1980, the year John Bonham died after choking on his own vomit. Robbed of "Bonzo's" pulsing drums, the band decided it couldn't go on and split up on Dec. 4, 1980.

Now, with an estimated 20 million fans vying for tickets pared down to a lucky 18,000 or so — including one who paid more than $168,000 for his pair — most of the rest are hoping for more tour dates.

But Plant — with his screeching, often unintelligible lyrics leading the way during the band's 12 years and eight studio albums — may be toughest of the three to be convinced that it's a good idea to go on tour.

"The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about," the 59-year-old Page told The Sunday Times leading up to the performance.

That certainly won't be music to the ears of millions of fans who are hoping hear "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Kashmir" in concert again. Plant, who recently released a successful album with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, did give an indication that this may not be the last of Led Zeppelin, however.

"It wouldn't be such a bad idea to play together from time to time," Plant added.

Monday's concert wasn't the first Led Zeppelin reunion, but it was surely the biggest. The band played together in 1985 at Live Aid, and joined forces again three years later — with Jason Bonham on drums — to play at the 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records.

At their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1995, they teamed up with other musicians for another short set.

Priced at $250, tickets have been selling on the Internet for upwards of $2,000.

Kenneth Donnell, 25, said he paid $168,500 for his tickets from British Broadcasting Corp. radio's "Things That Money Can't Buy" charity auction last month.

"I was gutted that I was not born in the 1960s and able to see Led Zeppelin in the 1970s like my dad," Donnell told The Sunday Times.

Monday's show is dedicated to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. Proceeds from the show are to go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships to universities in the United States, Britain and Turkey.

The show was originally scheduled for Nov. 26, but was postponed until Monday because Page injured the little finger on his left hand.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?s=7479480

FOX 12 KTRV Idaho, USA

Led Zeppelin returns to stage for first concert in nearly 3 decades

Associated Press - December 11, 2007 7:23 AM ET

LONDON (AP) - The consensus seems to be that Led Zeppelin's reunion performance for charity more than lived up to the hype.

The reunited rock 'n' roll legends played their first full concert in nearly three decades in London last night, weaving classics like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Black Dog" with the thumping "Kashmir" and the hard-rocking "Dazed and Confused."

The band's three surviving members, singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones, were joined by the late drummer John Bonham's son Jason on drums.

The show got rave reviews and the 59-year-old Plant destroyed all rumors that he could no longer reproduce his trademark wailing vocals.

Though the show was supposed to be a 1-time event, there have been rumors that if all went well, it would kick off a world tour. Plant has seemed to play down those rumors, but last night's show left fans screaming for more.

Tickets for the show were won in an Internet lottery and one man paid more than $150,000 for his pair.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=3623

Undercover.com.au

Led Zeppelin Rock London

by Tim Cashmere - December 11 2007

The much publicised Led Zeppelin reunion show took place in London last night, with all reports saying this show not only lived up to expectations, but blew them out of the water.

The band looked happy on stage and were playing tighter than anyone could've expected, suggesting Page was right when he earlier quipped that they were actually going to be prepared for this show (as opposed to the only other two shows they've played since the death of John Bonham).

The show, which was a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, was acknowledged in a blissful "Ahmet, we did it" after their epic 'Stairway To Heaven'.

I wonder what Hard-Fi's Steve Kemp would've thought?

The complete set list for Led Zeppelin at London's O2 Arena on December 10 was:

Good Times Bad Times

Ramble On

Black Dog

In My Time Of Dying

For Your Life

Trampled Under Foot

Nobody's Fault But Mine

No Quarter

Since I've Been Loving You

Dazed And Confused

Stairway To Heaven

The Song Remains The Same

Misty Mountain Hop

Kashmir

Whole Lotta Love

Rock And Roll

[SteveAJones]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a81462/r...n-tour.html?rss

Digital Spy Website

Report: Led Zep plan full reunion tour

Tuesday, December 11 2007, 11:22 GMT

By Alex Fletcher, Entertainment Reporter

Rex Features

Led Zeppelin are planning to follow up their 02 Arena show with a full reunion tour, say reports.

The veteran rockers played to 20,000 fans and a host of celebrities at the London venue last night, and are reportedly already laying down plans to follow it up with a series of gigs in 2008.

According to the Daily Star, ticket companies are readying themselves for the tour dates to be announced.

A source commented: "There is definitely a full tour coming. We’ve all been told to get ready for the dates to be confirmed.

"It’s expected to be within days to capitalise on the excitement of the reunion. Promoters have been falling over themselves to get the band to agree.

"They’re also being courted by festival bosses to headline something like Glastonbury."

The band's concert was billed as a one-off charity event, but rumours have persisted that they may perform further shows if the gig was a success.

However, singer Robert Plant has continually denied the speculation, insisting that the concert was one last chance for the band to do "a great show".

[GioBrasil]

Legendary band Led Zeppelin rocks London

Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:59pm EST

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - Legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin opened their first public concert in nearly two decades on Monday with a mesmerizing light show and "Good Times Bad Times" to 20,000 fans from around the world.

Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones were joined by John Bonham's son Jason on the drums for the one-off comeback, although there has been fevered speculation that the gig may be followed by a full-scale tour.

After showing news footage comparing Led Zeppelin, who created "Stairway to Heaven", to the Beatles in terms of impact and following, the stage came alive and Jason Bonham pounded out the opening salvo as flashing lights pierced the darkness.

"In the days of my youth; I was told what it was to be a man; Now I've reached the age; I've tried to do all those things the best I can; No matter how I try; I find my way to do the same old jam," the band belted out to an adoring crowd who cheered every bar and beat.

The three surviving members of the hugely successful 1970s group, also known worldwide for "Whole Lotta Love", have rarely performed together since splitting in 1980 after the death of drummer Bonham following a drinking binge.

By their own admission, each reunion was a shambles, so anticipation ahead of the set at London's O2 Arena was high.

"Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," 63-year-old Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

[grate]

Germany/ Spiegel online:

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,522666,00.html

Die Legende bebt

Von Christoph Dallach

Die Zweifel vor Led Zeppelins Bühnen-Comeback waren groß: Sind ja nur drei alte Knacker und ein Glatzkopf. Doch die Band strafte alle Skeptiker Lügen - und beschwor mit einem donnernden Auftritt das goldene Zeitalter des Rock.

Vor der O2-Arena am Stadtrand von London schwebte gestern ein kleiner Gummi-Zeppelin, vor dem sich glückliche Menschen reihenweise mit ihren Handys fotografieren ließen. Überwiegend Männer hatten die Reise aus mehr als fünfzig Ländern in die Docklands angetreten, alle fühlten sich wie Könige, weil sie überhaupt ein Ticket abbekommen hatten. Es hätte wohl Elvis vom Himmel herabsteigen müssen, um für mehr Wirbel im Pop-Universum zu sorgen, als es dieses Spektakel der britischen Rock-Titanen Led Zeppelin tat.

Seitdem sich die Gerüchte bestätigt hatten, dass die Band nach zwei Jahrzehnten noch mal gemeinsam lärmen würde, überschlugen sich die vorab gemeldeten Superlative: Um die mittels Lotterie unters Volk gebrachten Tickets sollen sich angeblich zwanzig Millionen Verehrer beworben haben. Kein Wunder, dass der "eBay"-Kurs der ursprünglich 125 Pfund (rund 175 Euro) teuren Karten bald einige Tausend Euro betrug.

Dazu kamen die Gerüchte: Wie lange würden die betagten Rocker überhaupt auf der Bühne stehen? Zwanzig Minuten oder doch - wie einst zu ihren Glanzzeiten in den Siebzigern - dreieinhalb Stunden? Und wer würde kommen außer sentimentalen, mittelalten Männern mit Haarkranz, Bierbauch und T-Shirt? Angekündigt waren immerhin Madonna, Paul und Stella McCartney und - unvermeidlich - Kate Moss.

Foto: Getty Images

Aber die große Frage blieb doch, ob drei ergraute Knaben im Rentenalter und der glatzköpfige Sohn ihres toten Schlagzeugers dem ganzen Bohei gerecht werden konnten. Diese Gang, die auch dafür legendär war, zu ihren Glanzzeiten in den Siebzigern die Puppen tanzen zu lassen wie keine Band vor ihnen und kaum eine danach; die sich angeblich mit Scharen junger Damen vergnügte, Hotelsuiten am laufenden Band zertrümmerte und überhaupt die Mächte der Finsternis anbetete.

Und von denen nun berichtet wurde, dass sie sich mit Pilates frisch halten, ins Sonnenstudio gehen und für ihre Garderoben in der O2-Arena nicht Champagner und Koks sondern Pfefferminztee und Kaffee ohne Koffein geordert haben. Dass Jimmy Page, den nicht wenige für einen der besten Gitarristen der Rockmusik überhaupt halten, bei den Proben ein Finger brach, war auch kein gutes Omen.

Magie der ganz großen Wucht

Der Beginn des Abends war eher gruselig. Da spielten Bill Wyman, einst bei den Rolling Stones beschäftigt, und seine Rythm Kings mit allerlei prominenten Gästen wie Paul Rodgers oder Foreigner Bierzelt-Schunkel-Rock der einschläfernden Art. Aber als ziemlich genau um 21 Uhr Led Zeppelin loslegten, kam der Abend doch noch in Fahrt. Genauer gesagt lief erstmal ein Film, der alle Anwesenden daran erinnern sollte, was für legendäre Vögel sie nun bestaunen durften. Als dann die Gentlemen Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones und Jason Bonham leibhaftig zu den Instrumenten griffen, machten sie ihrer Legende keine Schande.

Majestätisch ließen sie gut zwei Stunden lang die gruselige Mehrzweckhalle erbeben. Spielten all ihre Klassiker wie "Black Dog", "Whole Lotta Love" und natürlich "Stairway To Heaven". Und es war egal, dass Robert Plant die hohen Töne mit den Jahren abhanden gekommen sind und John Bonhams Sohn Jason nicht ganz die brachiale Kraft des Seniors geerbt hat.

Was die alten Knaben noch immer beherrschen, ist die Magie der ganz großen Wucht, eine Kraft, die ihnen manchmal die Melodie ersetzte, aber bis heute zu Recht noch nachgewachsene Generationen beeindruckt. Auch auf die großen Gesten verstehen sie sich noch wie kaum einer ihrer Konkurrenten, damals wie heute. So wirkt es nicht mal peinlich, wenn Jimmy Page bei "Dazed And Confused" entrückt in einer Pyramide aus grünen Laser-Strahlen seine Gitarre virtuos bearbeitet. Es schien durchaus Euphorie auf der Bühne zu herrschen und die größte Kunst der Musiker bestand eben darin, das Spektakel nicht zu einer öden Nostalgie-Show verkommen zu lassen, sondern energisch zu klingen.

Goldenes Zeitalter der Musik

Immerhin: Sie waren hier zusammengekommen, um ihren alten Mentor Ahmet Ertegun zu ehren, einen König der Musikindustrie, der einst die Plattenfirma Atlantic gründete und im vergangenen Jahr starb. Und so verabschiedeten Led Zeppelin in der vergangenen Nacht eben auch ein goldenes Zeitalter der Musik. Die Sechziger und insbesondere die Siebziger, als sie noch keinen Tee tranken, keine Falten hatten und das Internet noch nicht die Umsätze fraß. Warum der Mythos von Led Zeppelin bis ins neue Jahrtausend Bestand hat, wurde gestern nachdrücklich klar. Nach zwei gloriosen Stunden blieb nur die Frage, ob das nun ein Finale oder ein Neuanfang war. Ob sich die Gerüchte einer Welttournee bestätigen, oder nun alles beerdigt ist.

Zumindest Jimmy Page ließ nach der Show verkünden, dass er und sein Finger erstmal einen Urlaub brauchen.

and another article from today:

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,522544,00.html

Whole Lotta Love für "Led Zeppelin"

Der Mythos lebt, die Magie der musikalischen Kraft ist unverbraucht - und der Jubel frenetisch. In London spielte die legendäre Rockband "Led Zeppelin" ein furioses Revival-Konzert. Fans und Kritiker sind sich einig in hymnischer Verehrung für die hohe Kunst genialer Riffs.

London - Von der "Mutter aller Band-Revivals" schwärmt die Londoner "Times", von der Wiederkunft - und Neuentdeckung - "alter Kraft" kündet die amerikanische "New York Times" und als schlicht "Led-gendär!" ruft das Boulevardschlachtross "The Sun" dieses Ereignis aus. Keines war so sehnsüchtig, mit so hohen Erwartungen antizipiert worden, kaum eines wurde je so einhellig bejubelt.

LED ZEPPELIN IN LONDON: "BLITZ UND DONNERKEIL"

Fotostrecke starten: Klicken Sie auf ein Bild (10 Bilder)

Die legendäre Rockband "Led Zeppelin" begeisterte mit ihrem ersten großen Livekonzert seit fast drei Jahrzehnten rund 20.000 Fans in London. "Ich habe sie live gesehen! Jetzt habe ich wahrhaftig etwas über Musik gelernt", "Phantastisch! Ich bin überwältigt!", "Alle unsere Wünsche haben sich erfüllt" - nach dem Event waren die Reaktionen der Zeppelin-Verehrer einhellig. Umgerechnet 175 Euro hatten sich die Konzertbesucher die Tickets kosten lassen.

Die Prominenz aus Musik- und Showbusiness musste sich um Tickets nicht sorgen und war reichlich vertreten: Die Skandal-Models Kate Moss und Naomi Campbell waren da, die Indie-Rocker Arctic Monkeys, David Gilmour von Pink Floyd, Queen's Roger Taylor, die Krawallbrüder Noel und Liam Gallagher von Oasis, Mick Jagger - und natürlich Sir Paul McCartney.

Die drei Bandmitglieder der Urformation, Sänger Robert Plant, Gitarrist Jimmy Page und Bassist John Paul Jones wurden an den Drums von Jason Bonham verstärkt, dem Sohn des 1980 verstorbenen Drummers John Bonham.

Das Konzert startete mit einer, wie es heißt, "nahezu perfekten" Performance von "Good Times Bad Times", gefolgt von "Ramble On", was die Befürchtungen der Fans zerstreute, Robert Plant sei höheren Tonlagen nicht mehr gewachsen.

Scheinbar mühelos gelang es den reifen Herren auf der Bühne, den noch bestens in der Erinnerung ihrer Verehrer verhafteten Zauber musikalischer Genialität zu entfalten: "Manche Bands ziehen das Tempo an, wenn sie ihre alten Songs spielen", urteilt die "New York Times". "Schnell zu spielen ist so eine Art Schutzpanzer. Led Zeppelin dagegen sind bedächtiger geworden. Die Band hat zu Tempi gefunden, die noch anmutiger sind als die, die man von alten Live-Aufnahmen her kannte."

Jimmy Pages Gitarrenriffs beschreiben verzückte Kritiker nach wie vor als "enorm, herrlich böse, großartig". Er habe Akkorde gespielt mit einer Macht, "als schleudere Thor Blitz und Donnerkeil aus den Himmeln", so die "Times". Im Publikum griffen überwältigte Anbeter seiner Kunst in verzückter Heldenverehrung zur Luftgitarre - eine anrührende Form totaler Reverenz.

Led Zeppelin-Comeback

Rückkehr der Rock-Opas

Ein besonderer Druck mag auf Jason Bonham gelastet haben, der seinen Vater an den Drums jedoch mehr als ersetzte. Als "fehlerfrei" wird seine Performance gelobt, mehr noch: "Ehrfurchtsvoll" hätten die anderen Bandmitglieder seine Hingabe, seine musikalische Präsenz und Energie am Ende von "Black Dog" beobachtet.

Bei den Proben vor ein paar Wochen soll Robert Plant noch geklagt haben: "Mühevoll" sei es, einem 60-jährigen Körper die Stimmleistung eines 20-jährigen Mannes abzuverlangen. "Er hätte sich nicht sorgen müssen", urteilt die "Times": "Ein altes Gerät braucht vielleicht eine Weile, bis es rund läuft, aber wenn die Ventile erst mal durchgepustet sind, erkennt man echte Qualität."

[NickZepp]

Germany/ Spiegel online:

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,522666,00.html

Die Legende bebt

Von Christoph Dallach

Die Zweifel vor Led Zeppelins Bühnen-Comeback waren groß: Sind ja nur drei alte Knacker und ein Glatzkopf. Doch die Band strafte alle Skeptiker Lügen - und beschwor mit einem donnernden Auftritt das goldene Zeitalter des Rock.

Vor der O2-Arena am Stadtrand von London schwebte gestern ein kleiner Gummi-Zeppelin, vor dem sich glückliche Menschen reihenweise mit ihren Handys fotografieren ließen. Überwiegend Männer hatten die Reise aus mehr als fünfzig Ländern in die Docklands angetreten, alle fühlten sich wie Könige, weil sie überhaupt ein Ticket abbekommen hatten. Es hätte wohl Elvis vom Himmel herabsteigen müssen, um für mehr Wirbel im Pop-Universum zu sorgen, als es dieses Spektakel der britischen Rock-Titanen Led Zeppelin tat.

Seitdem sich die Gerüchte bestätigt hatten, dass die Band nach zwei Jahrzehnten noch mal gemeinsam lärmen würde, überschlugen sich die vorab gemeldeten Superlative: Um die mittels Lotterie unters Volk gebrachten Tickets sollen sich angeblich zwanzig Millionen Verehrer beworben haben. Kein Wunder, dass der "eBay"-Kurs der ursprünglich 125 Pfund (rund 175 Euro) teuren Karten bald einige Tausend Euro betrug.

Dazu kamen die Gerüchte: Wie lange würden die betagten Rocker überhaupt auf der Bühne stehen? Zwanzig Minuten oder doch - wie einst zu ihren Glanzzeiten in den Siebzigern - dreieinhalb Stunden? Und wer würde kommen außer sentimentalen, mittelalten Männern mit Haarkranz, Bierbauch und T-Shirt? Angekündigt waren immerhin Madonna, Paul und Stella McCartney und - unvermeidlich - Kate Moss.

Foto: Getty Images

Aber die große Frage blieb doch, ob drei ergraute Knaben im Rentenalter und der glatzköpfige Sohn ihres toten Schlagzeugers dem ganzen Bohei gerecht werden konnten. Diese Gang, die auch dafür legendär war, zu ihren Glanzzeiten in den Siebzigern die Puppen tanzen zu lassen wie keine Band vor ihnen und kaum eine danach; die sich angeblich mit Scharen junger Damen vergnügte, Hotelsuiten am laufenden Band zertrümmerte und überhaupt die Mächte der Finsternis anbetete.

Und von denen nun berichtet wurde, dass sie sich mit Pilates frisch halten, ins Sonnenstudio gehen und für ihre Garderoben in der O2-Arena nicht Champagner und Koks sondern Pfefferminztee und Kaffee ohne Koffein geordert haben. Dass Jimmy Page, den nicht wenige für einen der besten Gitarristen der Rockmusik überhaupt halten, bei den Proben ein Finger brach, war auch kein gutes Omen.

Magie der ganz großen Wucht

Der Beginn des Abends war eher gruselig. Da spielten Bill Wyman, einst bei den Rolling Stones beschäftigt, und seine Rythm Kings mit allerlei prominenten Gästen wie Paul Rodgers oder Foreigner Bierzelt-Schunkel-Rock der einschläfernden Art. Aber als ziemlich genau um 21 Uhr Led Zeppelin loslegten, kam der Abend doch noch in Fahrt. Genauer gesagt lief erstmal ein Film, der alle Anwesenden daran erinnern sollte, was für legendäre Vögel sie nun bestaunen durften. Als dann die Gentlemen Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones und Jason Bonham leibhaftig zu den Instrumenten griffen, machten sie ihrer Legende keine Schande.

Majestätisch ließen sie gut zwei Stunden lang die gruselige Mehrzweckhalle erbeben. Spielten all ihre Klassiker wie "Black Dog", "Whole Lotta Love" und natürlich "Stairway To Heaven". Und es war egal, dass Robert Plant die hohen Töne mit den Jahren abhanden gekommen sind und John Bonhams Sohn Jason nicht ganz die brachiale Kraft des Seniors geerbt hat.

Was die alten Knaben noch immer beherrschen, ist die Magie der ganz großen Wucht, eine Kraft, die ihnen manchmal die Melodie ersetzte, aber bis heute zu Recht noch nachgewachsene Generationen beeindruckt. Auch auf die großen Gesten verstehen sie sich noch wie kaum einer ihrer Konkurrenten, damals wie heute. So wirkt es nicht mal peinlich, wenn Jimmy Page bei "Dazed And Confused" entrückt in einer Pyramide aus grünen Laser-Strahlen seine Gitarre virtuos bearbeitet. Es schien durchaus Euphorie auf der Bühne zu herrschen und die größte Kunst der Musiker bestand eben darin, das Spektakel nicht zu einer öden Nostalgie-Show verkommen zu lassen, sondern energisch zu klingen.

Goldenes Zeitalter der Musik

Immerhin: Sie waren hier zusammengekommen, um ihren alten Mentor Ahmet Ertegun zu ehren, einen König der Musikindustrie, der einst die Plattenfirma Atlantic gründete und im vergangenen Jahr starb. Und so verabschiedeten Led Zeppelin in der vergangenen Nacht eben auch ein goldenes Zeitalter der Musik. Die Sechziger und insbesondere die Siebziger, als sie noch keinen Tee tranken, keine Falten hatten und das Internet noch nicht die Umsätze fraß. Warum der Mythos von Led Zeppelin bis ins neue Jahrtausend Bestand hat, wurde gestern nachdrücklich klar. Nach zwei gloriosen Stunden blieb nur die Frage, ob das nun ein Finale oder ein Neuanfang war. Ob sich die Gerüchte einer Welttournee bestätigen, oder nun alles beerdigt ist.

Zumindest Jimmy Page ließ nach der Show verkünden, dass er und sein Finger erstmal einen Urlaub brauchen.

and another article from today:

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,522544,00.html

Whole Lotta Love für "Led Zeppelin"

Der Mythos lebt, die Magie der musikalischen Kraft ist unverbraucht - und der Jubel frenetisch. In London spielte die legendäre Rockband "Led Zeppelin" ein furioses Revival-Konzert. Fans und Kritiker sind sich einig in hymnischer Verehrung für die hohe Kunst genialer Riffs.

London - Von der "Mutter aller Band-Revivals" schwärmt die Londoner "Times", von der Wiederkunft - und Neuentdeckung - "alter Kraft" kündet die amerikanische "New York Times" und als schlicht "Led-gendär!" ruft das Boulevardschlachtross "The Sun" dieses Ereignis aus. Keines war so sehnsüchtig, mit so hohen Erwartungen antizipiert worden, kaum eines wurde je so einhellig bejubelt.

LED ZEPPELIN IN LONDON: "BLITZ UND DONNERKEIL"

Fotostrecke starten: Klicken Sie auf ein Bild (10 Bilder)

Die legendäre Rockband "Led Zeppelin" begeisterte mit ihrem ersten großen Livekonzert seit fast drei Jahrzehnten rund 20.000 Fans in London. "Ich habe sie live gesehen! Jetzt habe ich wahrhaftig etwas über Musik gelernt", "Phantastisch! Ich bin überwältigt!", "Alle unsere Wünsche haben sich erfüllt" - nach dem Event waren die Reaktionen der Zeppelin-Verehrer einhellig. Umgerechnet 175 Euro hatten sich die Konzertbesucher die Tickets kosten lassen.

Die Prominenz aus Musik- und Showbusiness musste sich um Tickets nicht sorgen und war reichlich vertreten: Die Skandal-Models Kate Moss und Naomi Campbell waren da, die Indie-Rocker Arctic Monkeys, David Gilmour von Pink Floyd, Queen's Roger Taylor, die Krawallbrüder Noel und Liam Gallagher von Oasis, Mick Jagger - und natürlich Sir Paul McCartney.

Die drei Bandmitglieder der Urformation, Sänger Robert Plant, Gitarrist Jimmy Page und Bassist John Paul Jones wurden an den Drums von Jason Bonham verstärkt, dem Sohn des 1980 verstorbenen Drummers John Bonham.

Das Konzert startete mit einer, wie es heißt, "nahezu perfekten" Performance von "Good Times Bad Times", gefolgt von "Ramble On", was die Befürchtungen der Fans zerstreute, Robert Plant sei höheren Tonlagen nicht mehr gewachsen.

Scheinbar mühelos gelang es den reifen Herren auf der Bühne, den noch bestens in der Erinnerung ihrer Verehrer verhafteten Zauber musikalischer Genialität zu entfalten: "Manche Bands ziehen das Tempo an, wenn sie ihre alten Songs spielen", urteilt die "New York Times". "Schnell zu spielen ist so eine Art Schutzpanzer. Led Zeppelin dagegen sind bedächtiger geworden. Die Band hat zu Tempi gefunden, die noch anmutiger sind als die, die man von alten Live-Aufnahmen her kannte."

Jimmy Pages Gitarrenriffs beschreiben verzückte Kritiker nach wie vor als "enorm, herrlich böse, großartig". Er habe Akkorde gespielt mit einer Macht, "als schleudere Thor Blitz und Donnerkeil aus den Himmeln", so die "Times". Im Publikum griffen überwältigte Anbeter seiner Kunst in verzückter Heldenverehrung zur Luftgitarre - eine anrührende Form totaler Reverenz.

Led Zeppelin-Comeback

Rückkehr der Rock-Opas

Ein besonderer Druck mag auf Jason Bonham gelastet haben, der seinen Vater an den Drums jedoch mehr als ersetzte. Als "fehlerfrei" wird seine Performance gelobt, mehr noch: "Ehrfurchtsvoll" hätten die anderen Bandmitglieder seine Hingabe, seine musikalische Präsenz und Energie am Ende von "Black Dog" beobachtet.

Bei den Proben vor ein paar Wochen soll Robert Plant noch geklagt haben: "Mühevoll" sei es, einem 60-jährigen Körper die Stimmleistung eines 20-jährigen Mannes abzuverlangen. "Er hätte sich nicht sorgen müssen", urteilt die "Times": "Ein altes Gerät braucht vielleicht eine Weile, bis es rund läuft, aber wenn die Ventile erst mal durchgepustet sind, erkennt man echte Qualität."

Translate please?

[SteveAJones]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=a6sXAi67skhY

Bloomberg.com

Led Zeppelin Reunion Wows London, Keeps World Guessing on Tour

By Mark Beech

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Led Zeppelin played its first concert in 19 years, leaving a London audience of 20,000 people calling for more -- and the world guessing on whether the band will tour.

Last night's show, described as ``rock's biggest reunion'' by other stars at the O2 Arena, was hailed by fans as immaculately performed. The only disappointment was no announcement on whether it will be the prelude to a longer return.

It was billed as a not-to-be-repeated charity event, though the demand could persuade the group to join a lucrative reunion bandwagon that includes the Police, Eagles, Who and Spice Girls. ``Led Zep'' could make $3.2 million a night, Billboard estimates.

``This was unforgettable,'' said concertgoer Martin Slaney. ``It was a monumental event that I was lucky to win a ticket for. They played like they had never been apart and were note perfect. This has to go down as one of the greatest comeback concerts of all time,'' said Slaney, who works for GFT Global Markets Ltd.

The audience ovation began with the opening ``Good Times Bad Times'' as Robert Plant intoned the words: ``In the days of my youth/ I was told what it means to be a man/ Now I've reached that age/ I've tried to do all those things the best I can.'' Blistering accounts of ``Ramble On'' and ``Black Dog'' followed. Then Plant said good evening. This was just the start.

The audience went wild at the end of a show of 16 songs and would not let the band go. A storming take on ``Whole Lotta Love,'' one of Zeppelin's most famous songs, stirred up emotions after a driving set of pounding rock by founder members -- guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Plant and bassist John Paul Jones -- joined by Jason Bonham, son of their late drummer, John Bonham.

`Gig of the Century'

``We are seven years into the millennium,'' said fan Janie Oldfield, 25, from London, in an interview. ``For me, we've seen the gig of the century. It's easily the best concert I've ever seen.'' Oldfield's ticket was bought by her mother Sue, 51, who queued with her to get the pass needed to get in. ``You could sense rock history being written,'' said Oldfield, a fashion designer.

The show, in rehearsal for three weeks, included nearly all of the Zep classics. ``For Your Life'' was given its live debut. A 10-minute rendition of ``Kashmir,'' with a spectacular light show, had thousands of fans dancing to the infectious beat, including me.

The bearded Plant, 59, told the crowd that ``Dazed and Confused'' had to be on the set list and the band responded with a standout performance, equal to some of those at its 1970s peak, crowned with spaced-out feedback.

White-haired Page, 63, added a crazed guitar solo to ``Stairway to Heaven.'' It sounded even better than some of the live performances captured on albums such as ``How The West Was Won,'' ``The Song Remains The Same'' and various bootlegs.

`No Quarter'

``I was speechless,'' said another fan, Emmet Owens, 26, from Derry, Northern Ireland, who sat three rows from the front. ``I could not find any faults. `No Quarter' was amazing.''

The event will benefit the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides students with annual scholarships to universities in the U.S., U.K. and Turkey. The late Ertegun, an industry leader for six decades, was the co-founder of Atlantic Records. He died in New York last December from a head injury suffered when he fell backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in October. He was 83.

Singer Paolo Nutini, 20, the last British act to be signed by Ertegun, said in an interview before the concert that Led Zeppelin was ``about to prove'' that it was the best band in the world again. Foreigner's Mick Jones, also arriving for the show, said that Zeppelin's reunion ``raised the bar'' for everybody else.

Wyman, Emerson

Zeppelin, which has sold more than 300 million albums, was the biggest name on the concert list which also featured performances by Nutini, Foreigner, Bill Wyman, Keith Emerson and Paul Rodgers.

Tickets originally cost 125 pounds ($254) and were available through a ballot at http://www.ahmettribute.com . The ballot had more than a million entries. The site had 25 million hits from those trying to register and crashed as 80,000 people a minute clicked on it.

Tickets were later offered on EBay for as much as $10,000 each for ``buy it now'' sales. Promoter Harvey Goldsmith tried to prevent reselling of tickets by insisting on strict identification checks. Fans had to present a photo ID, the credit card used to book the ticket and a confirmation code. Lucky winners, who were given a non-transferable bracelet, traveled from more than 50 countries, and some queued for six hours.

The most expensive tickets were 83,000 pounds for a pair, paid by Glasgow businessman Kenneth Donnell in a charity auction.

Bonham's daughter Zoe said in an interview as the concert got under way that her brother Jason was ``not at all nervous.'' It was the first time that she had heard Led Zeppelin perform live. (For the record, Bonham was strikingly good, and Page showed no sign of suffering from his finger injury that had delayed the concert from November.)

Atlantic Label

Led Zeppelin, formed in 1968, was named after an in-joke that the band's heavy sound would ``go down like a lead balloon.'' The quartet signed with Atlantic the same year.

By the early 1970s, ``Led Zep'' was describing itself as ``the biggest band in the world.'' The group pioneered heavy-metal music with songs such as ``Whole Lotta Love'' and ``Stairway to Heaven.''

Led Zeppelin broke up after Bonham died, aged 32, in 1980. Page and Plant have often performed and recorded together since then, though not under the group's name. Jones, who played keyboards as well as bass, joined reunions at 1985's Live Aid and a 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic in 1988, also with Jason Bonham on drums.

The show was watched by Noel Gallagher of Oasis, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Dave Grohl, frontman of Foo Fighters.

Critic Killer

Of the many hundreds of rock gigs I have seen over the years, this was one of the best. If I hadn't got a press pass, I would have paid whatever for the privilege (though 83,000 pounds might have taken some explaining to my other half).

``Since I've Been Loving You'' was the sort of track to kill those critics who say Led Zep can only do loud and insensitive. It was as tender and sweet as they come, with Page adding little guitar flourishes to each line.

The show was filmed, so we can pray that it will be released at some stage. Even better would be a world tour so everyone else can see how good a rock band can be. Let's hope.

(Mark Beech writes for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on this story: Mark Beech in London at mbeech@bloomberg.net .

[SteveAJones]

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music...story?track=rss

Newsday.com

Led Zeppelin reunion show fuels rumor of full tour

December 11, 2007

After that performance, Led Zeppelin really must go on tour.

The reunited rock 'n' roll legends were superb last night in their first full concert in nearly three decades, mixing in classics like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Black Dog" with the thumping "Kashmir" and the hard-rocking "Dazed and Confused," The Associated Press reports.

The band's three surviving members - singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.

And it was the newest member of the band that was given the honor of kicking off the sold-out benefit show, pounding out the beat before the others joined in on a near-perfect "Good Times Bad Times."

After the lights went down at the O2 Arena, newsreel footage of the band arriving in Tampa, Fla., for a 1973 performance was projected onstage. Then Bonham jumped in, soon to be joined by the rest.

They followed that with "Ramble On," and with it destroyed all rumors that the 59-year-old Plant could no longer reproduce his trademark wail.

Page and Plant later combined to open "Nobody's Fault But Mine," a song that starts with a classic Page riff and then gets help from Plant mimicking the same sounds.

Still, it was Bonham who may have been the star of the show. At 41, he is older than his father was - 32 - when he choked to death on his own vomit in 1980.

Bonham's flawless performance and driving beat even made the other members of the band watch in awe at the end of "Black Dog."

After "The Song Remains the Same," Plant screamed: "Jason Bonham, drums! Come on!" The 16-song set list produced few surprises. They did many of the songs expected, such as "No Quarter" and "Trampled Under Foot," and the entire show lasted a bit more than two hours, mainly because of encores "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll."

Though this show is supposed to be one-time event, there have been rumors that if all went well, it would kick off a world tour.

The show was Led Zeppelin's first full set since 1980. Robbed of "Bonzo's" pulsing drums, the band decided it couldn't go on and split up on Dec. 4, 1980.

Tickets for the show, a benefit for the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, were won in an Internet lottery. Proceeds are to go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships to universities in the United States, Britain and Turkey.