{"id":859,"date":"2007-12-10T22:48:41","date_gmt":"2007-12-10T22:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/10\/no-quarter-asked-and-given\/"},"modified":"2015-03-19T12:16:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T12:16:52","slug":"no-quarter-asked-and-given","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=859","title":{"rendered":"Led Zeppelin at the O2 Arena as it happens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Led<\/a><\/p>\n

By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

Something about a dirigible<\/strong><\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin might be playing in their long-awaited reunion tonight at the big Ahmet Ertegun charity show but if there is any excitement inside the O2 Arena you wouldn\u2019t know it from the media centre.<\/p>\n

Deep in the bowels of what was the Millennium Dome in east London, we\u2019re jammed into a drab windowless room with white walls and cafeteria tables where drones sit at computers filing about all the excitement.<\/p>\n

The PR firm running the show ran out of badges and it took negotiations with a very officious security company before many of us were given wristbands from another event named Beige Brigade that they were prepared to recognize.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve lumped radio reporters together with photographers and writers so I get to hear the guy from BBC Devon as he does his standup while I struggle with the internet communications.<\/p>\n

An IT technician has been grappling with the single flat screen on which tonight\u2019s show is to be screened for the world\u2019s press. For a while there was an image from the BBC\u2019s quiz show \u201cMastermind\u201d with no sound. Now Bill Wyman is playing with a synch delay between sound and picture and the gentle but steady hum of feedback. Tonight is going to be such fun.<\/p>\n

The suspense builds \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bill Wyman set is followed by Paul Rodgers doing \u201cAll Right Now\u201d and then Foreigner who perform \u201cI Want to Know What Love Is\u201d with St. Luke\u2019s Church of England choir from Portsmouth on Britain\u2019s south coast.<\/p>\n

The crowd joins in too although in the media room the buzz is all about the celebrity guest list as the red carpet reporters breeze in reeling off the big names.<\/p>\n

Marilyn Manson, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, the Arctic Monkeys, Kate Moss, Oasis, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Roger Taylor of Queen, Prescilla and Lisa Marie Presley, Steve Winwood, Tony Banks from Genesis, and Jeri Hall are all in the house. Paris Hilton and Paul McCartney are said to be on their way. Separately, we\u2019re told.<\/p>\n

\"Led<\/a><\/p>\n

Time is falling away<\/strong><\/p>\n

The show opens right on time with a giant television set showing clips from U.S. TV as Led Zeppelin first toured the States and played Tampa Stadium.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Page, 63, John Paul Jones, 61, and Robert Plant, 59 \u2014 original members of the band \u2014 blast on stage with drummer Jason Bonham, 41, who takes the place of his father, John Bonham, who died in 1980.<\/p>\n

They begin with a brisk version of \u201cGood Times, Bad Times\u201d with Jimmy Page\u2019s guitar crisp and clear but Robert Plant\u2019s voice is cramped by feedback. Even on the flat screen, the stage is brilliant and the lighting looks great.<\/p>\n

\u201cRamble On\u201d follows and now Plant\u2019s microphone is working better and he sounds in good voice, growling and snapping just like he used to.<\/p>\n

Page swings into \u201cBlack Dog\u201d with Plant teasing the crowd while the guitarist chops left and right with industrial power. Classic blues chords summon a long dynamic delivery of \u201cIn My Time of Dying\u201d and the years are falling away.<\/p>\n

Paying tribute to their elders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plant speaks of the \u201cthousands and thousands of emotions that we\u2019ve been going through for the last six weeks \u2026 and to be here tonight for Ahmet and with Jason here \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He says, \u201cThis is our first adventure with this song,\u201d and the band plays \u201cFor Your Life\u201d from their seventh studio album \u201cPresence\u201d. It\u2019s the first time the song has been played live.<\/p>\n

Plant pays tribute to blues singer Robert Johnson and his song \u201cTemperance Blues\u201d ahead of a lively encounter with \u201cTrampled Under Foot\u201d from the 1975 Zeppelin album \u201cPhysical Graffiti.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blind Willie Johnson, the Staple Singers, and the Blind Boys of Alabama are each name checked by Plant as he introduces Johnson\u2019s \u201cNobody\u2019s Fault But Mine,\u201d also from \u201cPresence\u201d.<\/p>\n

No quarter asked and given<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo Quarter\u201d from the Led Zeppelin\u2019s fifth album, which was always at the heart of their concerts back in the day, allows plenty of time for rumination on strings by lead Page with Jones on keyboard as Plant finds the glittering high notes of old. \u201cSince I\u2019ve Been Loving You\u201d follows on.<\/p>\n

Access has now been granted inside the auditorium just in time to hear Plant say: \u201cIt\u2019s 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 \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDazed and Confused\u201d rules as Page uses a violin bow on his guitar to erect a cathedral of dissonance while the crowd roars. Another required number is \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d, which Page plays on a double-necked instrument as Plant\u2019s surprisingly still supple voice glides on the legendary hit.<\/p>\n

Now with a view of the stage it\u2019s possible to appreciate the excellent video display with multiple images behind the live players. Bonham at the drums looks beefy but fit. Jones is clean cut, all business on keyboards or bass. Page is stout with puffy features and frizzled hair.<\/p>\n

Plant, whose visage is more familiar with all the publicity he\u2019s been doing for his \u201cRaising Sand\u201d album with Alison Krauss, appears like a well-fed Anglo Wild Bill Hickok, commanding the stage and still finding those elusive trills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Song Remains the Same\u201d keeps the crowd joyous and then Plant tips his hat to drummer Bonham for stepping into his father\u2019s shoes, leading into \u201cMisty Mountain Hop\u201d.<\/p>\n

All them good times \u2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanking all the people who have come from more than 50 countries, Plant declares \u201cThis is the 51st country,\u201d and commences \u201cKashmir\u201d, which was the song most Led Zeppelin fans said they wanted to hear in a music magazine poll. It leaves the singer in tears and the audience, which has been long on its feet, hollers for more.<\/p>\n

Back onstage, the encore takes the form inevitably of \u201cWhole Lotta Love\u201d. At the end, Plant salutes Ertegun and Atlantic Records and says good night. It looks like it\u2019s all over but then they burst back for a rollicking version of \u201cRock and Roll\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett Something about a dirigible Led Zeppelin might be playing in their long-awaited reunion tonight at the big Ahmet Ertegun charity show but if there is any excitement inside the O2 Arena you wouldn\u2019t know it from the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[2890,2891,2888,2889],"class_list":["post-859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-notes","tag-ahmet-ertegun","tag-bill-wyman","tag-led-zeppelin","tag-o2-aerna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=859"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5342,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions\/5342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}