Well, the night finally came and passed in a typically extravagant manner. 20 million left ticketless and teary, and a small sample of lucky lottery winners embraced what could be, and very well should be Led Zeppelin’s final ever gig. A number of rock stars like Jick Magger, Giam and Loel Nallagher and Manrilyn Marson showed up. Inevitably, a number of ‘obviously not fans of Led Zeppelin but here to look like like I do and obviously capitalise on the fact that I can get in free and get papped in the name of rock’-stars showed up…pouty stickwomen and their trilby and tattoo sporting companions…you know the ones, and anyway that’s beside the point.

So far I’m hearing nothing but good stuff about the concert, I’ve seen the tiniest snippet of Black Dog on the news and on YouTube, looked pretty good! I’ve been hearing that if all went well, which I’m told it did, the concert would be released on DVD. So there may be no official way to see the show until then.

The Guardian have said great things, as have the BBC…but there’s millions of us wanting to see it! So thank the lord for handheld recording equipment. I’m sure photos, audio bootlegs and video footage will start flooding in over the next few days…In fact my ankles are wet from a wave of digital Zeppelin as I type this post. Any good stuff you took of the gig, mail it to me and I’ll stick the best ones on my blog.

NME have some good photos of the gig already take a look at some snaps:

This one’s my favourite so far, I’ve already feasted my eyes on it:

What was it again?

Some sort of musical ensemble, twanging some songs?

Somewhere?

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh.

Anyway, yeah, I’ll have a think…I did find another stencil though, good to see they’re still out there:

Latest on the Led Zeppelin newsroll.

Apparently Jason Bonham is eager to perform to a ’son of a drumming rock-god legend’ type of standard at the concert next Monday. Yes that’s right, a week away folks, that’s seven more days of post-broken finger rehearsals too. I’m excited to see how the whole thing works out, good or bad, tour or no tour, good Bonham/bad Bonham…yeah, back to Bonham jr, apparently he - along with the rest of the Led Zeppelin faithful - believes he underperformed at the Atlantic records 40th anniversary bash in 1998, I think. He says he’s done ‘his homework’ this time and won’t disappoint: fullstoryheredrummerboy 

The other three Zeppelin veterans are keen to big Bonham up, stating that he seems better prepared and able to do justice to his father’s legacy this time round: furtherbonhamrelatedspeculation

There’s a little article situated HERE! featuring Jimmy Page and his response to the death of John Bonham and his coping with the subsequent disbanding of Led Zeppelin. Only short, but pretty insightful and worth a read if you have a minute.

There’s a hugely speculative and possible totally untrue and massively unfounded rumour that Led Zeppelin are to play the Bonnaroo Festival, Tennessee, next year. Metallica are also supposedly confirmed for the ‘eclectic’ and ‘largest hippy festival’ apparently, possibly, possibly definitely not, 100% maybe. haveagandersatthisbigfatrumour

One week to go then, you think about that sunshine(s).

Ian x

The matchmaker was their mutual promoter, Jerry Weintraub (later to produce the Ocean’s 11 series with George Clooney and Brad Pitt), who took Jimmy Page and Robert Plant up to Presley’s Las Vegas hotel suite.

Zeppelin’s music then permeated the airwaves. They were enormously popular, an enigmatic force of hard rock. Presley had already reinvented himself as the jump-suited King of Vegas, and an “honorary drug-enforcement” pal of Richard Nixon’s.

For the first few minutes of the summit meeting, Elvis ignored Led Zeppelin. The room was filled with an awkward silence. Bodyguards monitored the temperature. Jimmy Page - who had first picked up a guitar after hearing Elvis singing Baby Let’s Play House on overseas American radio - began to fidget. What was going on? Did Elvis really want to meet them? Was this a big misunderstanding?

Finally Elvis turned to his guests. His first question had nothing to do with Zeppelin’s music. It was their roguish reputation that interested him. “Tell me,” asked Elvis, “is it true, these stories about you boys on the road?”

For a surreal moment, they found themselves staring at the three-dimensional embodiment of their own youthful rebellion. Plant spoke first, without cracking a smile. “Of course not,” he said. “We’re family men. In fact, I get the most pleasure out of walking the hotel corridors, singing your songs.” Plant leaned forward, and offered his own best Elvis Presley impersonation. “Treat me like a foooool, treat me mean and cruuuel, but loooooove me…”

Presley eyed Plant very carefully. Presley’s “Memphis Mafia” studied the moment with growing intensity. And then Presley burst out laughing. The bodyguards burst out laughing. Suddenly, the atmosphere was dorm-room friendly.

For the next two hours, Presley entertained them with his own road stories, and tales from his movie-making days. He confessed that he had never heard Led Zeppelin’s music, except for the one song his stepbrother played him - Stairway to Heaven. “I liked it,” said Presley.

Later, walking down the hallway from the hotel room, Page and Plant congratulated themselves on their meeting with the King. Had it really gone as well as it seemed? The answer arrived a moment later.

“Hey,” came a voice from down the hall. Elvis had poked his head out the door. They would never meet again, but this last image was one for the memoirs. It was Presley, serenading his new hard-rock friends with a perfect imitation of Robert Plant doing him. “Treat me like foooool…”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk

Some lovely fellow has added a little Led Zeppelin historical tour to the already pretty nifty googlemaps application. By clicking the link below you will be shipped by an interlogweb transportation device to Led Zep mapland. There’s a list of Zeppelin landmarks and a little story end explanation for each one. Little things like this remind me of how awesome the internet is!

Taxiiiiiiitogooglemapledzeppelinlandplease!

Also Led Zeppelin are on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone, despite their long standing feud with the publication. Anyway, there’s a nice excerpt from the article on the Rolling Stone website. Check it here: readmereadmereadme

As I mentioned before, and as I’m sure you are all fully aware, there’s a lot of worry and wonder over how well Led Zeppelin are likely to perform on December 10. Now I wouldn’t really say that I’m worried about it, I’m sort of, well, confused.

To be totally honest, I’ve never been one to champion reunion tours or musicians of yesteryear reforming in attempts rekindle their former glory. In fact I’ve always scoffed at it, that same scoff that most young (self appointed) music scholars do. The Police, for example, a brilliant band no question about it, did a reunion tour last year…yet I can’t help but to question the motives behind it…they didn’t write any new material, they didn’t do anything new, in fact they did absolutely nothing to strengthen the legacy that they should have rightfully left in the 80’s. What was the point? The only motivation for such a move that springs to mind is money. Money, and vast amounts of it, wads of the stuff for one little tour. So many bands have done it in the past few years; Cream, The Who and on a less credible and more current note, The Spice Girls have all re-emerged. But ultimately, what for? Money? Have they forgotten that a raw talent for songwriting, a buzz and the desire to play anywhere and everywhere is what brought them together and towards success in the first place.

And what is a new tour really going to offer us? Those who missed out in the first place get a chance to see them? Well no, it’s not them, they’ve turned into a load of rich guys, dressed up as young guys, trying to get richer…Big fans get to see them again? Again, no. Just NO! Most of the fans of decent bands from the 60’s and 70’s went through a dodgy period in the 80’s and turned into yuppies and listened to Phil Collins and Level 42 anyway. It’s only once the midlife crisis kicked in during the late 90’s, when your hair began to grey and your son started listening to metal that you decided to dust off the old ‘hard rock’ vinyl and reminisce about those hazy teenage years.

The most noticeable trait of the current generations seems to be one that thrives off nostalgia and the wonder of youth. A sort of ‘grass is greener on the other side of yesterday’ type notion. Even people my age bang on about how great toys and TV programmes used to be, how sweets were nicer, how they actually liked high-top trainers the first time round etc. It’s become our thing, our identity…This is why people attend reunion concerts, this is why they get a chance to happen in the first place.

I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that bands like The Smiths won’t decide this is a good idea, to leave it where you left it seems to be such a more dignified and mysterious way of putting down and accepting the end of a musical era. This was always something I had championed Led Zep for, as mystery and that discerning mystique had always been their ‘thing’. I had always considered it quite cringeworthy, watching wrinkly Jaggers, Iggy Pops and Debbie Harrys still rolling around stages, parodying the raw and genuine glory of their respective heydays. I had never expected Led Zeppelin to follow suit Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but Bob Dylan and Neil Young never stopped being cool in the first place did they? .

But…in my opinion, a number of things save Led Zeppelin this time. The fact they have a good reason for performing: as a tribute to their good friend and montor, Ahmet Ertegun. And the fact that it’s a one off gig. I even think that the whole ticket-lottery and the assurance that many people weren’t going to get a chance to see the gig was done in a typically mysterious and utterly Led Zeppelin-esque fashion…by letting a tiny fraction of your fanbase see you one last time only increases interest. All of the best bands have ended at a point where they logically shouldn’t have: Morrison’s death ended the Doors, The Beatles ended on a high, Hendrix died at his peak, Nick Drake, Nirvana, Jeff Buckley…the list goes on…

For Zeppelin to not do a follow up tour now would be the most illogical thing to do right now, and therefore the best thing they could possibly do.

In this age of rockstars with walking sticks and botox faced groupies, we need Led Zeppeilin more than ever to exemplify how it should end.

What I’m trying to say is that I hope Led Zeppelin end it here, they have the opportunity to bow out with millions scrambling to see them, the chance to end on the most ultimate of highs…and that would be the most perfect way to bring the curtains down.

For any of you guys that have Facebook accounts, come and join the new thezep.net group, join in and help spread the social network word of the ultimate Led Zep blog! Join in some chats and invite your friends! We need some hardcore Zep fans to represent us! x

JOINTHEFACEBOOKMILITIAHERE,CLICKME,CLICKME! 

There’s lots of talk of apprehension towards Led Zeppelin’s ability to perform at their upcoming reunion concert. Have they unnecessarily awoken a beast that can no longer roar? Or will their ability and spirit shine through? It’s a good question and one that can only be answered in due course…But it has led me to wonder whether they will smash everything with a Hammer of the Gods, or will they lightly and inoffensively bash the o2 arena like Mallet’s Mallet?

Either way, there’s no denying that this performance is awesome…