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''[[The New Yorker]]'' critic [[Sasha Frere-Jones]], who attended the concert wrote, "The failed gigs of the nineteen-eighties and nineties have been supplanted by a triumph, and the band should be pleased to have done Ertegun proud with such a spirited performance."<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/12/24/071224crmu_music_frerejones: Stairway to Here: Musical Events: The New Yorker]</ref>
''[[The New Yorker]]'' critic [[Sasha Frere-Jones]], who attended the concert wrote, "The failed gigs of the nineteen-eighties and nineties have been supplanted by a triumph, and the band should be pleased to have done Ertegun proud with such a spirited performance."<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/12/24/071224crmu_music_frerejones: Stairway to Here: Musical Events: The New Yorker]</ref>

Members of the band have also expressed their own satisfaction with the concert. Plant:

{{cquote|On a musical level, we've had sublime moments and there were several on December 10. Bear in mind that we're old guys now and we're not supposed to be hip-shrugging teenage idols. It was pretty ... I'm not sure 'sincere' is the right word. But it was as real as you're going to get. And Jimmy [Page] was on fire at times.<ref name = "Uncut09" />}}


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 08:25, 28 December 2008

Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
Concert by Led Zeppelin
LocationThe O2 Arena, London
Start dateDecember 10, 2007
End dateDecember 10, 2007
Legs1
No. of shows1
Led Zeppelin concert chronology

The Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band Led Zeppelin performing its first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, in a one-off concert. Bonham's son Jason played drums and provided backing vocals on two songs.

Background

On September 12, 2007, it was confirmed during a press conference by promoter Harvey Goldsmith that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin would reunite for the show, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums.[1] The concert was originally scheduled to take place on November 26, 2007. It was to help raise money for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, which pays for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey.

Tickets were made available via a lottery system through the website Ahmettribute.com, costing £125 / $250,[2] with all proceeds going to Ahmet's own charity. The website exceeded its bandwidth allowance and crashed almost immediately following the announcement, with the promoter predicting that the gig would cause the "largest demand for one show in history"[3]. The promoter claimed that one million people registered for fewer than 20,000 available tickets.[4] Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page later commented:

I knew it was going to sell out quickly, but the tidal wave of euphoria that preceded the gig - the anticipation - went beyond what I could possibly have imagined. We'd have a few shambolic appearances in the past, like Live Aid, so if we were ever going to come back together, we were going to do it properly and stand up and be counted.[5]

On November 1, 2007, it was announced that Page fractured the little finger on his left hand after a fall in his garden and the reunion show was postponed to December 10, 2007.[6]

The concert

Opening acts

The show opened with a band consisting of Keith Emerson, Chris Squire, Alan White and Simon Kirke with the brass section from Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. They played ELP's version of "Fanfare for a Common Man", including sections from Yes's "the fish" and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".

The show also featured Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, Paul Rodgers, Paolo Nutini, and Foreigner as supporting acts.[7][8] Pete Townshend was scheduled to perform as a supporting act, but pulled out when he heard Led Zeppelin was performing, saying, "They really don't need me."[9] Other acts considered for the show included a reunited Cream.

Led Zeppelin

The band performed sixteen songs, including two encores, featuring a range of songs from across the spectrum of their career. Included in the set list were two numbers which were played live in their entirety for the first time ever by Led Zeppelin, namely "Ramble On" and "For Your Life".

Setlist

  1. "Good Times Bad Times"
  2. "Ramble On"
  3. "Black Dog"
  4. "In My Time of Dying"/"Honey Bee"
  5. "For Your Life"
  6. "Trampled Under Foot"
  7. "Nobody's Fault but Mine"
  8. "No Quarter"
  9. "Since I've Been Loving You"
  10. "Dazed and Confused"
  11. "Stairway to Heaven"
  12. "The Song Remains the Same"
  13. "Misty Mountain Hop"
  14. "Kashmir"

First Encore:

  2. "Whole Lotta Love"/"Boogie Chillun"

Second Encore:

  2. "Rock and Roll"

Many of the songs were performed one step tuned down in order to accommodate singer Robert Plant's vocal range. Some were kept in their original key.

The concert sound was mixed by Metallica's FOH engineer Big Mick [10]. The concert was also filmed for a possible DVD release.[11] In an interview he gave in March 2008, Page commented

It was recorded, but we didn't go in with the express purpose of making a DVD to come out at Christmas, or whatever. We haven't seen the images or investigated the multitracks. It's feasible that it might come out at some distant point, but it'll be a massive job to embark on.[12]

The concert was recorded by many fans. Sophisticated bootleg versions of the show are available on the internet, including a widescreen DVD with a surround sound audio track mixed from 10 different audience recordings of the show.

A number of celebrities attended the gig, including Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl (who praised Jason Bonham's performance),[13] Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, Fearne Cotton, Lostprophets drummer Ilan Rubin,[14] Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Brian May, [15] Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, Arctic Monkeys, U2's The Edge, Bernard Sumner, Dave Mustaine who received free tickets from Ross Halfin, Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, Matt Morgan, Juliette Lewis, Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft,[16] Marilyn Manson, the Allman Brothers Band's Warren Haynes, model Kate Moss, actor David Boreanaz, actress Erika Sawajiri [17], Neil Finn,[18] [19].

Critical response

Music critics in attendance were unanimous in their praise for Led Zeppelin's performance. New Musical Express proclaimed, "What they have done here tonight is proof 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."[20]

The New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones, who attended the concert wrote, "The failed gigs of the nineteen-eighties and nineties have been supplanted by a triumph, and the band should be pleased to have done Ertegun proud with such a spirited performance."[21]

Members of the band have also expressed their own satisfaction with the concert. Plant:

On a musical level, we've had sublime moments and there were several on December 10. Bear in mind that we're old guys now and we're not supposed to be hip-shrugging teenage idols. It was pretty ... I'm not sure 'sincere' is the right word. But it was as real as you're going to get. And Jimmy [Page] was on fire at times.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Led Zeppelin confirm reunion gig". BBC. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  2. ^ "Led Zeppelin Takes Flight, For One Night Only". Billboard.com. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  3. ^ "demand for tickets crashes site". NME. 2007-09-13. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  4. ^ Nagara, Bunn. "Get your Led out", The Star (Malaysia), December 10, 2007. Accessed January 5, 2008. "Today they play a one-off concert at London’s 02 Arena, in aid of the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun’s education fund. More than two million fans chased nearly 20,000 tickets, and with more than a billion page views the website soon crashed."
  5. ^ a b “I first met Jimmy on Tolworth Broadway, holding a bag of exotic fish...”, Uncut, January 2009, p. 48.
  6. ^ Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert Postponed Due to Fractured Finger
  7. ^ Led Zep To Record New Material? | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
  8. ^ Rodgers ready to rock Ertegun tribute
  9. ^ "Pete Townshend pulls out of Ahmet Ertegün concert
  10. ^ Led Zeppelin reunion feature
  11. ^ Led Zeppelin Release Reunion DVD - Kerrang.com
  12. ^ David Cavanagh, "Jimmy Page: ‘Mission accomplished...’", Uncut Magazine, May 2008, pp. 46-50.
  13. ^ Led Zeppelin reunion: Dave Grohl praises Jason Bonham | News | NME.COM
  14. ^ buzznetIlan Rubins take on the gig Retrieved December 12 2007
  15. ^ brianmay.com
  16. ^ NME
  17. ^ Erika Sawajiri & Tsuyoshi Takashiro Spotted Together in Led Zeppelin Concert
  18. ^ Enz on Campbell Live - Topic Powered by eve community
  19. ^ To Attend Led Zeppelin Gig
  20. ^ Led Zeppelin reunion: the review | News |NME.COM
  21. ^ Stairway to Here: Musical Events: The New Yorker
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