The Great Tale finale

["Nech" <tytlane@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 As a really great person asked me the Sunday afternoon before the show 
"Shouldn't you be blubbering by now?!" : )  No, I saved it for now.

But, now the time has come....It was Dec. 10th, 2007 20:58 GMT....

There I was standing on the edge of a cliff it seemed, looking over a 
swarming Ocean of people ready to catch me if I fall...ready to throw me 
back up into the rafters. Were *THEY* ready?!?!? That pit in my stomach 
had crept up and became a lump lodged in my throat...getting hard to 
breathe...I see movement...I see the lights go down.. . . my thoughts 
blur as the Ocean ROARS..... I'm watching the clip being shown on the 
big screen but can't concentrate on it....Beatles records 
broken...private jets... my eyes are focused on those figures on 
stage...my heart...did it just stop? Did all time stop?!?!!!

Dammit, my eyes are blurry, my hands are shaking... I hear four solid 
taps on the cymbal and BAM!!!!! BAMM!!!!! I am trasported back in 
time...back to 1977, back to the days of my youth ... OH MY GOD... OH MY 
JESUS!!!! OOOH MY EARS MAN!!!!! IT's LED ZEPPELIN and it sounds 
good!!!!!  Brain dead...do I do pictures...do I try to set my camera on 
vid mode.....Do I...??? And Woooowoeoooeoowoeooeoeoeeee Jason Bonham's 
head mics feedback and snap me back to reality...there they are Nech, 
there they are....I sing along, I clap along, I air guitar along....
Then the moment of truth...That second of silence before the 
solo...YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Immediately I knew...I 
knew this was gonna be the show to end all shows. When Jimmy absolutely 
nailed that first solo, I cannot tell you how wonderful I felt. For 
myself, for Jimmy, for Led Zeppelin. It only got better. All I could've 
asked for was that the soundman realized JPJ existed. Somehow his bass 
riff before the second descending solo was lost...or was I just missing 
it because the crowd was so loud?  I looked around me...I wasn't the 
only one totally mesmorized by the power and glory of this opening 
number. 39 years it's been waiting to be fully unleashed. And when it 
was over, the moster of an audience absolutely acknowledged its being. 
So rapturous that the beginings of Ramble on were completely lost to my 
ears. As that familiar haunting bass line broght everything together all 
I kept thinking was...Will he do it? Will Robert sing the whole chorus 
or again strip it down to P/P ways??? Andd...annnd....yeah, Ramble 
on...Sing my song..... On my way.... sigh.... But still something about 
this outing that sounded different. Not sure what to pin it on. But 
darker, deeper...ahhh yes, deeper... 1 step deeper. It's working fellas. 
As Robert approaches the "Magic filled the air' lyrics I was waiting for 
the whole audience to sing along like back in 95 & 98, but they didn't. 
I was the only one it seemed that was standing with my arms up in the 
air, letting that magic envelope me and making me slip away with her -er 
her -er her -er yeah!!!! Ahhhhh Live Led Zeppelin... I cannot believe I 
am experiencing it again. And it's so good. Haven't been trully 
concentrating on the musicianship must admit as I've just been so caught 
up in the moment. But all in all, they are sounding incredible.

  I am waiting for the first Good Evening...and there it was....I 
couldn't help but scream back at Robert..."I said Good EEEEvening!!!!"
Leave it to a nut to be recreating a boot in his head! Ha!

  Black Dog. What can I say, it blew me away. Jones' bass knocked me on 
my ass. I think they fianlly got the sound right. Robert's 
voice...Robert's voice...was eerily magnificent. And Jason, oh Jason, 
coming in early and constantly driving this one along before Robert 
finished his verses was a nice personal touch. He did do that no? ( 
Remember, I have not yet listened to any of the show since 12/10 save 
for FYL - this is all my brain's recollections as I try to type at 
breakneck speed ) Yeah, breakneck speed...that's what Jimmy shows us 
he's still got. And it seemed like the audience couldn't WAIT to become 
part of the one as the call and response with the AHH ahh's was 
deafening.  Jimmy's solo was as good as any I have ever heard. And the 
swagger was all there. Maybe not as thrusting in your face as the 
original Golden God, but Robert was in fine form commanding the stage, 
if not with his presence, with his voice. Over and over I kept thinking 
out loud just how great he was sounding. Will it last the whole show?!?!

  As Jimmy is switching guitars, I am expecting Plant to make his first 
Plantation of the show, but instead just another short " Well, good 
evening" followed by silence.... Seeing that Jimmy's sporting the Gibson 
L5 (??) I know what's up as we had seen this the night before. 
IMTOD...as Jimmy starts that opening riff my spine just tingles. Sounds 
even deeper and darker than the night before... It's a barnburner. I'm 
thinking this is one of the best performances ever of this. I recall 
Plant getting really into this one and ad libbing "feels pretty good UP 
here"  The magic in the air must have gotten to him. Jimmy's very 
animated, Jones is just absolutely rock solid, and Jason delivers a 
performance trully making him worthy of the title "Son of Thunder"
In my notes I desribed it with one word..."WOW!"

OK, now what's next... Where do you go from here? Seems like every 
number tops the one before. Finally Plant makes his first elongated talk 
  as he speaks of all the "Thousands of emotions we've been going 
through for the past 6 weeks together" " For Ahmet, with Jason " "Our 
first adventure with this song in public" and my hair stands on end as 
Jason does the cymbal count in and For Your Life rips thru my gut. Oh 
wow, does it sounds great. And the tone out of Jimmy's new custom Black 
Beauty just makes you wanna run for cover. Jimmy's very own weapon of 
mass destruction. Jason's drum fills just rock the whole arena. I was 
worried about this solo. As one of the most angst ridden gut wrenching 
guitar solos ever laid down on wax , just how was Jimmy gonna do here 
live...for the first time ever... with the world watching and listening 
( after the fact I mean ! ) and oh man did he make me proud to be a 
Jimmy Page fan. Sublime is the only way to put it.
The way he worked the echo, the natural ambience of the hall, the 
swelling and swaying of the whole number...it all came together and made 
me absofrickenlutely loose my voice. The very essence of Tight but loose 
to the core.  Again...how can it get any better?!?! Oh yeah, I think 
this was the first time, or at least the first time I noticed, that the 
giant screen behind them was used for eye candy visuals instead of just 
projections of the band. my notes read "candy canes" ??  Being this was 
the only thing I just couldn't keep myself from watching on youtube, I 
can see what I was thinking.

  Jonesy moves to the keys for the first time of the night and Robert 
speaks of Robert Johnson and Terrapin Blues. Ah....Trampled 
Underfoot!!!!  Not as fast a tempo as was typical of '77 and 80 
versions, but ever more so tub thumping IMO. I think this is when I 
must've blew out my knees from footstomping. Footstomping Graffiti 
indeed!!!! Both Jimmy and Jonesy put on great shows and Robert is really 
starting to take chances with hyperextending his voice....and you know 
what...all of them NAILED it. Jason's drumming on par with Dad at this 
point I decided, all the while accentuated with the flashing lights that 
just really took this whole number to another level. Kudos to the 
lighting and vid crew. Always complementory, but never taking anything 
away from the boys on stage.

  Robert again speaks for a bit and drops all sorts of names...I catch 
Blind Willie Johnson and Blind Boys of Alabama, there was someone else, 
but pretty much figured from this that Nobody's Fault But Mine is up next.

  When NFBM started, I just couldn't wait for them to get to the 
harmonica solo. This was something they had been working on during the 
soundcheck, so I was wondering are they gonna try it, or stick to the 
tried and true version? As Robert took center stage, JPJ & JP , as they 
would do on so many occasions this night, converged in front of Jason 
and were working off his cues. Eyes, body movements and flailing limbs 
all came into play as they did indeed somewhat seamlessly churn through 
this start stop cacaphony of mayhemic blues. ( Is that a word!? if not, 
I'm copyrighting it! )  Anyways, it was straight outta blind folks' 
souls to ours that they delivered yet again, a stellar version of this 
tune.

  You know, that was one thing that I absolutely adored throughout the 
concert... that sense of comraderie they all seemed to be conveying. 
Huddled in front of Jason, just like in the days of glory past. Reminded 
alot of RAH, when during the tightest moments they would lock into a 
groove together, using their eyes to convey messages only they can 
hear/speak. It was phenomenal to see that. I was so happy for Jason. He 
wasn't just a fill in drummer...he was a member of the band. A member of 
Led Zeppelin.

  As the audience's rapture filled the hall, I noticed the light rigging 
moving down.  Fog started creeping out across the stage as well. While 
the rigging was coming down the outer arms also curled in towards the 
stage. I guess the best way to describe it would be that it looked like 
a huge spider closing in on it's prey.... blue light, fogs...can only 
mean one thing...No Quarter. As Jimmy's first guitar strums growled out, 
again I just got chills that ran up and down my spine. It's one thing to 
sit at home and crank it up...it's another to have Jimmy and company do 
it for you. Funny how the night before it  was Jason singing this thru 
his snare mic. It was a short concise piano outing from Jones and Jimmy 
and Plant give each other a hug before Jimmy sprang into the lead. 
Between JPJ & JP's figer excersises and Jason's staccato beats, it was 
another sublime version of this classic concert staple. Since I was 
waiting for it, I was actually able to get a nice picture of Jimmy in 
the fog as the theremin made this evening's debute with the dogs of doom.

Whew.

Furtive glances about as folks wondered what's next. Without any thought 
and just on a guess I yelled out SIBLY.  And then had my jaw hit the 
ground as the first blues drenched somewhat tentative notes rung out. I 
cursed out Eric Clapton basing my foul mouth on the recent threads of 
his 'severly critical' views of Zep's blues. Bah Humbug...listen to this 
Eric...this had soul. This had feeling. This was blues that had a life 
of its own. One that conveyed the nerves, pains, emotions and highs of 
life thru the fingers playing it..Osmosis baby. This was Led 
Zeppelin...never the same way twice. This wasn't even P/P where you got 
used to a punch in punch out setlist and orchestral maneuvers. This was 
stripped down bare bones 4 man blues. Even though the solo also started 
off somewhat tentative and errr, nervous?, by the time the backdoor man 
was done with me, I was so there...I felt the blues and it was good. An 
education in light and shade. From climax to falling asleep in your 
lover's arms.

bliss.

Plant speaks again. Something about "songs that just have to be played" 
and as JPJ's bass notes ring out, the crowd goes wild...Dazed and 
Confused. Yeah, they played it. Yeah, Jimmy had the bow, YEah they even 
resurrected the green lasers and rotating pyramid. Dinosaur rock??? Hell 
no. Blow yer freaking mind rock??? You betcha. From the slow near death 
descending bass riff to the breakneck solo this encompassed all of Zep's 
history into one number. From guitar virtuosity to over the top 
debauchery as Jimmy spanked that LP into submission it was just pure 
excitement from start to finish. I was totally transported back to 
Madison Square Garden and litterally cried as I remembered being this 
star struck little kid in an ocean of he-men watching in total awe as 
somehow this genius of the guitar managed to take seemingly useless 
noise and turn it into a Pendereckian masterpiece. MArs...Bringer of 
Wars...take me away, I am yours. Even with all of its moving parts, the 
song was actually kept to a short duration. Fannnnntastic.

  Watching Jimmy strap on the double neck could only mean one 
thing....Stairway. I won't even ruin it by trying to desribe it.
I'll say this though.. . while 90% of the audience were holding up cell 
phones and cameras to film it, I was happy to look over and see one 
known as Tangerineman keep tradition alive. He was holding up his lighter.

  No "Does anyone remember laughter"  And I guess everyone was wondering 
to hear what Robert would say when it was over...and he did a cool thing 
" Hey Ahmet! We did it!!!"

  Now this one really surprised me... without any notice at all Jimmy 
sprang into TSRTS!!! How the #$%^&*?!?!? i was saying? Open tuning?!?!? 
Where the ? What the ?? Oh shut up never mind Holy shit is Jimmy on 
fire. Joyous would be a great way to describe this number. And amazingly 
perfect tempo again. Sometimes I think those hyperdriven ones in later 
tours took away from the technical brilliance that Jimmy displays in 
this piece. I had a dream and it's come true.

  I never mentioned any fashion reports as I just didn't think it 
necessary, but will say, As the night went on, Jimmy did go from Black 
trechcoat, to black vest to sweat soaked white shirt. My grey wizard is 
human.

  Next Robert took us on a journey thru Jason's past. Recalling tales of
how Pat would sit around singing with Jason and how he must've heard the 
same song 400 times a night. I forgot which song it was...sigh brain 
ain't what it used to be..and then goes " Jason sings ya know!!!" and 
eggs Jason on till Jason gets up and belows out "Ohhhhh I can't quit you 
babe!" Not bad at all!!!! Would've blown my mind had they actually gone 
straight into it but instead they break out into a rollicking version of 
MMH with Jason singing harmony to all the line. fantastic. So much fun. 
And it showed on stage they totally had a blast.

  As Robert thanks everyone that's come here from 50 countries he goes " 
This is from the 51st country" and take off...mision control we have 
ignition...Kashmir. This is another one that I can't even begin to 
describe the magnitude of. With no Mellotron to weigh him down, Jonesy 
seemed to be able to add new life to all aspects of this song. And Jimmy 
with some newfound magic at his feet was also able to create an army of 
sound the likes of which you'd think were impossible. Robert took us 
there and Jason...Jason brought his father down to us. Yeah, I've read 
the other reviews where folks say it's corny, but nah, let me tell 
you...Bonzo was there too. You did not want it to ever end. I honestly 
think this was the most perfect rendition of this somg I've ever heard 
live. As soon as this goes out to the list, I'm listening to that new 
clip out there.

  The audience of course, never left their feet. Even as they took their 
bows and headed off for the first time, I looked around me and the elder 
statemens of WMG were all standing , clapping, high 5-ing.... and then 
the all too familiar riff that threw LZ into the stratoshpere all those 
years ago...WLL. Simply classic. Absolute mayhem. Short, concises but 
just like D&C filled with enough improv to let you know, this ain't no 
pure pop, this is Led Zeppelin at its finest.

  One more bow...they gotta come back...they gotta come back..they 
gotta....and Rock 'n Roll us they did!!!! I don't think Jimmy ever hit 
the solo right from 75 on but tonight, well tonight was tonight and he 
again made me proud to be his fan. And while no jumping up in the air 
like old times, he did a couple of high kicks as if there were no 
worries about hurting his back at this point. Amazingly my camera got 
one perfectly!!! woohoo!!! As the song wound down to the end and Plant 
sang his last Lonely lonely time...he just tossed the mic on stage and 
they all once again, gathered in front of Jason's riser as he brought th 
house down with a drum roll that trully not only paid homage to the 
great work of his father, but also sealed his fate as I said before as a 
true member of Led Zeppelin. And he would've kept on going had it not 
been for a stick shattering in his hand which hopefully some deserving 
fan got as a keepsake when he tossed it out front. WOW OW OW WOW!!!!!! 
What a spectacular finish to a spectacular concert.

  They all came out and did a big group hug and then Jason went out 
front and did a I'm not worthy bow to all of them. Yes you are Jason, 
yes you are.

This was by far, the best concert of my life.  When all is revealed, I 
do so hope they'll return to my Shangri La again. For there is no shame 
in being the world's greatest band. Hands down, they proved that tonite.


  So much more went on this evening, but this was trully the highlight. 
Well, ok, one last thing that I will cherish from this evening. Getting 
the chance to speak with Jason later, and have my picture taken with him 
and his son. The future of Led Zeppelin. : )

Play it often. Play it loud.

Remember always,

We are the Ocean.

I am still,
NEch