RE: My immediate thoughts on Robert

[Lalaha <lalaha7@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've felt both ways in the intervening 21 months.  I was on a Zeppelin
high for the first six or 8 months of '08 like I hadn't been since
early Sept 1980 when we were planning our trip to the Chicago shows
(grrr, if only I'd have grown up here instead of Memphis, I would've
seen my band but I digress). I was positive that a tour would happen
and I would finally get to experience a practically real LZ concert.
I was even stashing away at least $20 a week for my super secret
Zeppelin ticket fund and it had grown to almost a thousand bucks when
I finally used it to buy Christmas gifts since that high had dimmed,
to be replaced by the realization that cruel fate apparently had
denied me for a third time.  I'll admit to having morose "gee, why did
they open Pandora's box" thoughts.  I watched the katzeye dvd once,
cried at What Is and What (Will) Never Be, and put it away.

However, I've spent 2009 looking on the bright side.  Jonesy is
rocking out with Dave Grohl, who I've adored for ages, and maybe TCV
will play a bigger show in Chicago soon, with better ticket
distribution.  Jimmy is out and about at events, I got to see IMGL and
loved it, and he seems happier and healthier than he has in years.
Maybe he will pick up a guitar one day soon!  Robert got his CBE and
won his grammys, and even though I'm not a fan of the album, I watched
and applauded.  Plus he's getting to spend his touring hiatus watching
his beloved Wolves play in Premiere League.  The band's legacy appears
burnished to an even higher sheen, and I see plenty of young kids at
LZ cover shows, rocking out like I did in the late 70's.  All of this
makes me happy, and at least some of  it seems directly linked to the
O2 show.

I finally re-watched the O2 dvd about two weeks ago.  After the first
three songs, it's really good.  Good Times, Bad Times is the only LZ I
dare karaoke so clearly it's not a virtuoso piece, the sound was still
terrible on Ramble On and Black Dog in new Robert-stye - meh, but
after that I loved it.  I wonder if the delay in releasing the
official dvd stems from the less-than-stellar showing the first two or
three songs make?

If that was the last time a stage is emblazoned with "Led Zeppelin" in
white-hot lights I will always regret not cashing in my 401K to be
there, but for the resurgence in LZ-love the world over, I'm glad it
happened!

Laura

>>Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:28:36 -0500
From: Wyatt Brake <wyattbrake@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: My immediate thoughts on Robert

I have to wonder if the vitriol expended in Plant's direction by many
Zeppelin fans would be more or less than it presently is if they had
not reformed with Jason Bonham for the O2 show in December 2007.
Would the resentment be of greater or lesser intensity?

We all hoped for more after December 10, 2007 - but it hasn't
happened.  Are you happy that Page, Plant, Jones, and Jason Bonham
played together for a couple hours, or would you rather they had never
done it at all, because it just got your hopes up?

For me, the answer is obvious because I was there.  It was a night
I'll always cherish and never forget.  But I'd like to hear from other
folks - some of whom were in attendance that night and others who
weren't.

I'm capable of seeing both points of view, but if that really was the
last time we see the name LED ZEPPELIN blazing behind a stage, I'm
okay with that because they played one hell of a show, preserved and
perhaps enhanced their legacy and mystique.

- -Wyatt<<