Re: Robert Plant Rocks the house

[Neal <nealr2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Here's my take on it, which is based upon Plant's comments in recent years.

He likes to talk about the big, lumbering juggernaught that would be a new Zep 
tour.  With this big production that would be a Zep tour, would mean a whole 
load of management, and mostly, shariung the decision making with Page (mostly) 
and Jones.  I'm sure that he doesn't care much for compromising, and has become 
very accustomed to being the captain of his own ship.  There's no democracy in 
his performances and recordings.  Sure, he'll take advice from others, but it's 
always his call.  His schedule is relatively loose, whereby he can record, 
tour, and vacation at his own chosing.  He knows that once the Zep entourage 
all gets up, it's all about competing egos, putting up with irritating friends 
and family members of the other guys, tight schedules, and press conferences.  
Yes, he does the Zep stuff, but a Zep tour would be a greatest hits show, 
something he has made clear he detests.  So he plays 3-4 Zep numbers on his 
solo shows.  A full Zep tour
 would be something completely different.

I tend to think that although the three of them enjoy a level of friendship, 
it's not like they were in their 20s, when they were kings of the world, all 
full of piss and vinegar.

Guys, we have to accept reality.  Yes, we have got our hopes up a few times, 
and O2 was the biggest level our hopes were raised.  

Oh, and did I say I think Robert is a little on the lazy side?

--- On Sun, 9/13/09, Tim Fricke <oldstyle5150@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Tim Fricke <oldstyle5150@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Robert Plant Rocks the house
> To: "Steve Sauer" <sauerlemon@xxxxxxxxx>, "Steve Thomson" 
> <zeppelin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, zeppelin@xxxxxxxx
> Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009, 5:39 PM
> If you don't believe that Plant is
> the sole reason there were no
> Zeppelin activities in 2008, then you are delusional.
> Period. Some of
> us are upset with him because he keeps making snide
> comments about
> Zeppelin, refuses to do anything with Jimmy & John
> Paul, but yet plays
> Zeppelin songs all the time in concert. That, my friend, is
> a true
> hypocrite. You yourself said that's what the people want to
> hear, not
> his solo material. Why then won't he do it the right way
> with the
> right people?
> 
> On 9/13/09, Steve Sauer <sauerlemon@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > Steve Thomson wrote:
> >> The momentum for THAT band continuing is dead.
> >> There's only one person to blame for that. To
> hear
> >> him continuing to perform the music in such a
> >> twisted way is something akin to his digging up
> >> the corpse and painting it with clown make-up
> >> and dressing in some ethnic clothing.
> >
> > How melodramatic! Addressed below.
> >
> > Further, Steve Thomson wrote:
> >> the fact that he's consistently choosing
> >> the best known LZ songs such as Black Dog
> >> and Whole Lotta Love makes it seem like a
> >> deliberate attempt to say "fuck you!" to those
> >> LZ fans who made it possible for him to avoid
> >> those budding careers as an asphalt layer or
> >> acountant!
> >
> > The people who say Plant is squarely to blame don't
> take into account
> > that FATE is squarely to blame. Plant feels the way he
> feels because
> > of life experiences, not because he wants to give the
> middle finger to
> > the fans. That may be the last thing he wants to do!
> He wants to
> > create a great fan experience by always trying new
> things. All these
> > people seem to have an issue with is the choice of key
> songs being run
> > into the ground and never sounding the same and always
> with new
> > arrangements that, to their ears, sound worse and
> worse all the time.
> > (Right?)
> >
> > My overall take is this, and granted I have limited
> access to the
> > opinions of the crowd at the O2 Rockwell event. The
> few concert goers
> > who were submitting their comments about the show on
> Twitter enjoyed
> > the hell out of Robert's performance. They might have
> been there for
> > Lulu or Tom Jones or Razorlight or Joss Stone or
> anybody else ("Robert
> > who?" One guy on Twitter thought he was going to see
> Jimmy Page, not
> > Robert Plant), or they might have been there simply to
> support a good
> > cause and listen to some live music between work and
> home. Anyway,
> > they raved about Robert on Twitter. So I gather that's
> what the O2
> > crowd thought.
> >
> > The people who are upset over the performance are the
> hardcore
> > Zeppelin fans who went on FBO and saw a link to
> YouTube with the songs
> > in question. These fans see an overarching, developing
> trend they
> > dislike for their own reasoning. And (here's the key)
> maybe in trying
> > to have a HOLISTIC view, they're ironically being
> MYOPIC and
> > forgetting that Robert's crowds are not made up of
> 100% FBO
> > subscribers.
> >
> > Plant went onstage at an event where he, like every
> other performer,
> > was allowed a maximum three-song set. And the fact
> that he chose to
> > make two of those three songs Led Zeppelin songs is a
> credit to Led
> > Zeppelin! Even for the guy who picked up five Grammy
> awards for
> > non-Zep work only half a year ago, and who spent years
> trying to
> > escape it, deny it, outrun it, HE SIMPLY CAN'T. That
> speaks to the
> > power of the original band's formidable catalog!
> That's why the hell
> > we're on FBO in the first place!
> >
> > (Just as Jimmy arguably wasn't dissing Guitar Hero as
> much as he was
> > crediting Bonzo.)
> >
> > And Plant didn't do just ANY Led Zeppelin songs. He
> chose two highly
> > recognizable ones. "Black Dog" and "Whole Lotta Love"
> are some of Led
> > Zeppelin's signature songs, and therefore they're some
> of Robert
> > Plant's signature songs. That's what everyday people
> want to hear.
> >
> > If you could go to a concert and see Robert Plant sing
> three songs and
> > only three songs, what three songs would you choose?
> Some of the
> > people on FBO would want to hear him do obscure songs
> he's never done
> > live: Have him open with "Ozone Baby," slow things
> down with "Down by
> > the Seaside," and then rev 'em up again with a full
> rendition of "The
> > Rover."
> >
> > Ha, that might be someone's actual DREAM SET LIST, but
> it's RIDICULOUS
> > and UNFOUNDED. Plant would never get away with that in
> front of a
> > crowd of 20,000 Londoners. No, we don't go home sad
> not having heard
> > "Stairway to Heaven," but holy crap! At least one of
> the three songs
> > has to be one of the most played radio songs of all
> time, if not two.
> > And that's exactly what Plant did. So don't tell me
> you mind the song
> > choice.
> >
> > Just as bad would be Plant going up there and doing a
> three-song set
> > of "Fortune Teller," "Freedom Fries," plus one NEW
> ORIGINAL song off
> > his next album that hasn't been released yet would be
> a yawn for the
> > crowd watching him. They'd be checking to see if beers
> were still
> > being sold and if any concert merchandise was still
> available (after
> > all, it's all for a good cause). I'm sorry, but nobody
> knows those
> > songs outside of FBO.
> >
> > Again, one guy in the audience who happened to be on
> Twitter said he
> > was excited to be seeing Jimmy Page! Whichever
> Zeppelin guy.
> >
> > All you mind are (1) the arrangement and (2) the fact
> that Robert
> > Plant wasn't with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and
> Jason Bonham. Which
> > brings out all the animosity you have for Plant since
> he screwed you
> > over. You have an ax to grind because you believe
> Plant is squarely to
> > blame for the fact that there was no Led Zeppelin
> activity in 2008.
> >
> > We have two different assertions here, one of which is
> a fact and the
> > other is an opinion. Let's be clear. Pay close
> attention.
> >
> > FACT: There was no Led Zeppelin activity in 2008.
> >
> > OPINION: Robert Plant is squarely to blame for the
> fact that there was
> > no Led Zeppelin activity in 2008.
> >
> > A confluence of situations led to the non-reunion of
> 2008. Blame fate!
> > You have tons of circumstantial evidence that suggest
> you should blame
> > Plant, but unless you were present at the moment it
> was finally
> > decided Led Zeppelin would not reunite in 2008, you
> don't KNOW if
> > Plant was to blame. Hell, maybe JPJ or Jimmy blew it.
> Maybe there was
> > some outside force that blew it for the three of them!
> (The devil! The
> > world's best humanitarian! Who knows?)
> >
> > We make all sorts of assumptions, and I do too, but
> just don't call it
> > a fact. Know when your hunch is just a hunch. I'll
> tell you on
> > LedZeppelinNews.com when I'm reporting news and when
> I'm having a
> > hunch.
> >
> > And if it was Plant's decision not to tour with Led
> Zeppelin, whether
> > or not we ever realize it, what we must acknowledge is
> that Plant
> > feels that way because of personal life experiences,
> not because he
> > wants to give the middle finger to the fans. He says
> he wants to
> > create a great fan experience by always trying
> different things. You
> > just happen not to like what he's trying at the
> moment. That's all.
> > Wait for him to be done with this, and he'll move onto
> the next.
> >
> > And I agree, I personally prefer his next project to
> involve new
> > original music by him and not another set of covers.
> But ultimately, I
> > want to give him the artistic freedom to express
> whatever he wants to,
> > even if it is spoken word with William Shatner. Their
> next album is
> > called Captain Kirk & Percy Wolf do Sarah Palin's
> Greatest Speeches.
> > Oh, and that's a hunch, not news.
> >
> > Finally, Steve Thomson wrote:
> >> You're making a rather narrow assumption here,
> >> that only those who actually attend live shows
> >> are entitled to comment. What about those who
> >> buy the records? What about those of us who
> >> were buying LZ records when you were nothing
> >> more than a twinkle in your mama's eyes and
> >> Robert Plant solo records while you were
> >> crawling around the play pen? ;) Are we not
> >> qualified as well?
> >
> > Sorry, Mr. Thomson. As usual, I should know better
> than to comment on
> > something I'm not old enough to know about firsthand.
> But I promise, I
> > am getting older by the minute. I've been eating all
> my vegetables,
> > and studying hard in school, and I'm growing up as
> fast as I can!
> > Unfortunately, I'll never catch up to you, so you
> win.
> >
> > Steve "The Lemon"
> > Born three months and a day after Led Zeppelin's last
> U.K. concert
> > with John Bonham
> >
>