Re: Robert Plant Rocks the house

[Tim Fricke <oldstyle5150@xxxxxxxxx>]

Where was Jimmy? Probably waiting for Percy to pull his head out of
his ass and agree to play together again with Jonesy.

On 9/13/09, Neal <nealr2000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
>
>