Celebration Day

A friend of mine, Suzanne (above), was lucky enough to score a first row seat to the Led Zeppelin "reunion" (Jason Bonham stood in for his late father, John) at London's newest concert hall, O2. Here, she shares her musings and reviews the concert and chance of a lifetime. Enjoy...

As soon as I got to London Saturday morning, I met some Led Zep forum friends and we scoped out the 02; security said no one was lining up. I went back to my hotel and crashed Saturday night for 5 hours. Met the guy who sold me his guest ticket, went to the 02, and got my wrist band. Meanwhile my friends already started the queue, so I was number 4 on line. Slept there Sunday night, we all took turns not to lose our spots. I brought a blanket from my hotel and the security guys gave us broken down cardboard boxes to sleep on; and we had bathroom facilities over the very long night. Early evening on Sunday was the sound check, which was a charity event; people were strolling in looking very smug indeed. At about the third song into the rehearsal, security got a little lax, and 5 people from other beginning of the line were able to sneak and scam their way in. I did not make that split-second decision. I did not want to lose my spot on line. Me and a Canadian dude (he also is in the pic on Newsday) stayed behind to hold down the fort. Funny thing, last time I was in the front row was for Bad Company back in the late 70s, which was another great show, and I know one can lose their spot very easily. I was not taking any chances. Oh, Paul Rodgers did 2 songs before Led Zep came on and he blew me a kiss.... LOL! So, my new friends got in and one of them got to shake Jimmy Page’s hand....I was the first person to touch his hand after Jimmy Page!

Just a little background of the 02...imagine a mall inside a dome made out of heavy cloth....there were two Starbucks (yeh!!), restaurants, a huge movie theatre, an ice skating rink, and lots of shops—then the arena within the dome. There was no heat, but at least we were away from the wind and rain. The 02 security guys were so nice and we really made a nice connection with them. When we finally were officially lining up to get in they took the first 25 people and personally escorted us to the front row so we had no chance of losing our spots....

I feel we were all meant to be there, it was all very serendipitous...and magical.

We all stopped fluids around 3pm that afternoon, so we wouldn't have to pee...LOL!
We were all very parched, but around 10:30 one of the photographers gave me a bottle of water, which we all took small sips of....no way we were missing out on the show.

OK, by now you must have heard the set list: “Good times, Bad Times” started a bit off, as well as “Ramble On”. They clicked on the third song, “Black Dog”, and from that point on they totally rocked. “In My Time of Dying” was next...then for the first time ever live they played “For Your LIFE”!!! Awesome indeed...the whole show. During “Dazed and Confused” they had this green sphere of light radiating over Jimmy. Plant came in a little early in the song and Page gave him a bit of a surprised look. Jason Bonham was awesome (I really never use that word but that’s what it was). The camaraderie between them all was present.

“Stairway to Heaven” (over-played on the radio, so I usually turn it off) was brilliant and much more like the studio version...during “Does anybody remember laughter?") Plant gave a big cheeky grin. Plant and Page were smiling at each other...so cool.... (I got in late last night and i am still flying over this). Like I said, by the third song their confidence was there...and they totally clicked. “Kashmir” was mesmerizing, once again Jason rocked...it was like he was possessed. “No Quarter” had a nice touch with dry ice smoke. “The Song Remains the Same” was another great performance...the crowd was freaking out. It was exceptional....the production was on, and not cheesy. Total class, without the pyro of a lot of shows these days.

They had a huge screen behind the stage of what was going on stage from different angles.

Plant had a real good sense of humor. I felt he didn't drop it down a key, which I have seen Plant do on his solo tours, but talking with other fanatics, they heard maybe a half a key. I think he could of pulled it off...he sipped tea between songs. Plant seemed a bit stiff during the first two songs, but then he turned into his rock god antics. Hey, the dude is 62 and he can still pull it off.

All in all, it was a surreal weekend, meeting people from all over the world and finally meeting the people I chat with online at the forums. I met so many others who were obsessed prior to the show, and it made me feel validated with everything I’ve been feeling about the show. Many people I know just did not get it...why I would fly over solo and make it to the front row....

Stunning performance and I feel truly honored and privileged I was there.... Oh, Paul McCartney was there with his family in tow. Dave Grohl, David Gilmore, Juliette Lewis...

I hope you got a feeling from this review how magical the night was, because it was simply splendid indeed...