 It is hard to imagine a more highly anticipated show than Led Zeppelin’s reunion at the O2 Arena. Billed as a one-off tribute show for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, a reported 20 million people entered the lottery for the opportunity to buy a golden ticket to a show that most believed would never happen.
The band kicked off its first full show in 27 years with “Good Times, Bad Times,” and overall, the group sounded crisper, heavier and tighter than anyone expected. Despite various concerns ranging from Robert Plant’s voice to Jimmy Page’s broken finger and Jason Bonham’s prior sit-ins, the reincarnated four-piece absolutely crushed the well-rehearsed set. During “Ramble On” the band may have been too heavy, but overall it generally stuck to the well-known arrangements, and had no problem navigating the intricate changes of its material, especially the multi-faceted “Song Remains the Same” and the epic set-closer “Kashmir.”
Plant adjusted his range a bit, but he still commanded the songs with the same cocksure attitude that originally made him the ultimate rock star, even reaching the high notes on the bluesy numbers “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” Page lit up his collection of Les Pauls and his trademark double-neck SG, covering rhythm and lead while wailing slide on “In My Time of Dying” and pulsing his wah wah pedal on the funky “Trampled Under Foot,” one of the night’s best songs. The theatrics continued during “Dazed and Confused” where Page, bathed in green laser lights, used his famous bow on the guitar. John Paul Jones, the quietest and most under-appreciated member of the band, shined best and seemed most comfortable on the keys, which is more a reflection of the venue’s sound than his bass playing. And Bonham’s drumming would have made “The Beast” himself proud, for he not only held his own, he pounded the skins with the weight of his father’s spirit behind him.
If the crowd forgot why the band reunited after all this time, Plant didn’t. He exclaimed, “Hey Ahmet, we did it!” after “Stairway to Heaven,” arguably the band’s biggest song but the night’s weakest rendition. Closing out the show was an unbelievably frenetic double encore of the live Zeppelin staple “Whole Lotta Love” and the apropos show-closer, “Rock N’ Roll.” For two-plus hours, the Zeppelin showed its teeth one more time and did so with a ferocious smile.
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