The much talked about last concert of the British rock band, which was given in December of 2007 in London, will be shown at the Concert Hall
It is meant to be the "live" appearances of Led Zeppelin in our country to be absolutely related to… cinema screenings in dark rooms. This was the case for years with their classic live album 'The Song Remains the Same', which every rock generation "experienced" in some cinema b’ projection.
The same will happen now, a few decades later, with the long-awaited "Celebration Day" of the British band. But this time there are two important differences: first, we are not talking about just any room, since it will be shown on 16 November in the Alexandra Triantis Hall of the Megaros Musikis. Secondly, we won't be… by ourselves, as the same has happened in all the major cities of the world.
This is the only concert given by the band after its disbandment, which they attended 18.000 spectators at London's famous O2 arena on 10 December 2007. The film has already been shown in Manhattan (Ziegfried Theater), in London (Hammersmith Apollo), in Berlin and Tokyo, while it is expected to be shown in 1.500 halls, The day for the draw of the two lucky ones 40 Countries. This particular concert had even recorded a unique record: about 20 millions of people from all over the world wanted to be at the O2 then. Naturally, such a thing would be impossible, even if Led Zeppelin played every night for a year and a half…
"Debts" and complaints
Until the last moment, the band's singer Robert Plant, in interviews he gave about the group's reunion, insisted that such a concert was not part of his plans in particular., of the most successful after the breakup of the rock quartet the 1980, after drummer John Bonham died of asphyxiation in his sleep, after a night of heavy drinking.
They finally revised because, as they had typically stated in the press conference that had preceded their concert, "we owed both ourselves and the audience a great last concert". The concert was also a tribute to Ahmet Ertegan, founder of Atlantic Records, the man who discovered the band from its first steps, at the end of his decade 1960.
Since their breakup, the remaining Led Zeppelin have all performed three shows together.
The first became the 1985 on the occasion of Live Aid, where Phil Collins and Tony Thompson of Chic took over as drummers. But Robert Plant didn't like it at all, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The second took place on the occasion of the MTV themed series "Unplugged Series", but without bassist Jones, and captured on the live album and dvd 'No Quarter'.
Plant and Page met four years later, the 1998, for the album "Walking into Clarksdale", while the third meeting of the three took place the 1995 on the occasion of Led Zeppelin's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In fact, John Paul Jones had then made a bitter comment about his absence the previous time. "Thanks, my friends, that you finally remembered my phone number" he had said. To her, the fourth and probably last time, Bonham's son sat in the drummer's place, Jason.
"Celebration Day" will be screened three days before its official release, either on dvd or on cd and vinyl, or even in a combination of the above formats. It contains in total 16 songs and, so as not to over-educate it, pretty much everything one would want to hear at a Led Zeppelin concert – with Page always sounding equally excellent on guitar and Plant, though without the characteristic high notes of the past, more meaningful and expressive than ever. As for filming, director Dick Carruthers did not resort to technological tricks. Simply, along with his large staff, recorded in every detail the essence of such an event.
Page's guitar, Plant's crowns
Why all the fuss about Led Zeppelin; But because it is one of the biggest and most commercial bands in the history of music. Along with Elvis Presley, of the Beatles and the great country star Garth Brooks, are the only names to have surpassed in sales in the US the 100 million. album and worldwide about 300. They are one of the few bands or artists to have more than four diamond albums to their credit (sales greater than 10 million. copies), while six of their nine albums have reached No 1 of the USA.
Their influence, no, has been huge in the years following their creation. This was evident in the sound of many great bands – starting with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Queen, through the Ramones and the Cult and up to Nirvana, to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. The secret of Zeppelin's success is of course not just that they coined the term hard rock – which along the way evolved into heavy metal -, but in that they managed to create a musical hybrid that uniquely combined their love of rock and roll and the blues with the mysticism of English folk, the Celtic tradition and Bach, the reggae, the pop, the soul, the funk, even Arabic and Indian music.
Their music was a powerful cocktail that combined with the now "mythical" lyrics and the skill of four super musicians set the imagination of millions of rock fans on a different trajectory, who imitated Page's every guitar move and every flick of Plant's hair as he pulled out his infamous crowns in anthemic songs, like "Black Dog", «Stairway to Heaven», «Whole Lotta Love», «Kashmir» και «Dazed and Confused».
When & where:
Led Zeppelin's 'Celebration Day' will be screened on Friday 16 November on 9 p.m. in the Alexandra Triantis Hall of the Athens Concert Hall. Tickets: 15 euro (general admission), 10 euro (students). Information on tel. 210 7282.333, www.megaron.gr
