Review of Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day (2012) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

This was the most famous concert of the 21st Century, it was the headline act of the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert which took place at the O2 Arena on December 10th 2007. No-one thought it would ever happen, but Led Zeppelin got back together one last time.

This concert got the Guinness World Record for the "Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert" as 20 million requests for tickets were rendered online. It's a good concert, and with 3 original members plus the son of the late drummer, they do a good set and they prove they still have it.

The concert has Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham's son Jason performing a set of 14 songs with 2 encores. They include hits such as Good Times Bad Times, Ramble On, Black Dog, Trampled Under Foot, Stairway to Heaven, No Quarter, Since I've Been Loving You, Dazed and Confused, The Song Remains the Same and Kashmir.

The encore consists off Whole Lotta Love and Rock and Roll. It's a 2 hour set which manages to be entertaining and compelling all at the same time. The footage is fast cut, with some shots lasting less than a second, and it's intercut with footage from the mobile phones and cameras of the fans in the audience, with all the graininess but nostalgia of Super 8mm footage.

The sound is great, even if the concert's audio has been made available on bootleg for years before. But it manages to be entertaining, even if it doesn't show much of the audiences reaction.