Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day

I had never seen Led Zeppelin before and only knew the title of one of their songs, "Stairway to Heaven". I can't say that the film made me a big fan, but I was surprised at the tunes I did recognize.

The show started badly, with low volume in muffled mono. The audience audibly made their displeasure obvious, and soon the volume went up and the stereo kicked in. As with many live concerts (this one was recorded in 2007), a lot of the instruments were played for the sake of showing off what sounds they could produce, rather than to support the vocals. And there was no good rhythm. The vocals themselves were drowned out by the music.

The first half of the show wasn't all that great. The true fans seemed to really like it, but I was disappointed. It sounded more like noise than melody. During the second half, there was finally music with a decent beat, tunes I recognized, including "Stairway to Heaven". I still had trouble hearing and understanding the lyrics - maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety. They did do two encores, again with tunes I recognized. All in all, the second half of the concert was satisfying.

Throughout the show there were lasers, psychedelic designs, and flashy shots of the performance. I yearned for the old Joshua Light Show of the 1960s and 1970s.

I can't say I would recommend the film unless you are a real fan and already know Led Zeppelin's music.

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