|
A Whirlwind of Rock!
The
following two days we sorted things out for the week so we stayed
fairly close to Wokingham. We took the rail line to Reading where we
walked to a mega mall shopping complex called The Oracle. We did
some casual shopping, buying clothes and such to bring back for
family members. We popped into a music store and looked at a few
guitars but nothing struck our fancy. We also visited some pubs and
went to a great Indian restaurant with Graeme and a friend of his.
Then came Friday. We had planned earlier in the week to take the custom Martin acoustic to the office of ABC trust in Soho, then go into London to shop at Harrod's. The jet lag was about worn off, so we debarked earlier in the morning by rail into Reading, then transferred to Paddington station, where we took a cab to the office. After meeting with Andrew, ABC trust CEO, we headed via tube (underground) to Knights Bridge to do some shopping at Harrod's.
When we were walking toward Harrod's from the tube exit, there were snow flurries in the air, giving the whole area a certain cheery vibe that permeated the air. The store was mobbed but JR managed to buy some gifts and we ate in the cafe. The service was slow but it was something to chat about. Upon leaving we saw the famous statue in the lobby of Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed. There were people videotaping the statue and taking pictures, so I snapped a quick picture. Seeing the beautiful statue in real life evoked an emotional response in me, remembering the awful circumstances of that dreadful event. We exited the building and headed home to regroup for the next day.
Graeme had told us on Friday that he might be able to get us into the sound check rehearsal on Sunday for the Led Zeppelin concert at the O2 arena. Saturday morning we received word that we were indeed going. So we spent the day with Graeme sorting things out for the travel and contacts we needed. The plan was to go to the venue, see the sound check, then head to the Pilot Inn/Pub to join a Led Zeppelin fan club meeting arranged by Dave Lewis, founder and editor in chief of Tight but Loose magazine and fan site. We had a plan....
We
arrived at the O2 venue a few hours early on the Sunday before the
concert. We waited in the queue for merchandise for about an hour to
pick up some shirts and memorabilia to bring back home. While we
were in the venue our friend Stephanie McVey from
100.7 The Bay,
Baltimore's Classic Rock, spotted us and we exchanged contact info.
We were fortunate enough to go to the sound check rehearsal for the
the concert with a group of about two hundred people. Led Zeppelin
did a good bit of In My Time of Dying, with Robert Plant Checking
his Harmonica microphone and Jason Bonham singing some of the breaks
to Jimmy Page and Jonesy! They also did an instrumental version of
No Quarter that brought tears to my eyes. The few hundred people
that were there were awestruck! The air at the fan site party at the Pilot Inn after sound check was electrified. We did a live phone in interview with Stephanie from 100.7 FM back to the states. Fans from all over the world convened to talk Zeppelin and rave about being able to make this historic event. I met some great people including the members of Led Zepagain, a tribute band from California. As fate would have it, I met two people from the US, Dave Schindler, and Bill Dougherty, who had seen a Get The Led Out concert at House of Blues AC, and said it was the best concert he had seen all year! He also asked if I knew Steve Maglio and I said, Steve Maglio! he auditioned for Get The Led Out and is an awesome guitarist, but had things to sort out at the time! Small world...
The
day of the show we were to meet at a private party boat on the
Thames in London about an hour prior to the concert. We travelled
again by rail to our final destination in London. While taking in
some of the historical sights with JR, Graeme, Stephanie, and
friends, I stopped to admire a lighted tree in the yard of
Westminster Abby. The group was moving in a different direction
without me and all of a sudden I was lost in London! I looked around
but with the hustle and bustle of the busy streets the group was
nowhere to be found. Fortunately, my directional sense is good so I
headed back to where the boat was to leave dock. After about ten
minutes I figured on heading back to where I had lost them. Sure
enough, there they were, looking for me. JR vouched for my sense of
direction! We
then made our way onto the boat. Amongst the passengers were ABC trust
founder Jimena Page, ABC trust affiliates, including Page family friend
Bucks Burnett, from Dallas
Texas, who was wearing a custom tailored "Houses of The Holy"
suit that everyone wanted to know about! Actress-singer Juliette Lewis
was present, and.........hold onto your hats...... Brian May of Queen!!!
I cordially greeted those I already knew, however, my introduction to
Brian was quite comical. As I was standing three feet from him, a man
walks up to me and says, "Brian, I'm a huge fan of yours, it's
so nice to meet you!" I said, "Well, actually,
When
the boat arrived at the venue, Brian, his daughter, JR Warner, and I
hustled through the cold night air to the side of the venue. There
was no obvious side door and we were moving to the front, and some
of the people milling around started to notice us. We said "What
should we do?" Brian said "We should just go for it!" JR and I
agreed to escort them in quickly to security personnel. When
inside the venue we went straight to security personnel, skirted the
crowd, and were escorted to the VIP bar behind the stage in the O2
centre. Standing at the entrance of the bar, people started to see
Brian and make their way over. Brian allowed a young fan to have a
quick picture taken with him, and then we were asked if we wanted to
stay in the bar, or go to our seats. Brian said "Lets go to our
seats" so we were escorted to the seats we were assigned. When we arrived at our section I was in shock. I was in the same row as Brian, a few seats down! We were on Jimmy Page's side, about eight rows up in the 100 section right next to the stage! The seats were still open so I sat next to Brian May and watched the opening of the concert with him. When Juliette Lewis showed up to sit next to him I moved over to my proper seat, which was closer to the stage! The row behind us was where Led Zepagain was sitting. Two rows down in front of us was Jeff Beck! Led Zeppelin's former tour manager Richard Cole, was a few rows down. Everywhere I looked I saw rock royalty.
The show was truly amazing. I really liked all the opening acts. I thought Paul Rodgers was great, but Led Zeppelin truly stole the show. My favorite songs of the night were - Since I've Been Loving You, Dazed and Confused, In My Time Of Dying, and Kashmir. Jimmy Page played brilliantly, Jonesy was spot on, John Bonham would have been proud of his son Jason, and Robert Plant pulled off the show with a style and class as only he could. The crowd loved it. People were crying during Stairway to Heaven. Every single person in that venue had the time of their lives. When Led Zeppelin came back for the encore of Whole Lotta Love and Rock and Roll, the deal was secured, everyone in the audience had just witnessed rock history in the making.
After
the show we were fortunate enough to get into the after show VIP party
in the same backstage bar we arrived at earlier with Brian May. The
buzz about the show was beyond electric. The people hanging out around
us were all still excited. Some of the the VIP musicians closest to
us were David Grohl, (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Joe Elliot, (Def Leppard),
Warren Haines (Government Mule), and Jack White. Jonesy and Jason Bonham
showed up later but they were on the other side of the bar and we were
happy where we were. Dave Lewis from Tight but Loose was there with
us and he was thrilled beyond belief. This was just a small fraction
of the overwhelming center of the rock music world we found ourselves
in the middle of.
So
all in all JR and I ended up having a great time in England with
some new and old friends, and all for a good cause. The
Ahmet Ertegun
tribute concert was a smash success and a substantial amount of
money was raised for the educational fund that it supported. Tickets
that were donated to ABC trust and
Task Brasil raised tens
of thousands of pounds for underprivileged children in South
America. Details will be forthcoming soon about fund raising efforts
we are currently involved with, Including the Brian May signed
T-Shirt and Jacket. Enjoy your holidays, and remember to help those
who are less fortunate than you, not just now, but always. Kindest
Regards, Paul Hammond
|
%20and%20Richard%20Cole.jpg)
