Whole lotta rock at Led Zep reunion

British supergroup takes the stage after two decades, enthralling fans with a high-octane performance

LONDON: Rock ‘n’ roll gods Led Zeppelin returned to grace the stage Monday night and 20,000 faithful worshipped at their feet.

The Second Coming began at precisely 9 pm at London’s O2 Arena with a drum explosion as the band blasted into Good Times, Bad Times. The group’s first full concert appearance in 27 years sent the crowd into a frenzy of screams, howls and fist-pumping cheers.

Grey-haired retirees stood side-by-side in musical ecstasy with fans half their age. Strangers embraced and danced in the aisles.

Zeppelin must be played loud — very loud — and the band didn’t disappoint. The trinity of Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John-Paul Jones — with Jason Bonham sitting in for his late father on drums — shook the stadium with classics like Black Dog and Misty Mountain Hop.

They’re a lot older, a bit slower, and Plant can’t quite hit his trademark shrieking high notes anymore, but they can still put on a hell of a rock show. They played more than a dozen of their most popular songs, from the mystic crowd favourite Kashmir to the wailing Delta blues of Since I’ve Been Loving You.

Page mesmerised the crowd with his legendary blazing guitar, reaching back to 1968, and reaching for a violin bow, to play Dazed and Confused. The night ended with a stadium-shaking second-encore rendition of Rock and Roll.