Been a long time since they rock 'n' rolled...

...Five years in fact, since Led Zeppelin's reunion gig in London in tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, which has belatedly begat a concert film Celebration Day, out next month on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray, in time for Christmas in good thing-shops everywhere. Buy it for someone you care about, or someone you don't who hates Led Zeppelin. The best bit: there's a cinema print, which for a concert film is absolutely ideal; unless you're a stoner, an amnesiac or an insufferable musowanker, you'll never watch a concert film more than once or twice anyway.

I saw Celebration Day this evening, stone-cold sober on a wet, ugly Thursday night on the Riviera of the Antarctic, in a movie theatre half-full of boomers and students. It was still epically fucking wonderful. Who'd have thought a hobo, a bank manager, a nightclub bouncer and your doddery old grandad could make such astonishing, intoxicating noise, for what must have been well past their bedtime. Player ratings to follow.

Jimmy Page, lead guitar: Dazed and confused. Sweated, swaggered, staggered and generally looked like someone's mildly demented grandpa dancing at a wedding after a few hours on the good brandy. However, if multiple decades of smack DOES have a lasting effect on motor function, it doesn't fucking show in the man's playing. Mesmeric. Up to his old tricks with bows and double-necked SGs. Looked genuinely thrilled to be there. Then again after all he's been through (and all that's been through him) you'd be genuinely thrilled to be anywhere.

John Paul Jones, lead bass, keyboards and simpering: businesslike. Smiled at one stage. Though that may have been indigestion. No, I still haven't forgiven him for those last couple of shitty Zep albums he helmed, or for bollocksing the Datsuns' sound.

Jason Bonham, lead drums and backing vox: Man of the match. Bonzo Jr was, not to put too fine a point on it, brilliant. No particular experience playing in front of this size crowd, or under this weight of expectation, and he HIT THE FUCKING THINGS LIKE THEY'D SAID STUFF ABOUT HIS MUM. A metronomic colossus. In truth, the band's sound was and is built on the engine room of the drums, and the only reason they sounded good was Bonzo Jr driving the bus from the back. And despite being absolutely entitled to be there, Bonzo Jr also managed to channel every Gen X Led Zep fan's joy in not only being able to see the mighty Zep live again, but to actually participate in the moment. You've never seen anyone so happy to be hanging out with his dad's scabby old mates.

Robert Plant, howling wolf: Plant was a'ight. Lacking most of the top of his range, but that went sometime in the mid '70s after a throat op. I once committed the cardinal sin of suggesting to an insufferable musowanker that Chris Robinson (who howled vocals on the brilliant Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes double live album from the turn of the millennium) was actually better value on the pipes than Plant. I'll qualify that by saying better than Plant era 1972, obviously not. But Plant era 2000 (or even 2012)...

Doesn't fucking matter, anyway. Because he's Plant, and this was Zep, and it was epic. They were a rock and roll band, and we will never see their like again.

Unless someone gets me the DVD for Christmas of course. *cough*

The Doctor is OUT.