I appear to be among a select group of 20million people who have registered (over a period of only 18 hours or so)  to enter a ballot for the privelege of buying tickets to the Led Zeppelin concert in November. The ballot closes on Monday, so heaven knows what the number will be by then.. Given the odds perhaps I should go out and buy a lottery ticket..

Following on from my previous post about The Police concert – there seems to be a flurry of recent information about the reformation of old bands I like..

There is strong talk of a Led Zeppelin reunion show before the end of the year. Despite my deep love for the band, I’m not convinced that this reunion is such a good idea. Robert Plant’s voice has degraded considerably over the years… Having said that, if I get tickets I can’t quite see myself turning them down.

In even bigger news for me.. there’s even stronger talk of a King Crimson reunion in 2009. Actually it’s beyond the brouhaha of regular elephant talk – this comes straight from the band’s brainchild Robert Fripp.

WHO? I hear you ask – I’ve been a fan since I was a boy – you can blame my brother Eric for that.. Seeing King Crimson live has been a dream for more years than I care to remember. If they play during 2009 then I think I can safely say that we’ll be in the UK for that. Yes, I like them that much…

When you’re in the business of going to see old bands who have reformed after a break of many years – as I am – you get used to taking a certain degree of risk. Will the singer still be able to sing, let alone hit the high notes? Will the band insist on playing half a dozen tracks from the new album that no-one wants to hear? It’s all a risk – thankfully tonight it was one that paid off quite handsomely.

Along with Olivia, her parents and brother, I went to see THE POLICE tonight. I must say – what a great show…

Tickets were not cheap – £90 / AUD$214 for the good tix – so my expectations were very high. The concert was held at Twickenham rugby stadium – conveniently a 15 minute walk from where we live. It was my first time there and it felt a bit like being at Telstra Dome in Melbourne – but without the retractable roof.

There are always a few ticket touts floating around at the train station nearest the venue and this was no exception. In fact I think I can safely say that there were far more than usual. It was pretty clear that many were not touts, rather regular people who had bought extra tickets in anticipation of flogging them off at a profit – only to find that everyone else had had the same idea… Ebay was flooded with Police tickets so their only hope was to try and and sell to someone who’d decided to go to the show at the last minute. Talking to a few of them I got the impression that there was a massive oversupply of spare tickets. Touts, who normally sell at well over the odds were flogging their wares at half of face value. Suppose if you’re in a dirty game like that you’re bound to take a bath once in a while.

Sting’s voice was phenomenal given his 56 years. They started with Message in a Bottle – and from there I could tell that we were in for a treat – he managed to hit the high notes no problems. Admittedly there were a few songs which he sung an octave lower than the original – and some in an easier key – but I’m quite happy to forgive Sting that – it was all done quite tastefully. I spent much of the gig wondering how he would handle Roxanne – it was flawless.

The show went for a solid two hours – I knew all but one or two songs and it really made me think that The Police have SO many hit songs – quite a strong library of work there. It was a great setlist – this article give details of the setlist as well as the tour in general. Their performance was very solid – but I must admit – I noticed the absence of the backup singers and keyboards from their last tour in 1983 (I’ve seen the DVD) – for £90 it wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to spring for these… With just a guitarist/bass-vocals/percussionist on stage – the risk was there for the sound to be a bit thin at times. Personally I thought the guitar was a bit low in the mix – but perhaps that’s just me.

As we were queueing to get out we walked past Bob Geldof. An impressive celebrity spotting if I say so myself.. Just as impressive as Jason’s Robert Plant spot last year at the Zappa Plays Zappa gig..

On the way home the streets were packed with many of the 55,000 strong crowd heading for Twickenham train station.. Traffic had been blocked in some areas, and in others mounted police were directing both the human and vehicle traffic. In one such area, the policeman on a horse was surrounded by thousands.. He decided to crack a funny.. He pulls out his megaphone and says “Ladies and Gentlemen – Don’t stand so close to me” Not enough of the crowd picked up on his little joke – but he got a cheer and a round of applause all the same.

The gig list grows yet again.

Great show – well worth the cash outlay.. Yay Sting – you rock.