Old Dudes That Can Still Rock By George Ziemann -- October 19, 2007 Picture if you will, three guys in their 60s, trying to put their old band back together. There used to be four of them, but the loss of one of the group 25 years ago is really what broke the band up anyway. He's not coming back. Can they get that old feeling going again? After all, they've been apart longer than they lasted as a band. Can they still get it together enough to do a show? Do they even remember the songs? Can they still stay up late enough? Can they still walk up steps? Or will Led Zeppelin take the stage next month in London and instantly become arguably the greatest band in the world (again)? As I understand it, John Paul Jones was the most reluctant to agree to the reunion in the first place, even as a one-off gig. I can understand that because if you used to be Led Zeppelin, getting back together has the outside potential of being a sad parody of itself, as Van Halen discovered recently. I saw Jason Bonham's band a few years back (he's currently working with Foreigner) and it struck me as an pale attempt to recreate Led Zeppelin. He had a blonde singer, a bassist who doubled on keys, and a smoking guitarist. Jason's style definitely echoes that of his father but the rest of the band just wasn't Led Zeppelin. Needless to say, I think the reverse would also be true -- Led Zeppelin's reunion wouldn't feel right with anyone other than Jason playing drums. So they got together and rehearsed in a secret, undisclosed location (hopefully not the same one where Dick Cheney stays). From the Winnipeg Sun: "We had a very, very secret tryout in June just to see if it was possible and if anyone wanted to do it, to see if the will was there," Jones said. "And it was pretty exciting. We made all the musical cues, and we were pretty hot." Page said it was the crucial moment. "The hardest step -- or the most tentative step -- was to actually be able to get together, the four of us, in a rehearsal room to actually play with the instruments ... and keep the whole damn thing under wraps. "As it was, we did manage to pull it off, and we didn't have to shake hands and say, 'Well, at least we sort of know that it might not be a good idea.' It was quite the opposite." They went from that "see if the will was there" to becoming the headliner of the Ahmet Ertegun tribute and promising a 2-hour show, which is about one hour and 55 minutes longer than tickets lasted. Page has said he'd be surprised if new material didn't come out of the process. Personally, I hope they do a new album and a tour. There is a sad part to the story, though. Three guys in their 60s are putting their old band back together. Having rehearsed a few times, they are probably already the best band on the planet.