22 January 2008

rock and roll

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled...

As 7.30 Report reminded us tonight, it's been a long time since Led Zeppelin performed at Sydney Showground in 1972. They interviewed all sorts of people who were there, who all agreed that it was most special, the high point of Led Zep's career, the high point of their lives, nirvana in a bottle (to mix a few musical metaphors). Only a select few were there and they remember.

I remember. I was there. I was there with a young lady whose acquaintance I had made some months earlier at wonderful Jewish wedding of friends of the family.

I should point out at this juncture that this was some years before the young lady now referred to as Mrs VVB appeared on the scene.

To be frank, folks, I stuffed it up big time. We were in the stands, the band started (Immigrant Song), thousands rushed onto the ground. I was too scared because I thought we'd get arrested. Even after several hours I hadn't moved. Talk about strait-laced, incapable of any lateral thought or even...I don't know what.

It was the end of a beautiful friendship before it began.

I heard later she'd run away from home and was living at Byron or somewhere with several/several dozen/several dozen families of hippies (mother was always prone to exaggeration when it came to behaviour unbecoming).

The sound in the stands was appalling and we were several miles from the stage so we couldn't see anything. My could-have-been friend must have been utterly desolate - I'm surprised she didn't just go off and join the crowd.

I do have some good photos somewhere, as I had a 300mm lens on the old Spotmatic.

Regrets, I've had a few...

And this was one of them, it sounded like it must have been a great concert.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Still got that lens?

Was it a Takumar? Super-multicoated?

If so, want to part with it?

That gear was so obviously from a different era. Human labour wasn't the most expensive component back then. The construction of those old Pentax (and Minolta) lenses was truly sublime. All the moving parts feel as though they've been immersed in olive oil :-), and the markings were stamped, not just painted on. Inspiring. My Takumar 200mm lens looks and feels like it just departed the factory, despite being quite old and having endured significant use.

phil said...

It wasn't a Pentax lens, it was (I think) a Tamron but honestly I've forgotten. It also suffered from an outing to Tralee speedway on its opening night - dirt track and all and no UV filter, you understand.

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