I've been to a lot of concerts. And as much as I enjoy going to them, there reached a point for me where there was a need to be a bit more selective about the concerts that I went to. Only those acts that really meant something special, and particularly those that I had not already seen before at any point.
Among the relatively few artists that I had completely been shut out with so far were any of the members of Led Zeppelin, one of the most legendary bands of all times, of course! I still kick myself over not having made more of a point of seeing Plant and Page together when they went on tour back in 2014.
So, when the chance arose to see Robert Plant in concert finally, I jumped on it!
I got the tickets shortly after first hearing about the tour, and thought it would be a great birthday gift idea for my brother, who is also a fan of the mighty Led Zeppelin.
Then, of course, I tried to acclimate myself with Plant's new album, and get a sense for what the show would consist of. I watched some of the available concerts online, on Youtube, and thought that I had more or less "prepared" for this concert quite well.
Still, there were some surprises, and that was really cool!
To open up with, Olivia Chaney was the opening act, and she is obviously a good musician, although even through her own admission, most of her material seems depressing. One song after another, she warned about the somber tone, but she assured us that Robert Plant would soon take the stage to cheer us all up (and she would be in the audience).
Sure enough, that is exactly what Plant did. I expected him to open with "Babe, i'm going to leave you", since the concerts that I had watched and listened to on Youtube all started like that. But he opened with No Quarter instead, which I thought was a very cool way to open the show!
It should be noted that Plant does not have quite the same vocal range anymore that he did in his younger years, but somehow, he makes it work nonetheless!
There was a good mixture of material from the Led Zep days, as well as his own solo career, as he sprinkled a good amount of each throughout the setlist, which lasted roughly an hour and a half, give or take.
Some of the highlights include "Going to California", which my brother mentioned that he felt was probably the highlight of the show.
I personally was actually kind of surprised by the omission of some of his material, such as the powerful Tin Pan Valley, a song that seemed a staple of all the shows that I had watched on Youtube, and one that I was very much looking forward to for this show.
Still, this was Robert Plant, and you're going to get a good show. Plant showed good energy and spirit throughout, as well as a rich sense of humor!
One of the surprises was the end, as he closed with Little Maggie. I think most people were expecting him and his band to end with a more signature piece. But the house lights came on after the one song encore, and it was time to go home.
All in all, though, a solid show, and I would recommend any fan of Zeppelin or Plant to try and catch one of these!
Setlist from the 9/28/14 show:
1. No Quarter (Led Zeppelin song)
2. Poor Howard
3. Thank You (Led Zeppelin song)
4. Turn It Up
5. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)
6. Rainbow
7. Going to California (Led Zeppelin song)
8. A Stolen Kiss
9. What Is and What Should Never Be (Led Zeppelin song)
10. No Place To Go
11. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You (Joan Baez cover)
12. Fixin' to Die (Bukka White cover)
13. Whole Lotta Love / Who Do You Love (Led Zeppelin song)
Encore:
14. Little Maggie (Ralph Stanley cover)
Here are some subpar pictures from the show. But I brought a better, more professional grade camera (these were from my cell phone camera), and once I have the proper connection, I will add those better pictures, so stay tuned!
This tour was supporting the most recent album by Robert Plant and the Sensation SpaceShifters - The Ceaseless Roar
The opening act was Olivia Chaney
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