Never having had the opportunity to witness a "live" Led Zeppelin show, I was very happy indeed to score a couple of free tickets (from a most unlikely source!) to Robert Plant's show at Massey Hall on Sunday, June 3/01. Billing the gig as Plant & The Strange Sensations, the ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist proves he's still got the lung power and charisma to go the distance! Sounding and looking better than ever, with a dynamite crew backing him up, I was pleased to see that he's still immersed in Middle Eastern transcendental mysticism, as it seems to fit his vocal style perfectly. That's not to say he can't rock it up, as in the days of olde, but the L.Z. tunes always did contain that blend of mystery and romantic imagery.
Dressed simply in black leather pants and a white "poet's blouse", with his somewhat longish mane of still-blonde hair, Mr. Plant retains his "rock god" image, only more elegantly so! For the men (and women) who may not have been so entranced by the appearance and phenomenal instrumentation of the players, there was a video backdrop of colourful kaleidoscopic images on which to focus their attention.
The setlist varied little from other dates on this tour, but this particular one contained Morning Dew, In the Light, Season of the Witch, Sitting by the Window, Hey, Joe, Four Sticks, Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You, I'm in the Mood, a very bluesy intro to Whole Lotta Love (with a reference to The Lemon Song), and the finale may or may not have been called Song from the Siren (didn't catch the title). As a matter of fact, the sound WAS a bit flawed and Robert's vocal intros were at times indistinguishable. We were up in the balcony, however, which might have made the difference, but overall it was a wonderful treat to the ears and eyes!
The line-up of the Strange Sensations consists of Porl Thompson (from the Cure and No Quarter days), Charlie Jones on bass, Justin Adams, Clive Deamer and, John Baggot. |
