Show Date: September 30, 2008
This is one of my favorite concert experiences ever.
Many factors at work here: the company (went with a good friend), my love of Robert Plant, and the seats. Front row, dead center. Not going to lie. That definitely adds a dimension that is impossible to feel from the arena’s last row.
Below is largely what I wrote write after the show.
I’m a little apprehensive about this show. In some interviews, Plant has allegedly referred to this project as the Second Coming. Um, okay. Let us see if you walk the walk big boy. Because, obviously, at this point in your career my opinion is the gold standard.
Opening act was very good. Sharon Little from Philly. Check her out.
No fanfare….Alison/Robert/T-Bone and crew take the stage. Plant is dressed in red designer trousers and a simple long-sleeve black shirt. Alison is in a nice black and gray dress, with some sweet black boots. T-Bone played rhythm guitar almost all night. Plant looks genuinely happy to see Alison and she has to take her monitor out of her ear because he was jabbering for quite awhile. Sweet. Opening number was “Rich Woman” from Raising Sand. When they finished, Plant winked at me. Now you may think it was the girl with the tits falling out of her dress behind me….but let’s stick with my version okay? I toasted him with my beer and drank so I had something to offer.
Let’s get to the high points. Third song in “Black Dog”. Opening instrument was only a banjo. Banjo! Sung in harmony with AK “Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove.”
Very quiet. Surreal.
First part of what was to be a guitar solo. Was instead….A. Fiddle. Not Alison playing. Band member. Sounded like horses charging to get out of a barn on fire. Guitar solo took over and I wanted that fiddle back. Never imagined I would love a down tempo version of Black Dog where a fiddle was a major component. But there you go. The magic of a live show at work. (Anyone out there got a bootleg of this show? Pretty please?)
8th song: “In The Mood” from The Principle of Moments. Paydirt. Plant comes alive. Watch the video from the O2 reunion show during “Kashmir”. He’ll cross his right leg over his left and lean forward a little with his micstand off the ground about a foot and waaaaaail. Fuck. He did that on this song. My favorite moment of the night. Hear that voice and then he does his kick-the-mic-stand-with-the-side-of-his-foot-so-it-pops-up inverted move while he belts again. Baby.
There is some Led Zeppelin reunion talk swirling again so let’s take a break and I’ll paraphrase some stage patter from Plant. You can interpret however you want.
1)”It is good to be back in Portland, this is a very special place for all of us. We are kind of sad tonight. This project that we started almost two years ago is coming to an end. But you just got to keep on going.”
2)Leaving the stage the first time. “Stick around for the next couple of years. It is only going to get better.”
Krauss/T=Bone took over for about 4 songs. Plant was off stage and watched, totally into it. My respect for Alison Krauss went up immeasurably this night. She is so shy and unassuming on stage. Very sweet. I don’t know anything about violin playing, so no evaluation there, but her voice really is stunning. The Krauss/T-Bone interlude ends with “Down To The River To Pray”, Plant and both guitarists sing backup. And then they launch into “Nothin’” (get Raising Sand for this track alone). The rest of the show was on fire. “Battle Of Evermore”, “Please Read The Letter”, and “Gone Gone Gone”. Plant totally leaning into every song and powering. For the encore, Plant comes out with a can of 211, and T-Bone screams “peace and love”. Robert explains T-Bone took a big swig of vodka backstage.
This was a professional show from start to finish. Just incredible. The harmonies were amazing, and they never missed a mark. The musicians look like they could of played in their sleep but they were having a great time and were anything but sleepy. Never saw so many smiles on a stage in my life from backing musicians who rarely solo. The drummer would play some songs with 3 maracas instead of a drumstick in his right hand. Banging away with a drumstick in his left. Fun, this type of music and show just makes you smile. And I have changed my mind, Plant could easily do a Led Zep show as long as there was an acoustic part in the middle. He still has it. But here’s the thing party people, you going to sniff front row to LedZep for $125 per?
To end: I talked to the security guard all night. I really wanted something. After the house lights come on.
Me: “Hey man, can you get that guy up there for me?”
Security: “yeah, why?”
Me: “Can you ask him to get that set list taped to the stage where Robert was?”
Security (smiling): “Yeah man.”
<<
Security: “That guy asked first.”
RICH WOMAN
LEAVE MY WOMAN ALONE
BLACK DOG
SISTER ROSETTA
THROUGH THE MORNING
SO LONG GOODBYE TO YOU
FORTUNE TELLER
IN THE MOOD
BLACK COUNTRY WOMAN
EARLIER BAGHDAD
LET YOUR LOSS
WILDWOOD FLOWER
DOWN TO THE RIVER
NOTHIN
BATTLE OF EVERMORE
PLEASE READ THE LETTER
GONE GONE GONE
—->Encore
DON’T KNOCK
ONE WOMAN MAN
YOUR LONG JOURNEY
