DLeeWebb
Headphoneus Supremus
I went to see Robert Plant who is on the road with his "Mighty Rearranger" tour at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last night. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed. I have seen Robert Plant several times, three times with Led Zeppelin, [Spectrum-Philadelphia-1975/Capitol Center-Landover, Maryland-1977/Live Aid-JFK Stadium-Philadelphia 1985 (reunion after John Bonham's death)] and solo on the "Now and Zen" tour. [Spectrum-Philadelphia (his opening act was Stevie Ray Vaughn) - I don't remember the year but Stevie Ray died not long after that show...] In a word the "Mighty Rearranger" concert was great. Plant's voice was perfect. He hasn't lost anything in all of these years. Facially, he looks his age but the voice and the stage presence are all still there. I was pleasantly surprised with how many Led Zeppelin songs that he did. He started with the song "Brother Ray" from his new album which he morphed into a new arrangement of "No Quarter." Without pause he went right into an excellent version of "Black Dog." [I never thought that I would see that song being performed again!] He went on to do "That's The Way," "Heartbreaker," "Gallows Pole," "When The Levee Breaks" [which was exceptionally good!], and he ended the night with a long version of "Whole Lotta Love." His band "Strange Sensation" did a better than excellent job. What a daunting task that it must be for a group of musicians to even attempt to play these legendary songs to an audience with high expectations as to how they should sound. The audience was not disappointed with their musical interpretations. The band's musicianship was impeccable. They were true to the original spirit and sound of the songs, but they added their own spirit to them. Plant and his band also did the whole "Mighty Rearranger" album which I have liked since I bought it, but now that I have seen and heard the songs played live I like this new material even more. It was a great night that brought back a lot of pleasant memories and created a few new ones. If the "Mighty Rearranger" tour comes to your town, and you are a Robert Plant/Led Zeppelin fan, give yourself a present and buy a ticket you won't be disappointed!