The Enchanter - Robert Plant In Toronto

It seems that I have forgotten to write for over two months. Onwards!

Last Wednesday I went to see Robert Plant and his band The Strange Sensation live at the Molson Amphitheater here in Toronto. I was very excited about seeing one of the greats of rock and roll play live despite the lack of the rest of the members of Led Zeppelin

Moreover, I had listened to Plant's new album Mighty Rearranger and was very impressed by it. The songs all have a musicality and soul to them which many classic rockers who continue on cannot capture anymore. On this album Plant experiments with more modern sounding keyboard elements and many of the songs have a distinct (to my uneducated ears) eastern sound and influence. He does this without losing the classic rock core which has made him famous. Tin Pan Valley is the best example of this melding of styles. The song starts with an eerie modern sounding keyboard part and builds with Plant half-whispering, half-singing the lyrics until the song suddenly explodes into something very Zeppelinish and maybe a little heavier.

Now, onto the concert.

Plant and his band played a set balanced nicely between old Zeppelin songs and new Plant & Strange Sensation material. From my memory I have recorded the setlist as follows:

No Quarter
Shine It All Around
Black Dog
Freedom Fries
Morning Dew
That's The Way
Hey Hey, What Can I Do?
Heartbreaker (It was somewhere in here)
Tin Pan Valley
Gallows Pole
Mighty Rearranger
When The Levee Breaks

Encore:
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
The Enchanter
Whole Lotta Love

One of the interesting aspects of the performance was how the old Zeppelin songs were, while recognizable and excellent, very different. In almost all cases they took a different take on the songs and how they were played. While some might think this diminishes the songs from their originals, I loved it. If Plant and his new band played Zeppelin songs exactly like Zeppelin played them, they would be exactly like Zeppelin but not nearly as good. Instead, by taking a different take on them, the songs were made interesting, fresh and served as a stage to show off the talents of Plant and the other band members.

True to this different take on the Zeppelin classics, the show opened up with a very different version of No Quarter. At first I couldn't figure out what was being played until Plant started singing. "Close the door turn out the light." This uncertainty happened a lot during the night followed by a euphoria at realizing that I was hearing these great songs in a different context.

Black Dog was another Zeppelin classic which I didn't recognize at first. Mostly this was because the characteristic riff was heavily modified. I think in this case it might be because the classic riff is ridiculously hard to play and you need to be Jimmy Page to nail it. The Strange Sensation guitar player was very good, but I don't think it's insulting to say that he's no Jimmy Page.

The introduction of Freedom Fries got some chuckles from the audience, but sadly it seemed that many people didn't know the new songs (understandably) and weren't as into them as they could have been.

Mid-way through the set Hey Hey What Can I Do? had everyone tapping their foot and singing.Tin Pan Valley had me very excited and I hope it showed off the new Plant material to many in attendance.

At the end of the main set they launched into a very different and very cool version of When The Levee Breaks. It started out acoustic and laid back and built itself up into an incredible groove. Once again I couldn't figure out what was being played until Plant sang. "If it keeps on raining the levee's going to break." The crowd was very into this one and it was probably the best adaptation of the old Zeppelin material to be heard that night. It was very different but at the same time thrilling. It got everyone riled up just in time to cheer Plant and the band back on stage for a spectacular encore.

The encore began with the sad and powerful Zeppelin classic Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. I thought it to be a strange song to play in an encore, but obviously Plant knows far better than me in picking his setlists, as this song was unbelievably well done and really hit home with the crowd. With The Enchanter, the audience was finally getting into the new material. I liked this song on the ablum, but this live performance was just downright awesome. This trippy song was extended to allow a lot of soloing and craziness which I can't describe well enough.

This led into the last song of the night -- the classic Whole Lotta Love. This once again featured a long extended solo section complete with Plant's trademark wails and vocal improvisations. Plant's voice and his range is a legend of rock. In one song he may sing soft and tender while in the next he blasts it out full of energy and sexuality. I was apprehensive, but I can now attest that Plant's voice is still a legend and has not been diminished by his age. His wails in this last song of the night penetrated right into your head and proved why he has the ability to last this long still writing and playing excellent music. He doesn't just go through the motions to reap the success he's earned. No, for Robert Plant the feeling and the music comes first.