If Robert Plant was sick, he sure didn’t look like it, act like it, and most importantly, sound like it.
After the rock legend and former Led Zeppelin frontman postponed several shows last week due to illness (Plant will make up those shows in September), the singer (who was joined by the Pixies) confessed to the Mann Center audience on Wednesday night that he didn’t initially think he would be well enough to perform in Philadelphia, which was technically the last date of his current tour. Nonetheless, Plant assured the crowd that he was indeed ready.
And ready he was.
After American rock band the Pixies opened the show, Plant, backed by his excellent six-member band the Sensational Space Shifters, opened the set with a powerful no-holds-barred version of Zeppelin’s “The Wanton Song,” followed by “Turn It Up,” a track from his recent solo album “Lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar” The tone of the show was set during the Zeppelin classic “Black Dog,” which incorporated a West African feel provided by blues musician and Juldeh Camara, who was truly the evening’s wildcard. Several rearranged/reworked versions of Zeppelin songs ranging from “The Lemon Song” and “Whole Lotta Love” were performed in a unique but recognizable matter during the 90-minute set.
In between songs, the affable singer discussed everything from the origins of the blues, to the lack of exciting music from his native England prior to the arrival of the Beatles. As a result, Plant often searched for inspiration across the Atlantic (even referencing music from South Street), prior to singing a soulful cover of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful.” Ever the humorist, Plant jokingly remarked after performing “The Rain Song” (from Zeppelin’s 1973 ‘Houses of the Holy’ album) that he hadn’t played the song for 40 years. Before the crowd could draw a laugh, Plant launched into “Trampled Under Foot,” which single-handedly proved that the soon-to-be 67-year old still possesses a vocal range to be reckoned with.
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More than anything, Plant’s 90-minute set was an all encompassing journey featuring Led Zeppelin songs (“Dazed and Confused”), his solo work (“Rainbow”), as well as his deep appreciation for Blues music (“Crawling King Snake”). For a man once reluctant to even perform songs by his former band after their 1980 breakup, Plant seems completely comfortable with his past and has fully embraced the present.
By the time Plant closed the night with “Rock and Roll,” the audience clearly provided what the singer requested earlier in the evening: energy and smiles.
Sick or not, Robert Plant and his music tend to have that effect on people.
Setlist
The Wanton Song
Turn It Up
Black Dog
Rainbow
Spoonful
The Rain Song
Trampled Under Foot
No Place to Go/ Dazed and Confused
Little Maggie
The Lemon Song
Crawling King Snake/ Whole Lotta Love/ Mona
Encore:
Rock and Roll
By Joe Vallee
