reCAP :: Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters :: 2014.09.25
Robert Plant at The Capitol Theatre was easily one of the most anticipated shows, for fans and staff alike. People lined up early to see Led Zeppelin's "Golden God." Seeing a bonafide rock 'n' roll hero with such a huge historic shadow over him gives everyone expectations that normal bands, rock stars, and singers don’t have. Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters did not let anyone down! Fears of his voice being diminished were squashed as were any thoughts that he might not present his back catalogue of epic songs.
When he hit the stage, Plant was greeted to an giant roar. He opened with "Poor Howard" from their new release Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. We were immediately treated to a solo by Gambian native Juldeh Camara, who is the undisputed master of a fiddle-like instrument called the nyanyeru. The bow on this instrument is a curved branch and the nyanyeru is played horizontally. Stringed instruments and percussion instruments as diverse as banjo, bendirs, djembe, kologos were all showcased throughout the evening. "Poor Howard" was peaceful and set the tone for a soothing evening. Next, "Pocket Full of Golden," also a new release, was a hypnotic pulsing song with a pleasing feel.
Plant greeted the crowd to more applause when the band went into "Thank You" from Led Zeppelin II, the audience singing every word just before the scorching guitar solo. A sea of cell phones lit up the crowd who was trying to capture a legend at work.
A modern-day mash-up began with the mellow blues riff of Fleetwood Mac's "No Place To Go" under the lyrics to "How Many More Times," from Led Zeppelin I. The song built to a recurring slow riff similar to David Bowie's "The Jean Genie."
Plant introduced his band who then played "Rainbow." The song included Plant and bandmates performing bendir percussion instruments, launching the feel of world music into the theater. The tender mood of the new material is so easy to enjoy and groove to live.
The audience gloriously sang, “Spent my days with a woman unkind / Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine" as the band kicked up "Going To California." I realized, at this point of the evening, that Plant's voice is terrific, showing hardly any wear from a career of high vocals — his voice was beautiful here. Plant extended and repeated phrases during the lyric “Hard, hard, hard as it seems." The dreamy, "AAAHHH, AAAHH, AAHHH," had everyone smiling, and the room exploded into applause with a standing ovation as it concluded.
"A Stolen Kiss," from the new album, is a song with a church-like hymnal sound that added yet another layer of texture to the evening. After, the band deviated from their setlist to play "What Is And What Should Never Be." Everyone was dancing throughout the building at this point, with the crowd shouting and hollering in joy. The lyric “And happiness is what you need so bad, girl / The answer lies with you,” received a huge response from the crowd.
"Turn It Up" is a song with a quiet/loud dynamic and a solid crunchy guitar that translates great as a live track. The peak the audience is on was maintained with this rocker.
Everyone in attendance went even higher with "Babe I’m Gonna Leave You," the room filled with ear-to-ear grins. The band stretched this tune out with highlights on Plant's trademark howls as he reached deep to let them out to the point of his face turning red. It was pure magic! There were a couple of false endings and reprises of the intro, and this quickly became the highlight of the evening, so far.
"Fixing to Die" was rocked out by the band to keep the fever pitch of the audience going strong. The band started a blues riff out of the song and into "Whole Lotta Love" which had the building shaking. As they explored stretching the classic out into a medley, the band began a Bo Diddley beat, into another nyanyeru solo, and into "Who Do You Love." Plant raised his hands over his head to shake them and the entire audience did the same, creating another huge moment in an already fantastic evening.
The band departed the stage and returned for an encore lead-off with a reworking of "Noboby’s Fault But Mine," in a blues tempo. Then, the song segued into the traditional song "Little Maggie." One more time, the audience was treated to a stage full of world instruments to close out a truly memorable evening. As patrons left The Cap, the feeling was universal — they had been to a terrific show fronted by a legend. Everyone had smiles and adrenaline running through them as they exited feeling fully satisfied.