For my misgivings about the venue I have to say that the staff were all friendly and efficient and after buying a pint of Danish lager (apparently they “only do Guinness in cans”) I managed to find a suitable vantage point which not only afforded a decent view of the stage but also allowed me to support my somewhat dodgy back (the problem with buying tickets so far in advance is that standing seemed like a good idea at the time). The first support act came on after the hall had been filling up for half an hour. Support acts are always a hit and miss affair and when a record company are trying to push a new act the pairings can be rather odd. Fortunately the support acts tonight were very good – whether they were chosen by Plant himself or not I don’t know but the first up was a folky pair called Nugent and Belle (or as I first referred to them “two girls with guitars” as I missed the introduction).
They played a short set of six songs and this seemed to go down very well with the Glasgow crowd: at least I thought it would be worth checking them out (once I’d found out who they actually were!) Next up were a New York power trio called The Last Internationale. In fact this started with a solo acoustic song called Workers Of The World – Unite! a sentiment which seemed to chime with a Glasgow audience still up for a fight after the referendum. The rest of the set was more of a power blues set along the lines of Cream or Hendrix although ending with a sing-a-long version of Neil Young’s Hey Hey, My My. The set went down a storm and I suspect that they have sold quite a few CDs on the back of that.
Next up was the main man and I was quite interested to see what sort of set he would go with. I saw his Glastonbury performance on TV in the summer but with the new album now out for a couple of months I had expected this to feature more prominently. In fact it dominated the input from his solo career with a few blues covers (including Spoonful – I’m not sure whether that was intended as an acknowledgement of Jack Bruce) and several re-interpretations of songs from Led Zeppelin’s first 4 albums, starting with Friends from Led Zeppelin III which more than lends itself to the talents of Juldeh Camara’s riti playing. First up of the new songs was Turn It Up which he had recently performed on the Jools Holland show.
I suspect this has replaced Tin Pan Valley in his show as the two songs would clash within the set. Overall I think the new songs have matured in performance and they sound more upbeat compared to the album. However, even Plant admitted that Embrace Another Fall (performed without the section in Welsh) was a bit miserable. He also performed a heart rending rendition of Stolen Kiss in the encore which was a stark change of tone towards the end of the show. A couple of the Zeppelin tunes were fairly close to the originals – a slightly jazzier rendition of What Is And What Should Never Be and an achingly beautiful version of Going To California amongst them. For the most part the songs were a heavy reworking of the originals with a recognisable melody or lyric breaking out of swirling electronica like a familiar friend emerging from a crowded room. Others incorporated elements of the songs that inspired them, segueing into the song they became: not least on Whole Lotta Love which now betrays its origins until THAT riff hits like a punch to the guts.
I think what really struck me about Plant’s performance is that he really still has it. His voice is not the same as the 19 year old that joined Led Zeppelin but he is still performing much of the material he did then but in a manner that fits his 66 year old vocal chords. There was a spurious news story this week that he had turned down an offer of £500 million to play a Led Zeppelin re-union tour. The story was completely fabricated but I think it amused him that here he was, an OAP in an old Glasgow bingo hall: “We’ve got our cards ready – bingo’s good for your mind” he quipped. I think it was at this point that it occurred to me that Robert Plant retired a long time ago. He performs and records now because it is his vocation – it’s what he loves doing and he wants to do it on his own terms. He would have to play thousands of bingo halls to make as much money as a Zeppelin re-union but the money doesn’t matter – it’s the artistic expression and connection with his roots that counts.
For me, I hope he doesn’t re-join Zeppelin although I’d like to see him work on projects with the others. On the one hand it would be fantastic to see them together but to do that would require a time machine to take me back to 1971. If they were to reform now it would be a circus: a corporate hell where the band are seen on video screens from the back of colossal auditoria far removed from their audience. Being able to see a legendary performer in an intimate venue such as the O2 Academy is a real privilege. I left, as did everyone else, enriched and elated by the experience. It’s over 26 years since I first saw Plant perform live and that was a show that stayed with me for a very long time. I suspect the night in the bingo hall will remain for many years more.
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