Robert Plant and the Band of Joy Concert Review

Robert Plant and the Band of Joy concert on Sunday, May 1, 2011
at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC

The Doobie Brothers get the Merlefest 2011 trophy, but Robert Plant & the Band of Joy came in second.  This band should've had the prime time Saturday night spot instead of Lyle Lovett.  They were much better.  I could hardly believe I was seeing Robert Plant in Wilkesboro, NC.  One thing has become apparent: the sky's the limit for this festival.  

I couldn't watch much of the show because I had to work storage, again, starting at 4:00pm - thirty minutes after they took the stage.  Opening up with Black Dog was pretty awesome though, however, from what I hear, the show got better as it went, making me wish I could've stuck around a bit longer.  

Setlist:

1. Black Dog

2. Down to the Sea

3. Angel Dance

4. Black Country Woman

5. House of Cards

6. Monkey

7. Somewhere Trouble Don't Go

8. That's the Way

9. A Satisfied Mind

10. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down

11. Ocean of Tears

12. In the Mood

13. Please Read the Letter

14. House of the Holy

15. Ramble On

Encore:

16. Harms Swift Way

17. Gallows Pole

18. And We Bid You Goodnight

One thing should be made clear.  This isn't a Zeppelin cover band.  It's a group of musicians Plant has assembled that blend his English hippy-folk vibe with their rootsier Americana.  The result is a rich layered sound blossoming with talent and technical proficiency.  Very different from that raw rock Zeppelin sound I think a lot of folks were expecting.  The Zeppelin covers were't Zeppelin-esque at all.  But they sounded great.  Plant is a musician in the truest of sense.  He's influenced by a variety of genres - rock, folk, bluegrass, Americana, etc… it adds a great level of depth to this band's sound.    

Rush Concert Review

Rush "Time Machine Tour" concert on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

There were three negatives going in.  One, I knew I had to be a ticket scalper since one of the guys I bought a ticket for backed out on me a few weeks ago.  I told him I'd try to sell his ticket at the door, but if I couldn't, he'd owe me the price of the ticket.  Two, since this show was inexplicably rescheduled from Friday, April 1 to Saturday, April 2 sometime earlier this week, it meant missing the Final Four.  Three, I knew what they were going to play before I ever even entered the coliseum. I don't think the set list has changed once since the start of the first leg.   

Rush Setlist:

1. The Spirit Of Radio 

2. Time Stand Still 

3. Presto 

4. Stick It Out 

5. Workin' Them Angels 

6. Leave That Thing Alone 

7. Faithless 

8. BU2B 

9. Freewill 

10. Marathon 

11. Subdivisions 

- - - Intermission - - -

12. Tom Sawyer 

13. Red Barchetta 

14. YYZ 

15. Limelight 

16. The Camera Eye 

17. Witch Hunt 

18. Vital Signs 

19. Caravan 

20. *Drum Solo* 

21. Closer To The Heart 

22. 2112 (Part I: Overture & Part II: The Temple of Syrinx)

23. Far Cry 

Encore:

24. La Villa Strangiato 

25. Working Man 




Three men on a stage have never produced such a sound.  It was the best classic electric rock vibe I've ever heard live.  These guys can PLAY.  Peart delivered an awesome drum solo, as I expected him to, complete with a rotating "time machine" drum kit.  This concert went on and on and on and on and on, it clocked out after at least three hours.  After Subdivisions, Geddy said "were old men… we need a break."  A twenty-minute intermission ensued.


Rush has experimented with different sounds throughout their career, and the purpose of this tour, as presented in the title of the tour, was to take the audience through the decades to experience their prowess and amazing repertoire.  Many think of Rush as a very serious band that's all music and no play, others as some type of alternative heavy metal; but they are neither.  They are a fun-loving progressive rock band, and they smiled often and danced around on stage simply having fun while displaying amazing musicianship.  The first set had some great stuff, including one of my favorites, "Leave That Thing Alone," an instrumental with some really catchy guitar work.  "The Spirit of Radio," "Time Stand Still," "Freewill," "Marathon," and "Subdivisions" are all great songs.  There was a large screen behind the stage they played films on.  Often it was a clock counting down to a particular year - usually signifying the year of a particular song release of the song getting ready to be played, or in one case, an album release.  During the intermission, the clock counted up to 1980, the year Moving Pictures was released.  At the start of the second set, "Tom Sawyer" came on and they played Moving Pictures in full.


They also played some material from their upcoming release, Clockwork Angels, notably, "BU2B," and "Caravan."


They only played the first two parts to 2112.  I would've loved to see the whole thing played.  But it is a twenty-minute song… and they played for over three hours as it was… I guess these old men can only do so much.  


But for old men, they still rock pretty hard.