Set List:
If I Ever Get Lucky
Morning Dew
In The Light
Sitting By The Window
Darkness Darkness
Season of the Witch
Hey Joe
4 Sticks
7 And 7 Is
Bummer in the Summer
Misty Mountain Hop
In The Mood
A House Is Not A Motel
Whole Lotta Love
Song To the Siren

This show was the opening night of a part of a few selected dates Robert performed with Strange Sensation well before Dreamland was released. The concert opened up with the ethereal and bluesy If I Ever Get Lucky which thankfully made it onto the Dreamland CD. It’s such a great song for Robert because it’s melodic, bluesy and Arabic all mixed together. I like that he opens with this song because I think it sets the mood for the evening quite well.

It’s clear from the opening notes Robert sings, that he’s very much musically turned on. He’s got so much power and emotion and intensity to his voice, it’s as though the man was ageless. I like how the audience obviously agrees by their enthusiastic response to all the songs, not just the few Zep tunes he does.

Moby Grape’s Sitting By The Window was one I only know the original of. Robert’s a huge Grape fan and I enjoyed hearing his rendition. To the best of my knowledge, he didn’t perform this song with Priory of Brion. Unfortunately when I saw this tour a few days later, this song was not present.

Robert has sung Darkness Darkness quite often since Priory of Brion and I certainly never tire of it. There’s so much possibility with how the song is performed and each time I’ve heard Robert singing it, there’s some fantastic nuances that add to its beauty. Here Robert plays around with the vocal line rhythmically causing this intense edge that the band work with by adding some spiraling sounds. It’s one of my favorite versions so far.

I just love hearing Season of the Witch, although ironically enough, I was never a huge fan of the original version. In the past, Robert has done this with a bit of funk. Here, the song is a bit more straight-edged rock with that psychedelic sprinkle.

This particular take on Hey Joe was the one that really sold me on the song. I was never a big fan of it from Hendrix and even listening to the studio version off Dreamland took some getting used to. There is something in the way Robert delivers some spectacular Arabic vocalisms on top of the wild and trippy guitars that made me see how great this song is. It’s a shame Hendrix didn’t take a heavier approach because if you listen to the words, it’s a pretty dark tune.

Bummer In The Summer is completely funked up. Listen to this version and then go back to Love’s version and it seems like Robert performs it the way the song should be. It’s absolutely brilliantly done and Robert sings this at lightning speed with Charlie’s driving bass line and groovy guitar/keyboards. It’s got a real James Brown feel to it.

Also absent from the concert I saw in New York City is an old blues tune I’m In The Mood. I don’t know who originally wrote or performed it but it’s chocked full of Robert belting out some really great blues vocals.

When Robert comes back on stage for an encore, he profusely thanks the audience for being there and for their warm response. He’s truly touched by the experience of the evening. He goes into Song To The Siren, a song he credits as having carried around in his heart for years. It’s pretty apparent by how he sings it that the song has a lot of meaning to him.

This is a definite must-have CD. The sound quality is really good overall. There are times when Robert is speaking to the audience that sound a bit quiet, but overall it’s good. Whoever recorded it tried to cut out some of the in between song wait so there are definite breaks but it doesn’t cut into the songs. It’s just pure Robert–2 discs full of a man who hasn’t lost his passion for music.

By Lilip