Set List:
If I Ever Get Lucky
7 And 7 Is
Down to the Sea
Four Sticks
Darkness Darkness
Hey Joe
Going to California
Morning Dew
Calling To You
Celebration Day
Tall Cool One
Whole Lotta Love
Song To The Siren
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You

The pre-show music leading up to the band’s appearance on the stage was Barra Barra by Rachid Taha. From here, Robert goes right into one of my absolute favorite songs from Dreamland; If I Ever Get Lucky. I think this is an amazing song and it’s so perfect for Robert vocally. He mixes up the blues and some Arabic vocalizations that just sound intense. You can really feel the show is going to be amazing by the power and energy of the band right from the start.

The band fly right into Love’s 7 And 7 Is which is a good song. I prefer Robert’s version to the original. It’s a bit more energetic with Robert at the helm. Also from Dreamland is Darkness Darkness, a song that Robert did many times with Priory of Brion. Both versions are equally beautiful and sound nothing like the Jesse Colin Young version. So typical of Robert and one of the things that’s so special about him as an artist is that he never tries to copy what has already been done. He takes a song and completely makes it his own. It’s also why Dreamland worked so well. So many bands just do “cover” albums and pretty much mimic how the song was done. Strange Sensation take this song and make it a bit darker and more intense. I really like both versions equally.

Hey Joe is one of those songs I found took some time to really appreciate. I, like most people, are most familiar with the Jimi Hendrix version, although many other bands have covered it. I never “got” the intensity of the words until I heard Robert sing it. The build and trippiness the band play, really fits well with how heavy the song is. I think seeing this song live helps to appreciate it a lot more.

The audience joins Robert in singing Going To California. It’s really touching to hear that. This version makes me feel like I am up in the Welsh mountains on a beautiful summer day. It’s just gorgeous.

Much like Hey Joe, I was a bit hesitant to accept anyone else singing Morning Dew, a song so immortalized by the Grateful Dead. True to form, I was not disappointed. Robert took the song and completely made it his own.

Throughout this show which unfortunately, the sound quality was awful [see note below] and many of the songs are hard to fully hear, I kept thinking about how absolutely amazing Robert’s voice is. He’s got such an intense and powerful quality that no one else has. I can’t understand how people have the nerve to comment that he doesn’t sing well anymore. They should listen to this CD poorly recorded and they will be proven very wrong. I personally think he sounds better than ever.

I love Calling To You. It’s a great song both on record and live. It’s nice to hear this band interpret the song since only Charlie Jones was a part of the original recording. Tall Cool One is very hard-edged with this band, but there’s a little sprinkling of pyschedelia mixed in which sounds great.

For an encore, Robert sings my other favorite song from Dreamland; Song To The Siren. I’m happy that during this song, there appeared to be little audience banter. It’s so beautiful I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t want to hear Robert sing it.

The set list for this show was fantastic. I was thrilled to hear some of my favorites and some surprises that I’ve never seen or heard Robert sing live before. It’s a new incarnation of Strange Sensation as Porl Thompson left the band and guitarist Skin took over. Skin adds a really good sound. He’s a harder-edged player, but still has a lot of melodic approaches to his solos. I think he was a good addition to the band and supports Robert’s style quite nicely.

By Lilip

NOTE from RPF: I was at this show and the sound was truly awful–muddy and a bit distorted in places. The boot is an accurate representation of how it actually sounded. Despite the place having a bad sound and being 900 degrees, Robert put on a great show. At one point he came out and lobbed ice at the people clustered around the stage.

The pre-show music was played earlier in the week at Rockfest as well. I kept thinking the refrain was “Robert Robert”. Pick up a copy and see for yourself. The music apparently made an impression on a few people. As I was standing waiting for the show to begin, two young men hurried past me, one saying excitedly to the other “hurry! You will not want to miss the middle eastern opening!”