March 24, 2005 Irving Plaza, NYC

Set List
No Quarter
Shine It All Around
Black Dog
Freedom Fries
Morning Dew
Heartbreaker
That’s the Way
All the King’s Horses
If I Were A Carpenter
Darkness Darkness
Tin Pan Valley
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
Tall Cool One
When the Levee Breaks
The Enchanter
Whole Lotta Love

by The Enchanter
To give you an idea of how amazing this new album proves to be, the crowd at Irving Plaza was incredibly enthusiastic about the new songs. I bring this up because traditionally, New York is a really hard crowd. I’ve seen Robert here many many times and unfortunately, it’s often the old songs that charge them up more.

This time there was a lovely incense burning. Not nag champa as in the past but quite nice. The show opened with the remix of Shine it All Around. It’s the perfect opener because it’s such an intense sound. It’s got this techno energy on top of this Arabic beat and Robert’s powerful vocals.

Tin Pan Valley is awesome. Starts off sort of quiet and you’re not sure what to expect and then, boom, Robert belts out “like this” and the song just takes off like wildfire. The Enchanter is proving to be a favorite of mine thus far. Nice to see Robert playing the bandir too.

Not enough can be said for the band. They really are the perfect foil for Robert. There’s a real chemistry going on with them on stage that is truly incredible to witness.

I also enjoyed hearing some of the cuts from Dreamland as the last time I had seen Robert was that mini tour he did in 2001 which previewed some of those songs. It was interesting to see how they’ve evolved since then.

As far as Robert’s voice and energy, better than ever. I dare anyone to say he can’t sing or what not. His voice is even more powerful now and he uses it to really fit the mood of the song. Quiet and soulful on All the King’s Horses and mighty on cuts like Tin Pan Valley and Freedom Fries.