July 24, 2005 Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA

by Planted in My Mind
It was a perfect summer evening at the Greek. My husband and I had packed a picnic dinner to eat before the concert. The Greek is in Griffith Park, with beautiful trees and lots of picnic tables very close to the entrance to the theatre. We went in 20 minutes before start time and found our seats. They were AWESOME. 6th row center, directly in front of Robert.

The opening band was Little Axe, they were really good. They were comprised of lead and bass guitars with a drummer. Their music was bluesy, funky rock. They played for a half hour or so. During the equipment set up, Tinariwen was being played on the speakers, which is when I started dancing and never stopped for the rest of the evening.

I heard the SIAA remix, and knew things were about to get started. They opened with No Quarter, Robert seemed to appear out of nowhere. The original version is one of my least favorite Zep songs, the new one is fantastic. I brought a pen and piece of paper to write the setlist down, but alas, once the music started I was swept away.

Robert sounded sooo good, his voice is very powerful live. He danced and smiled, and seemed to have a great time with the band, they really do have wonderful chemistry. Justin was great fun to watch, he’s quite a dancer. I forget which song is was, but he wasn’t playing much, and he spent his time doing what looked like a Middle Eastern dance — arms out to the side at shoulder height snapping his fingers and swaying his hips.

Robert didn’t banter much between songs, my impression was that they played almost straight through. It was such an intense experience for me. This was my first time seeing him solo and I really felt transported. It seems strange that I can’t remember all the songs they played and in which order. I was so caught up in each moment that at the end it was like being set back down on earth with just an overall impression and a feeling of joy. I was so happy they played Darkness, Darkness, which really highlights the beauty of Robert’s voice. Freedom Fries and Another Tribe were amazing. I had to run to the ladies room during Tin Pan Alley, but I only missed a little of it — I literally ran to and from. Some of the other songs I remember were, Hey Hey What Can I Do, Mighty Rearranger and Gallows Pole. Enchanter and Whole Lotta Love were the encore songs, with Robert getting the audience to sing different parts of WLL, which we did very well!

At the end, I was just floored. It was magic! I felt so wonderful and lucky to have been able to experience my first Robert concert with such great seats. It was a perfect evening!

Thank you Robert and SS for such amazing music and an incredible performance. I had the night of my life.