Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 was a day like any other day EXCEPT for the fact that I was once again seeing Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy, and this time...with a friend and not alone.
We made the road trip from the desert to San Diego and went to eat at a place famous for fish. Hold on..I hate all things fishy. Yeah well, this place has the best Bloody Marys in town IMHO, so we went there and I drank a lot.
We left the aforementioned restaurant which I will have to look up to get the name correct, and proceeded on our merry way to the venue. Good thing I was with someone who used to live in San Diego and knew her way around.
We went on the long and winding thingy up into the parking garage for the Copley Hall, and ended up God Knows Where. (and even he/God was confused) Found a BAR and proceeded to have a drinkie. I was struck by the two rather large women sitting at the bar salivating over Mr. Plant and planning on how to “get him”. Hey, they made me look good...well, they made me look positively THIN.
The time came for us to make our way downstairs to the Hall. All the signs said “ no cameras”. I had artfully concealed mine in my flowered makeup bag. The “bag searching dude” said “and what is in here”? Since we all know I’m way too honest, I told him it was “my camera”. he then pulled out a sheet and compared it to the verboten ones that were pictured and said “Oh, that’s OK”. HUH??????? “YAY”, thought I...I can take photos this time!!!!!
Made our way into the Hall and were shown our FRONT ROW SEATS. (did I mention we were in the FRONT ROW???) Soon, the lights dimmed and all Hell broke loose as the Creepy Creeps took the stage. I was fascinated and LOVED them, but my friend hoofed it outside to “get a drink”. I love punk music and these guys were awesome. The dancers were hysterical and very energetic, and the band thanked RP many times for the opportunity to open for him. I loved it....some people...not so much. Their problem and their loss.
Robert and his Band of Joy were all of a sudden..just “there” on the stage. No intro as in Gateshead, no pomp and circumstance, they just appeared... I was so in awe of the whole thing I can’t even tell you what they played first. I’m such a loser baby... I’ve been waiting and looking for a review from one of the San Diego papers and possibly a set list, but so far..nada.
I managed to snap over 60 photos and some of them actually turned out OK. I had told my friend about the gospel songs and the harmonies and the nearly complete coverage of the “BOJ” CD.
Apparently, I lied.
This show featured many more Led Zeppelin tunes and was heavier by far than the show I saw in October 2010 in Gateshead. The audience was on it’s feet for much of the show and people were totally in awe of the man and the band and the talent.
They had added “Ramble On” to the equation and it was awesome. What can I say? I was left even more impressed than I was the first go round in the UK. Oh, and I am now the proud owner of both a European Tour shirt AND a US Tour shirt.
The man has talent and the band members have talent, and if you get a chance...just go and see them. It’ll be the best show you’ve ever seen!!! If it isn’t, please go bury your head in the sand somewhere because you obviously don’t know real talent when it slaps you in the face. I’ll shut up now.
(Oh, and sadly I’m back in the UK where the sun is just never out....)
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