The Show Kicked Ass

thursday nights at the orpheum have never been better

shaun and i left from my house around 645 while listening to a robert plant compilation mr. alford had just so happened to create for this distinct purpose; as he floored the gas pedal down highway 91

parked on seymour street just behind the venue and walked right on in

first things first, had to buy my concert t-shirt
when i have teenage kids years down the road, they'll thank me for keeping all of the "vintage" rock concert t-shirts i have

then we entered the forum and the opening act was already performing
it was THE TREWS
straight from nova scotia, and to tell you the truth, i kinda liked it
they were alot like the black crowes, but more of a rock edge to them, quite well done

then the people really started to flow into the building and before you knew it you could feel the heat of the sellout crowd, and the marijuana smoke in the air as moroccan music played on the speakers while the roadies arranged the set

all different kinds of people were there to see the golden god
and considering most of them paid at least 100 bucks to see him, a majority had to be devoted fans.

there were the old-timers who rocked to led zeppelin in their heydays, there were people like shaun and i, who were born after the group broke up, and then there were the odd hoochies brought in buy their wealthy boyfriends to appear to be the trendy cutting-edge people who know where it's at, and of course the hippies. at least one guy in a tye-died t-shirt with a peace sign and a couple of cougars "with flowers in their hair" who passed out letters to people in the third row that when all held up in unison read "mighty rearranger" (the title of plant's latest album)

and then at 8:45 pm, pacific standard time, september 22, 2005, my life changed.

the band walked on stage and the auditorium erupted in praise. the five members who make The Strange Sensation all grabbed hand held drums and tapped in unison, the crowd joined in, the tension was rising as all waited for the grand entrance

the incense burning on stage and the soft lighting made it look somewhat like a dream, then in the background behind one of the drummers you could see hands clapping and slowly approaching, the band parted and in walked the 57 year old genius, clapping was no longer in unison, but before i knew what i was doing i was going crazy like my best friend beside me.

started off with a darker (if possible) rendition of "no quarter" and the night took off from there

mixed with new songs from his band, and a couple of covers (of bob dylan and jimi hendrix) i was surprised by how many led zeppelin songs he actually sang. only expecting a couple he belted out no quarter, four sticks, going to california, gallows pole, black dog, and he saved his best for last

when they came back onstage for the encore, one guitarist grabbed a small stringed instrument that looked and sounded middle-eastern, the other guitarist joined in with the electric guitar and the golden god himself broke out into whole lotta love.

10:15 and mr plant thanked us for coming with his parting words "thank you vancouver, goodnight. see you again when........ we have something more to say."

that's one more checkmark on the list of things to do in my life

on our way back to the car, another concert goer walked up to shaun and myself and said "considering i paid $100 for the tickets the show sucked, it wasn't even two hours!"

that made me mad, i considered kicking his ass right then and there, shaun piped up "IT'S ROBERT FUCKING PLANT MAN!!!!!!" and off the jackass went

oh well, every party has it's pooper

as for me, i will forever remember that night, as well as the fact that shaun pointed out that we too have graced the stage that robert plant performed on, the Johnston Heights Secondary graduating class of '98 held their ceremonies in the orpheum!