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Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 1st April @ The Palais, Melbourne VIC

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Apr 2, 2018

7 min read

Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters
The Palais Theatre, Melbourne VIC
April 1st, 2018
Support: Seth Lakeman

With a sold-out crowd in the newly restored Palais Theatre, anticipation was high for tonight’s show by Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters. Half an hour before the theatre doors even opened, there was a large crowd gathered outside, tickets in hand. Even with reserved seating, it just goes to show that Melbourne has some of the most dedicated music fans in the world!

Opening act Seth Lakeman was handpicked by Robert Plant to perform on his latest record, Carry Fire and tour with his band. Lakeman has a wealth of talent, moving between instruments seamlessly in his engaging set, inviting the audience to participate with sing-alongs. Having warmed up the crowd with his wonderful performance, Lakeman would later return to the stage to perform on violin with the Sensational Shape Shifters during their set.

Touring in support of Carry Fire and for the Byron Bay Bluesfest, Plant’s arrival on stage was met with rapturous applause. Appearing from the darkness and launching into ‘What Is and What Should Never Be’, Plant grooves along with his microphone, his voice in fine form and is dance moves even finer. Throughout the night, amongst his wonderfully polite stage banter and stories from his incredible career, Plant delivered a blistering set of new and old solo material and a good selection of Led Zeppelin classics, including ‘Going to California’ and a wonderful reworking of ‘Misty Mountain Hop’. They say ever mess with the classics, but it really worked in this theatre setting, slowing down the tempo and adding some folk elements to really bring the song to life in an unexpected way. His interaction with his band during the set was perfectly executed, with guitarist Justin Adams delivering an incredible solo midway through the night. An encore medley of ‘Bring It On Home’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, and ‘Santianna’, with a final reprise of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ concluded the show, with the crowd jumping to their feet to applaud the living legend.

Honestly, in the twelve years that I have been regularly attending gigs, there is no better way to put it than to say that this was one of the best performances that I have ever seen. Everything about this show was so perfectly put together. The setlist was strong and catered to showcase the different musical outlets in Plant’s long career, the sound mixing was beautifully complimented by the acoustics in the venue and the light show was truly something else to behold. There is a reason Robert Plant is so respected and acclaimed as one of the greatest performers of the last century in music, and it is because he is simply that; the greatest.

Gig Review and Photo Gallery by Luke Sutton. Insta: @LukeaSutton
Please credit Wall of Sound and Luke Sutton if you repost.

Seth Lakeman

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Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters