6/23/1980 Bremen, Germany Live OmegaTrain Kept a Rollin', Nobody's Fault But Mine, Black Dog, In the Evening, The Rain Song, Hot Dog, All My Love, Trampled Underfoot, Since I've Been Loving You, Achilles Last Stand, White Summer/Black Mountain Side, Kashmir, Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Communication Breakdown
Plant barks aggressively as the band races through an explosive Train Kept a Rollin'. Bonzo forgets some of the breaks during Nobody's Fault But Mine, robbing the song of its dynamic tension. Plant's voice is a bit rough during In the Evening, he has trouble reaching some of the higher notes. The Rain Song is fantastic. As the song ends, Plant attempts to calm the rowdy crowd so Bonzo can introduce Hot Dog. Following All My Love, Plant announces "this is one we must dedicate to Phil Carson of Atlantic Records who, if he doesn't get his shit together shortly, will be... Trampled Underfoot." Bonzo mistakenly plays through the break following the guitar solo. Plant asks the crowd to stop pushing forward prior to a lackluster Since I've Been Loving You. As the song comes to a close, Bonzo can be heard shouting "be quiet, you cunt!" at the impatient crowd. The band plods through an uninspired Achilles Last Stand. Page gets a bit lost in the arrangement toward the end of the song. Plant delivers a powerful performance during Kashmir. Stairway to Heaven features an excellent guitar solo. Bonzo fumbles through the drum outburst at the end of Rock and Roll. The band closes the show with a violent Communication Breakdown. As the song ends, Plant announces "thank you, it's nice to be... back, goodnight." A rather uninspired performance overall.
The tape is another excellent soundboard recording, briefly augmented by a fairly clear audience source.
2 comments:
While not quite the caliber of Frankfurt a week later, this is one helluva performance IMO, despite Bonzo being in "beast" mode throughout. Considering his "banana" incident which would cause him to pass out a few nights later, Bonzo plays with almost a disregard for the impassioned sensitivity which his earlier work was noted for. His laughing spell before announcing Hot Dog gives a clue to the audience that he is completely knackered, very much in a Keith Moon sort of vein.
However, the energy of the band is excellent...especially Plant who sounds in better form than much of the previous tour. In particular, Jonesy's organ playing is impeccable, and Page delivers a very competent and inspired later period performance. I actually enjoyed listening to this more than many of the tired '75 & '77 performances, but your experience may vary, of course. Sound quality is excellent on the Tarantura2000 version.
The beginning and end of the show are the best, in my opinion. Bonzo messes up badly in a few places as has been mentioned, but I hear the energy, too. Some of this sounds like punk. I'd call this an underrated show.
Post a Comment