Robert Plant at Rod Laver Arena Melbourne – this report for TBL from Michael Rae who attended with his son
As this photo of my 13 year old, Adam, shows, we weren’t in a great spot for photos tonight!
Never mind, we were there!
Robert was in fine voice and in a very cheerful mood. The band was spectacular.
LZ songs included Friends, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Black Dog, Going to California, Ramble On, Four Sticks, Whole Lotta Love and encores of What Is And What Should Never Be and Rock and Roll. Spoonful, Fixin’ to …

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters Down Under:
This round up by Bill McGlynn:

Just returned from my third Robert Plant & SSS concert, in Newcastle. It’s been three wonderful nights, to say the least! All three setlists have been the same and the orders have varied. In Newcastle, it started with a very powerful version of Friends.
The venues and audiences have been quite different over the three nights.
Robert and band really fed off the crowd excitement at the festival in Byron Bay. Robert was breaking out many of the old …

TBL Celebrates Houses Of The Holy at 40:
A lot of work went into collating and writing the Houses Of The Holy feature earlier in the year – I was as usual spinning a few other plates, so it’s most gratifying to receive the kind of feedback below that makes it all worthwhile…inspiring a return to the music with a fresh perspective is always my mission on everything that comes out of here…judging by these comments it’s job done with Houses…
This one from Paul Humbley:
This is the least played Zeppelin vinyl in …

Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy  TBL 40th Anniverary Special:
40 years ago today Led Zeppelin released their long awaited fifth album, Houses Of The Holy.
We have been counting down to this milestone anniversary and the TBL website and Facebook page will be celebrating the album’s release over the next few days.
I myself have been getting intensely re acquainted with the Houses Of The Holy album since January, as over the past three months I’ve been collating a major feature  for the new issue of Record Collector – that issue is now …

I know I’ve run this before, but the posting on Jimmy’s site today – and the fact it’s 15 years ago today that they performed the Shepherds Bush Empire gig, prompted me to dig out the Mad Month of March text from TBL 13 that chronicles this intensive period that saw them stage the showpiece Shepherds Bush gig plus appearances of Top of The Pops and TFI Friday.
1998 really was a fantastic year for Page and Plant activity – for some of  us in the TBL crew perhaps the last carefree period before we got …

Robert Plant presents Sensational Spaceshifters – West Coast Blues and Roots Festival – Fremantle: Western Australia, Perth –
This report by Mick Judd for TBL
Just got home. It was a great day with some great acts preceding Robert and the Strange Sensation, such as Chris Issak, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Status Quo. Robert and band came on about 7.30 pm and brought the house down with mostly Dreamland and Might Re-arranger materials. He looked quite fit and the band were well geared up for the gig. At one stage he made …

JIMMY PAGE AND JOHN PAUL JONES ACCEPT ECHO INTERNATIONAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN BERLIN: 
Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were in attendance to accept Led Zeppelin’s International Lifetime Achievement Award at the Palais am Funkturm in Berlin last night.
Here is a link to watch the acceptance of the award: It’s wonderful to see Jimmy and JPJ together to receive yet another much deserved accolade…
http://www.ardmediathek.de/das-erste/echo-2013/lebenswerk-international-led-zeppelin?documentId=13822376
Many thanks to Wolfgang Siedel
Photo Luca Teuchmann/Getty
Here’s a brief interview clip with Jimmy and summary of last night’s ECHO awards which saw Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in …

Here’s a new interview with Robert Plant via Digital Today Singapore conducted by Kevin Mathews ahead of his Sensational Spaceshifters date at the Timbre Rock & Roots music festival on Thursday.
Yes, he’s now officially in town. The voice behind Led Zeppelin will be performing, quite aptly, at Timbre Rock & Roots music festival. We were worried he’d strain his voice prior to his set on Thursday night, but Plant didn’t seem to mind, judging from our long and quite candid chat. Read on.
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YOU’VE HAD OVER FORTY YEARS OF MAKING MUSIC, WHAT …

As Robert prepares for his first appearances down under since 1996 – here’s a round up of pre – tour media coverage, interviews and quotes: 
Robert Plant has an unquenchable thirst for music that moves him.
From his golden-haired, rock-god days as frontman for Led Zeppelin to his latest British urban, West African-inspired incarnation, The Sensational Shape Shifters.
“Try combining West African rhythms with Led Zeppelin-fired blues,” he explains ahead of his two April shows in New Zealand.
It will be Plant’s third visit to New Zealand. Speaking from his home in Machynlleth, Wales, …

Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters set for JamBase Live at the Gorge WA  July 5/6
Robert Plant, Michael Franti, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Slightly Stoopid,  Robert Randolph & The Family Band, G. Love & Special Sauce and STS9 are among the acts slated to appear at the JamBase Live festival. As previously reported, the first-ever JamBase festival will take place at George, WA’s  Gorge Amphitheatre on July 5 and 6.
Other confirmed acts include: Galactic, Railroad Earth, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Lettuce, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers and ALO. The event …