Set-List:
If i ever get lucky/7+7 is/down to the sea/misty mountain hop/come in to my life/fixing to die/ship of fools/morning dew
4 sticks/calling to you/tall cool one/celebration day
Encores: hose is not a motel/ babe i gonna leave you
Set list from Billy Fletcher
Review by Nuno Simoes 

As far as I know this was the second time that Robert Plant came to my country. These concerts were my first chance to somehow experience Zep music live. Needless to say, I attended every single one of them.

Hats off to the Oporto Gig. Robert was especially into the concert that night and so was the audience. Every song was received enthusiastically, whether it was a zep classic or not. Besides, the Oporto Coliseum is a better venue than Lisbon´s Aula Magna (a small auditorium with seated places only). I think this somehow influenced the atmosphere, because you could see people dancing timidly in their chairs, when they ‘d rather be jumping and dancing (I know I was). Anyway, I won’t go into more details on the Oporto gig since Xana’s review pretty much covers it. I’ll stick to the May 23 concert…

I arrived Aula Magna around 9 pm. This portuguese band – Andre Indiana – was already on stage, warming up the crowd with high doses of hard rock, blues and Hendrix inspired’ guitar solos. If Rock is dying, these guys sure know CPR!

Crowd Check:
The place was almost sold out. Lots of families around here, kids wearing Black Sabbath (!) and Tool (!!) t-shirts, old rockers, metal heads and gorgeous groupies. A young audience. I guess LedZep still rules…

The Concert:
As the lights dimmed, we heard the first oriental chords. Robert stood hidden in the shadows (but his long hair gave him away). “If I ever get lucky mamaaaaa…” echoed powerfully in the room. The first song – “Win my train fare home” – sounded like a mantra, I only recognized the “keep on crawling” bits. Never imagined blues could sound like that!

Next one: “7×7”. A pure demonstration of hard rockin’. Plants voice is now warmed up and in great shape too: he reached those high notes easily…doo-beep-Beep-doo-beep-Bop-YEAH!

The Zep Classic – “Misty Mountain Hop” – introduced the first plantation of the night: “It’s about friendship in the 60´s. Can’t remember your faces but I know you were there…” I’m only 24 years old but I sure was 😉

Next: “Come into my life” and “Fixing to die”. This one was “taken from Bukka White. As you can see we’re right up to date…”. Great performance of Justin Adams on this one (playing djambe).

I must say, the Strange Sensations Band is a great vehicle to Robert’s voice. They create beautiful, mystical atmospheres (we can actually feel those Portisheadish vibes goin’on). They just need to improve the guitar solos (just make it last longer…). Liam is fun to watch on stage, he does this weird dance (looks like a Shaman) while playing guitar. 🙂

Back to the gig, highlights to “4 Sticks” and “Tall Cool One” (dedicated to “the white guys who got it right”). The first riff from 4 Sticks sounded so oriental that it took a while before the audience realized what they were playing.

Finally, the Grand Finale: “A house is not a motel” and “Baby I’m gonna leave you”. Only two more songs when it was clear that the audience was eager for more! I still think he should have played WLL (he played it in Oporto). It would have made a Whole Lotta difference…

I guess when Robert says he’s gonna leave you, he really means it…

Anyway, Let’s hope he’ll return soon to Portugal and that he’ll stick with the Strange Sensations Band for as long as they stay this exciting and creative.