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Home » Robert Plant

Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO

7 September 2002 2,360 views No Comment

Set List: Ship of Fools; Celebration Day; Morning Dew; 7 + 7 Is; Funny in My Mind; Going to California; Hey, Hey, What Can I Do; In The Mood; A House is Not a Motel; Four Sticks; Tall Cool One; Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.
Encores: Song to the Siren; Whole Lotta Love

Wow! What a great show! If you missed the Denver show, you missed one hot, steamy, (no exaggeration, the aircon must have cut out as it was seriously stuffy in there) flawless show. Having driven seven hours from Albuquerque, NM, I missed most of moe.’s set. And, even though the tickets were general admission and I was unfamiliar with The Fillmore, I felt pretty sure there wouldn’t be a bad seat in the house, given the tendency toward smaller venues lately. I was not disappointed as I was able to comfortably find myself about 20 people back at show start, although there was still plenty of standing room available at the back of the auditorium and on the sides (not a sell-out, I guess.) The crowd was a good 60/40 blend, I suppose, of old die-hards and new converts alike. Many sported Plant solo shirts, along with the obligatory LZ and/or Plant/Page.
The hypnotic pre-show music and Nag Champa incense stirred our senses for things to come. Only about 30 minutes after moe.’s finish, the lights flickered and the lilting strains of Ship of Fools began, a strange opener to my mind. The crowd seemed respectfully interested, but restrained as if thinking, “That’s great, but not what we came for.” Plant soon began to give ’em what they came for by then immediately launching into Celebration Day. Very electrifying. I never had the pleasure of seeing LZ in their day, but from this point on, the buzz was definitely on. Morning Dew followed nicely, much more alive and energetic than the studio version. Plant reminded us that this is “your music, American music, so check it out,” as he would frequently prod throughout the evening, almost a reprimand to most of us for not knowing some of our closet classics more intimately. Rob then told us he’d been doing some figuring backstage, that he “really likes figures” (female? Or numeric?!) And that it had been 11,169 days (or something like this, you do the math) since he had last been in Denver in 1978. “Here are some more figures for you,” introduced what I presume was Love’s 7 + 7 Is, though I have never heard the song before. Funny in My Mind came next and really exploded.
Then, out came the stool, to much applause and Rob’s curiosity. “I really don’t know why you’re clapping,” then introduced Going to California as a song from another kingdom. More Zep followed with Hey, Hey, What Can I Do, one of my favorite treasures, the first time I’ve ever seen it performed live, really a treat. Next, a very down to earth version of In the Mood. For the next song (Motel) I wrote a cryptic note in the dark; it must have been powerful because all I wrote was “Whoa”.
But Four Sticks was then introduced as a song that “I have no idea where it came from.” Very, very nice, followed by Tall Cool One, after making mention that the folks in Denver have a real Rocky Altitude (pun on attitude). “Oh, that was bad, but this is a marketplace, right?” Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You took us down for a moment, as the band left the stage with promises to return.
Swinging a Sam Adams, Plant and the crew came back quickly, Plant again encouraging us to be patient and check this out, a little bit of our own music, one of the most beautiful songs he’d ever heard, and then we’ll rock a little more, swiveling his hips as he said this, much to the delight of many females, I’m sure. Song to the Siren was beautiful and poignant, but didn’t feels as heartfelt as I’d envisioned. I think at this point someone threw a “Nurses Do it Better” t-shirt onstage, and Rob said something like “Oh, so I guess it’s mine now.” Anyway, Whole Lotta Love was then dedicated with “This one’s for your president” as he belted out “You need coolin…” “Do ya, George W?” (want a whole lotta love.) Plant really played to the crowd singalong during the “way down inside” part of WLL, then laughed over it, “How cheesy is this!” Silly and serenading, it was over all too soon, some hour and a half later, but with promises to “see ya again in a place like this real soon.”
Definitely a pinnacle in Rob’s solo career, and a great moment for old and new fans alike. All in all, it seems very much like he’s really warming up for the West Coast, so watch out, California, and send reports soon. Oh yeah, for what it’s worth, Plant wore a really cool short sleeve light blue shirt that shone either a deeper blue or even red under certain lighting conditions (where can I get one?) And a pair of white pants. Oh dear, I don’t remember the shoes. But, it was a great time by a great one, voice and appearance in terrific shape. Everyone else in the band was fantastic, as well. Good luck, guys!
Dollie Rachelle

I attended the Robert Plant show at Denver’s Fillmore Sept 7th. The set was 85 minutes in length.
After about an hour into the show while Robert was speaking between songs, one of the audience members threw their shirt on stage (it was quite warm). It landed on his leg and he stopped talking, politely shaking the shirt off to the floor. Just before he started to continue introducing the next song, something about the sky blue shirt caught his attention. He grabbed the shirt and unfolded it for the audience to see. In white letters, it read “NURSES DO IT BETTER!” He smiled with a laugh and said “You’ve had my shirt!” The show was excellent.
Brannon

I just got back from Plant’s 9/7 Denver show and had a great time. I think that a rundown of the setlist would seem overly familiar, but I was surprised that roughly half of the songs were Zeppelin’s. My favorite performances were the more acoustic oriented material and the material off the new album.
A few outstanding events: An audience member handed up a facsimile t-shirt that I’d seen Robert wearing in vintage photos. It said “Nurses do it better.” This brought a smile to his face and all those in the audience who got the reference. Also, When the first acoustic passage came around the stagehands brought out various chairs for the musicians and when handed his, Robert quipped “The stool, a heavy metal icon.” They then delivered a beautiful version of “Going to California.”
Bob Coleman

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