Setlist : if i ever get lucky/ four sticks/ down to the sea/ going to california/ morning dew/ hey hey what can i do/ fixin to die/ celebration day/ a house is not a motel/
calling to you/ tall cool one/ babe i’m gonna leave you
Encores: song to the siren whole lotta love

Wow! Even though I live on the very edge of Orange County, I made the 2 hour trip to the bowl to catch this show. It was worth every minute. The drive up the 101 is almost worth the trip alone: the ocean was on my left, the mountains to my right, and the sun going down in the middle of it all… what a setting!
On to the show! Finally Mr. Plant made his way back to California. It has been 4 years (Page/Plant ’98). I find it ironic that most of the songs from “Dreamland” are influenced by the “west-coast psychedelic scene,” but he is just now making it out here! Anywho…
I don’t remember the exact order of the songs played, but I’ll do my best. The band is very tight, and Robert seemed very playful this evening. He was clearly enjoying every minute up there. Opening with “If I Ever Get Lucky,” (great moody opening!) and moving into “Four Sticks” which REALLY brought the crowd to their feet. Since the Bowl is basically right on the beach, Plant noted “you can’t get much more west-coast than this.” “Down to the Sea” came next ( I was expecting maybe an even bigger surprise like “Down by the Seaside” or “The Ocean” later on…but no such luck!). The crowd was very much into it, once Plant said, “I see a lot of movement. I lot of people shaking their asses. But you’re in your seats! I guess it’s a west coast thing…” He went on to add, “We hope to get you out of your seats very quickly.” For the rest of the show, everyone was up and loving it.
“Going to California” was obviously well received. As was the next one, a fun “Hey Hey What Can I Do.” A delightfully faster version of “Morning Dew” was very well done, better than the album I thought. Another surprise for me was the Love song “A House is Not A Motel,” (probably because he is so close to Los Angeles now…I would have liked to see “7+7 is” as well). The song kept building in intensity and the crowd was getting louder and louder to this one even though most people found in unfamiliar. “Funny in my Mind (fixin to die)” was thrown in there somewhere too. “Celebration Day,” “Tall Cool One,” “Calling to You,” and “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” closed out the set. The crowd was so loud during the intro to “Babe” that I could barely hear the acoustic guitar intro (and I was lucky enough to be in the 11th row!).
The encore was the usual “Song to the Siren” (i LOVE this song), and the great new version of “Whole Lotta Love,” (see ‘Storytellers’) with Plant doing some playing with the crowd for the “you need love” part at the end. Great show, great band, great vibe. I’m glad to see Robert Plant smiling so much and singing with the same intensity he always has. See you again tomorrow at the Greek…
David Higgins