WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL
Set-List:
Freedom Fries, Seven And Seven Is ,Black Dog, Let The Four Winds Blow, Going To California, Another Tribe, Four Sticks, Hey Joe, What Is And What Should Never Be, Tin Pan Valley, When The Levee Breaks, (Gallows Pole is on the set list but dropped from the show).
Encores: The Enchanter/Whole Lotta Love
Reviews:
This from Jonathan Taylor
Well, we all know Robert usually does the unexpected; and, just because my review of Bristol pointed out that you can never predict the Sensation’s set list, Robert promptly does exactly the opposite of that and leaves the set for Wolverhampton Civic Hall 5 days later unchanged, except for the omission of “Gallows Pole”!
Let’s get my dislike of the Civic Hall out of the way; about three years ago something dreadful happened to the sound in the place, so that even the Black Crowes sounded awful there. It still hasn’t improved much; last night, when the Sensation hit full volume, the top end was sibilant and hissy, whilst Billy Fuller’s bass and Clive Deamer’s drums sounded dull and flat. Nothing wrong with the band’s playing, and I was stood just in front of the mixing desk, where the sound should have been at it’s optimum.
That notwithstanding, whilst this was another good Sensation show, it lacked the sheer energy and flair of the Bristol gig; Justin Adams looked a little tired, and didn’t move as he had at the Colston Hall, and the relatively short set seemed to indicate that the band weren’t quite up for a celebratory Plant homecoming gig. They managed to generate a head of steam for the set closers, “Tin Pan Valley” and “Levee”, twin juggernauts on the night, and “WLL” was as wild as ever, but it did seem to take them until then to really kick in. Even Plant himself engaged with the audience far less than he had at Bristol, and Warwick earlier in the year, though he did alter his “Listen to this Eddie” interlude to “Listen to this Bully”, a reference to Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull.
The Sensation can still blow just about any other band on the planet off the stage. As musicians they are superb, and the playing last night was faultless. Just not for the aforementioned reasons, as inspiring as the Bristol gig.
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