Thanks to Jimmy Page for reminding me this gig was in September...I always think it was October 98.
Anyhow, I'm listening to the show right now as I write this...Jimmy is blazing through No Quarter at the moment...and so I thought I'd post a brief word or two about this concert, the first and only time Robert and Jimmy have played the Hollywood Bowl.
While the first Page & Plant tour(the Un-Ledded tour of 1995) was great, and I enjoyed all 4 concerts I saw from that tour, I was even more excited about 1998's Walking Into Everywhere tour. They had a new album out with new songs to play: Walking Into Clarksdale. An album that was underrated when it was released but has held up rather well over time. I still like it to this day...in fact, I may like it even more now than I did back in 1998. Burning Up contains some of Jimmy's most incendiary post-Zeppelin playing.
Another reason I was looking forward to the tour was that, unlike the Un-Ledded tour, where Jimmy had guitar help from Porl Thomson, this time Jimmy was shouldering the load himself. And it was back to a basic quartet format...with occasional keyboard help from Ed Shearmer. No orchestras to help camouflage the sound.
If Jimmy was really and truly back to former form, this 1998 tour would reveal the answer.
Having scored front row garden box seats for the Hollywood Bowl show the day tix went on sale, I was gonna let the Bowl show suffice for that tour. But as the date drew nearer, I started getting the urge to see the Irvine Meadows show that would be held the night before the Bowl show.
So on Sept. 18, 1998, a few of us decided to drive down to Irvine from LA and see if we could score some cheap lawn seats. We could and we did.
Even from way back in the lawn section, the show was amazing. Jimmy was playing great and showing some of that old fire and razzmatazz. They even busted out Celebration Day for the encore!
After the show, me and my friend who also was going to the Bowl show couldn't wait for the next day. If the Irvine show was great, how much better would the Bowl show be with us having great seats?
Sept. 19 was a gorgeous day, but all I could think was for the night to hurry up and arrive. I didn't have to work that day, so I was able to sleep in after being out late at the concert the night before.
I was bringing my portable recording Walkman and 2 90 minute Maxell tapes to tape the concert. I was also bringing a camera...a 35mm SLR...so I spent most of the afternoon figuring out my plan of sneaking both in.
There was no opening band...at least, I don't remember one. There were a few loudmouths in the box to the left of us, but they behaved better as the show progressed.
The opening intro tape featured some spacey music, and before you knew it, Jimmy, Robert and the band were on stage, ripping into Wanton Song! It took a bit before the soundguy figured out the Hollywood Bowl acoustics and delivered optimum sound.
But once the sound was sorted out, the concert took off, around the time they played "Ramble On". Then came some of the new songs like "When the World Was Young", which sounded better in concert than on record.
"No Quarter" was scorching hot! At this point you could see Jimmy was as close as he'd ever been to his former glory days. Of course, you could also ksee Jimmy drooling, but I won't dwell on that.
One emotional highlight of the show was when they played "Going to California"...the cheer from the crowd was so loud me and my friend turned our heads to look back and were greeted with the sight of hundreds of lit lighters held aloft. Robert Plant was especially in fine voice for this song...he even gave a little dedication to the Riot House and Miss Pamela.
Another jaw-dropping moment: How Many More Times(introduced by Robert Plant as "psychedelic jazz"), with Jimmy whipping the bow out for a near spot-on rendition of the recorded bow segment from the first album. My friend had never seen Led Zeppelin, so this moment was extra special to him, seeing Jimmy whip his guitar with a little of the old ultra-violence.
Most High was one of my favourite new songs and live, it did not disappoint...a hypnotic, swirling mass of sound. If there was any disappointment, it was that they didn't play more new songs from the Walking Into Clarksdale album.
Where was Burning Up?! This should've been mandatory! I would have gladly sacrificed a few more Zeppelin tunes for more Clarksdale songs. And I have a feeling Robert felt the same way, which was probably one reason why they split following the tour.
All in all, though, it was a great night, and proof that Jimmy's playing was back to where it belonged. From this tour he would go on to form his alliance with the Black Crowes, and play more great shows until, alas, his back or hip gave out and he had to stop.
From that point on, all momentum was lost. Aside from the O2 gig in 2007 and his joining Foo Fighters at their Wembley gig, public performances have been rare and spotty.
Hopefully he'll get his mojo back someday.