Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saturday Work and Play - Robert Plant's Band of Joy

I have to apologize,  I really wanted to get my act together and put in some time writing this week - but it was just not to be.  I am pretty sure I won't get enough time to finish part 2 of the 3 part blog I promised you today.  *sigh*  So I have to ask for your indulgence to deliver it next week .   Instead, I give you this little tid bit.

Truth is I worked diligently on must do things all through last Sunday and was at the office 12 hours each day of the week. I have some pressing things to get done on my personal To Do List, which were  neglected in this last month due to all the other goings on.  This week the drop dead date arrives for getting them done and I cannot delay further.  I have had possession of both my old and new condos since November but as of Thursday (God willing nothing prevents the sale from closing) the sale of the other condo will close.

At this point I still have stuff there which needs to get moved over to my locker in my new building and to my son's house and the place needs a good clean.  Those jobs together with a bunch of other things which are must do's, I just won't have time for anything except chores and office work brought home.  Well, except for the one other thing which will keep me busy tonight. However, this evenings plans are to be pure joy... Band of Joy that is.

Tonight Robert Plant is performing with his Band of Joy at Toronto's Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.  Ian, one of my Collingwood crowd  friends, was kind enough to think of me when he had an extra ticket come available and now I will be happily joining he and his friends for dinner and the concert.  So tonight I will be enjoying the good music and vibes of this fabulous band.

Checking up on Internet for reviews of the Robert Plant & the Band of Joy - 2011 Tour  this morning has me excited and in the mood.  His most recent concert at Ann Arbor Michigan was very well received and I expect tonight to be no different.

From the Robert Plant Web site:

.. it was a return to Plant’s pre-Led Zeppelin roots, finding the still-golden-haired singer exploring deep American blues, Appalachian gospel and British folk music, with a little low-fi indie rock thrown in amid a handful of Zep classics.

I continue to be amazed at what I see on the net. The concert was last night and the review posted at AnnArbor.com was posted last night at 11:48 PM. When I looked at the Robert Plant site this morning a the review was reproduced there with a back link to the full review. Wow, news travels quickly in this 2.0 world.

 I have a rather long to do list in hand and as I rush out to face the day, I just have time to get this quick blog out to you.  I will leave you with a bit more info on Robert Plant's latest project and taste of the music I expect to be grooving and moving to this evening.  If you like Robert Plant and haven't read my blog on his work with Alison Krause go here to catch up.

 There were several  You Tube videos recorded live from his 2011 Tour, but none of good enough quality to share.  Instead, I found a couple of "official" videos, one which is an interview with Robert Plant who is talking about this stage of his career and his work with Band of Joy.  It was recorded 5 months ago.  It provides great insight from Robert on the motivation for this stage of his music and some chat about individual songs and how he approached the arrangements and putting together the band.  An interesting video for a behind the scenes and as background to his Band of Joy tour.

As a side comment: reading this background info will make my concert experience even more enjoyable - another example to reading as an important adjunct to the living of life and the discussion prompted in my blog of the other week on Neruda's poem "Ode to the Book".



I also found a recent CBC Radio/Video interview from Q TV.  Gian Gomeshi, the host, is an excellent interviewer.   He really gets to Robert Plant - the person - unlike the first video  which is really a promo for the Band of Joy Tours.   A good listen if you want to hear Robert talk informally about his evolving musical sound as well as learn a few things about Robert himself.  Like how he "doesn't get his powder wet".  You will need to watch the video to understand this comment. :-p


OK, for those not so interested in listening to old rockers talking about their music but rather just want to see a performance and listen to the music, here is a montage of songs from the opening night of the 2010 Band of Joy Tour at Memphis.


DOWNLOAD for FREE!
Thanks to FaceBook postings, the following free download is making the rounds and I am happy to retweet so that others can get a free download of this song from their new album.

6 comments:

  1. Oh, how exciting! Have a great time this evening with your friends and listening to Robert Plant

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  2. I love when my blog friends post music..thanx ihave copied)))))))

    wish you a good weekend)))))))

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  3. I envy you your concert, Peggy. The only thing better would be to have Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones on stage with Robert Plant.

    Good luck, with the closing of your condominium. Hopefully, things will settle down a bit for you when that moves from current events to history.

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  4. Linda, thanks I did have a great time last night. I will take a trip over to your blog and catch up later this evening. Hope your weekend was full of fun!

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  5. Fram - I sure will be glad when my life slows down a bit - as you say, hopefully once the condo sale closes. Robert Plant did about 4 songs from the old Led Zeppelin repertoire with some very interesting arrangements given his accompanists. None the less, I found myself cast back to my teen years down memory lane when these songs were performed. Led Zeppelin were in their hey day at that point and I listened to their albums a lot.

    I enjoy his new stuff as well and will put those reflections in a blog this week. Suffice to say, it was a good concert.

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  6. Anita, glad to hear you like the music. I will be posting a lot more Canadian artists' music in the coming months and I would be interested to hear what you think of it.

    Hope your weekend was fun!

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