Robert Plant opened the concert program Starlite Marbella 2016 with a sublime performance. The legendary British singer proved to be fit in front of an audience surrended to the characteristic color of his voice, and that went to heaven when heard the first chords of some of the songs of Led Zeppelin.
It is not easy to have access to the legend category Robert Plant, former lead singer of Led Zeppelin. But we were lucky enough to see him in the auditorium of Starlite Marbella, located in the natural quarry of Nagüeles. A place with a magnificent acoustic and ideal for the performance of one of the most important and influential singers in rock history.
Despite having left far behind adolescence (67 years), it was extremely easy to close your eyes and let the voice of Plant to transport you to another time and imagine him on stage alongside the also legendary Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and the late John Bonham.
Although nostalgia always had a place in the repertoire Plant gave the audience, the British singer sang the main themes of his prolific career. He has so far more than fifteen albums under his signature, with his band ‘The Sensational Space Shifters’ integrated by Justin Adams, John Baggott, Billy Fuller, Juldeh Camara , Liam “Skin Tyson” and Dave Smith , artists endowed with a magnificent array of ethnic instruments and an unquestionable virtuosity training. Robert Plant opened the show dressed in rigorous black and with a shirt ‘Wild West’ style. With a very enviable mane, he began the recital with a slow tempo entitled “Poor Howard” and after that he let his hair down with the rock ‘Turn it up”.
The audience was quiet until he started to play the strains of “Black Dog”, a theme published in the album “Led Zeppelin IV” (1971), with which many fans dressed in shirts of the legendary british band jumped from their seats to enjoy the first “revival” moment of the evening. Of course, this and the other songs gifted to the audience were versions of the original ones with interesting twists and contributions of his band. Indeed, on more than one occasion he devoted himself to do medleys with his solo pieces that all times pleased everyone.
The singer and composer, honorary member of the Order of the British Empire, sailed easily between blues, folk , tribal rhythms and even flamenco, tearing some other “olé” between the fans. But again it was the spirit of Led Zeppelin who made that magic took hold of the auditorium under the strains of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, which despite being a folk version of Anne Bredon 50s , has the Led Zeppelin stamp for the general public.
At every moment the British singer was in connection with the audience with whom he spoke on more than one occasion between the songs. He also spoke in Spanish and even joked with the fate of our football team at Euro 2016. Plant praised the excellent organization of Starlite Marbella and thanked organizers effort when conceiving a festival similar characteristics. If you have to choose “the big momento” of the concert it would be undoubtedly the public reaction to the mythical guitar riff of “Whole Lotta Love” . One of the most famous songs of Zeppelin with which Plant faced the final phase of his performance and that led to the seventh heaven to those present who danced crazily (Miguel Ríos included, present in one of the VIP boxes at the Marbella audience ).
With this theme after some other bis , everyone went home happy. Both, who did not even know what was the past of that friendly old man with long hair and imposing voice as well as the most classic mythomaniacs who enjoyed more the songs of Led Zeppelin.
