Now and Zen My First Concert Robert Plant May 22, 1988

My first major rock concert was Robert Plant at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia , Maryland on May 22, 1988 . I want to say the opening act was Mission UK . Since then I have not missed a Robert Plant Tour except for the Fate of Nations Tour. I had tickets for that tour but Robert Plant cancelled the show.

I was turning into quite the Led Zeppelin fan at this point. I was making the transition from the pop or at least radio friendly music of the day to more of a classic rock taste. Ironically a lot of the other music I was listening to became classic rock too.

We had lawn seats and I remember insisting we get to the venue before the gates open so I could get a good seat. The seat ended up being grass on a hill behind the pavilion seating. I was still able to see the concert just fine. The tour marked the first time Robert Plant was including Led Zeppelin songs in his live sets. Being a Zeppelin fan I picked the right tour to see. It was part of his Now and Zen Tour.

The fourth song of the concert Robert Plant was belting out Led Zeppelin's "In the Evening." Other Zeppelin songs included "Black Country Woman," "Trampled under Foot," and "Misty Mountain Hop."

Another treat was Robert performing a version of John Lee Hooker's "Dimples." Led Zeppelin was a big influence on my early blues tastes. John Lee Hooker was one of my favorite blues artists that the band had turned me on to.

As far as Robert Plant's solo material he performed that night the highlight had to include the songs from Now and Zen. "Heaven Knows," "Tall Cool One," and "Ship of Fools." The latter was my favorite song from the album at the time. "In the Mood" was an older song of his but definitely one of his better ones.

Another special treat was when Robert Plant returned to the stage for the encore. He stated the song was one the band had just heard on the radio. He and the band went on to perform a cover of The Beatles "Back in the USSR ."

I continue to follow the artist today. All along the way he has been pointing my taste in music to different artists. However, now I have had a couple of decades to develop my own taste as well.

Sources:

My own memories

Robertplanthomepage.com for the set list to fill the holes of memory