Mrs and I saw this gentleman, this past weekend.

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Mr Long-locked Rock God himself, Robert Plant. This time, backed by a band he's calling the "Sensational Space Shifters".

Twas a fine show. The last time we saw him, he was in the middle of his bluegrass kick, so he gave all of the songs a strong country vibe. This time, he seems to be in an African mood, and many of the songs were given an African or middle eastern flavor - but not all of them; a few of the Zeppelin tunes were done perfectly straight (and most excellently). Either way, it worked. The band was good, and inluded the Gambian multi-instrumentalist, Juldeh Camara. Plant himself is a good entertainer, very charming and engaging, and his voice is still surprisingly nice. When he's not trying for the high screamy stuff, his voice is nearly as good as ever. And he can still get to most of the really high notes - he just can't hold them for very long. I'll allow it.

The opening band was Bombino, (mostly) from Niger. Three of them wore long brightly-colored silk robes, two of them wearing scarfs which started below the neck line and wrapped all the way to a turban the top of their head, leaving just a small space for a face to peek out from. They barely spoke English, and all the lyrics were in Tamasheq (which might as well have been Arabic, to Western ears). So that was something we don't get much of, in NC. Frankly, I was surprised I didn't hear anything rude from the crowd.

But, they rocked it, and the crowd was appreciative. They play a quick, loud, guitar-based music. It's not as funky as the 1970's Nigerian stuff, or as raw as the proto-blues Malian stuff, both of which I've taken a liking to. Instead, it's very driving and repetitive (nearly trance-inducing), with a strong Arabic / middle eastern vibe. The star of the band, Mr "Bombino", was mixed far too low, so it was tough to hear his leads, which was unfortunate because he's a really good guitarist.

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It was an outdoor show - another disgustingly humid mid-summer eve. By the end of Bombino's set, the three guys in silk had completely drenched their silk robes with sweat - the fabric clung to them and sweat was literally pouring out of their sleeves. Africa hot? Bah. NC Hot!

And we're continuing our Summer Of Oldies in September with Iron Fucking Maiden and Willie Fucking Nelson.