To Tulsa & Back: Rick and Sean's Excellent Adventure...

["Rick Barrett" <rickbarrett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

How-dee...hope all is well in your world. Here's another perspective from
Robert's show on Friday night. I'm beat from a long and wonderful weekend,
yet thought I'd get it all down and share it with you before coming back
down to earth.

This weekend of merriment began when my buddy Sean Connolly drove up to
Houston on Thursday night from Corpus Christi, Texas. Some of you may
remember Sean from various Zeppelin conventions (NJ 88, UK 92, Cleveland 98,
Niagara Falls 99, and Cleveland 2000), as well as a well-known tape trader
and contributor to Jay O'Toole's 'The Ocean' in its day. He also worked for
me at Merit Adventures for quite a few years, and I'm sure he processed many
of your orders in the 90s.

After about 4 hours sleep we started our trek at am from Houston to Tulsa,
loading up on breakfast at Whattaburger and caffeine at Starbucks. Not
having seen each other in 4 1/2 years, we had tons to catch up on, and
thoroughly enjoyed the long ride through Texas into Oklahoma. Many Zep CDs
lubricated our ride, too. Upon our arrival for Plant's first U.S. show of
2005, we decided to check out Cain's Ballroom and see what the logistics
would be to meet Robert before or afterwards; here's a few pertinent links:

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/1PlantTulsaFlyer.jpg

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/2RobertTulsa1.jpg

Out back, a security guy and stage hand let down their cold shoulders when
told we'd just driven 9 1/2 hours to see the show, and we chatted a bit.
When shown a bunch of Plant memorabilia, one said to hook up at a certain
place after the concert and they'd try to be of help. They said the show
would be packed, as they sold 1700 tickets instead of the limit of
1300...Cain's was willing to risk the wrath of the fire marshals. After that
encounter we checked into our room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel down the
street, ate dinner, and crashed for a couple hours.

Once rejuvenated we went back to Cain's, which was completely packed. It
took some tact and maneuvering to get up close at the show, and people were
generally really nice. The buildup to Robert's entrance was a long one, and
made the crowd's response frenetic. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and
overall I really liked the flow of Plant's song selection, as the Zep
selections really kept it fun and accessible. After hearing the bits of new
songs I downloaded a little while back, I'm glad I was familiar with a bit
of the new stuff. Sometimes I feel its hard to listen to new songs in
concert, and they can drag things down, yet that didn't happen for me on
Friday. The best case in point for me was the COMPLETELY rockin' new one
called "Tin Pan Valley"...it was terrific live; I hope it's as good on the
new album!

I also thought Robert was really enjoying himself; he was the focus of the
excited crowd, he teased us with decent versions of Zeppelin classics, and
was the center of attention. I can't fault him for doing what he likes, even
if it's in an environment many would prefer was different and on a bigger
scale. I've had my judgments, yet I'm glad for the guy...whether some like
it or not, he's doing what he wants to.

It was amazing to see all the cell phones pop up whenever a Zep song was
played; some were taking pictures, while others were calling friends to let
them in on the audio. Definitely life in the 21st century. Sean took his
digital camera and got a few shots from the left-hand side:

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/3RobertTulsa2.jpg

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/4RobertTulsa3.jpg

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/5RobertTulsa4.jpg

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/6RobertTulsa5.jpg

The merchandise was a bit weak for someone of his stature, though I suppose
it was par for a show of this size. There were white jerseys with 3/4 black
sleeves ($45), simple black t-shirts with artwork for Mighty Rearranger
($30), white t-shirts with "Robert Plant Tour 2005" ($35), blue ladies
ringer t's with "Robert Plant Tour 2005" ($30), black baseball hats with
just "Robert Plant" embroidered on them in yellow ($20), and a set of three
3/4" buttons ($5). No high end stuff, no programs...maybe later this summer
when they return to the States.

I hope someone taped the show, as I'd love to relive it again; if not this
one, then I trust one of the other shows this week will surface soon.
Forgive me, but I know nothing about seeds and trees (part of me is still in
the stone age I guess...), yet if tapes or CDs start circulating, I'd love
it if someone could email me so I could obtain one.

Afterwards I attempted to locate the stage manager as instructed, yet was
confronted by security on several occasions. Finally a Cain's employee took
sympathy when they heard we'd spent the whole day in a car driving to Tulsa
for the show. The guy we'd met in the afternoon was found, and he said there
would be no meet and greet, though he'd try to get something signed for us
later or in the morning if we left something with him. I did so, and crossed
my fingers, hoping that a handful of 95 Page/Plant key chains would also
grease the wheels!

After leaving, we walked around back to see if the tour bus was still there
(hopefully with Robert outside it), and instead we found the opening band's
bus. They said the Plant crowd was looking for a steak house and then would
wind up at the Double Tree Hotel, so we decided to camp out there awhile.
Figuring we'd see them upon their return to the hotel, we spent several
hours in the lounge in the lobby (where we could eye the front door) talking
to the bartender. There was a lot of activity, and we stayed until
exhaustion set in at 2:30am. Grateful for an awesome concert, we went back
to our hotel and conked out without setting an alarm.

When we awoke on Saturday, we packed up at a leisurely pace and decided to
just check out while foregoing an expensive hotel breakfast. Once we went
down to the mezzanine level to pay for the room, I saw a band member on the
level below and said "Sean, there's the bass player from last night." So I
took care of the bill and shortly thereafter when I met Sean downstairs, the
rest of the Strange Sensation was there waiting to leave. I said hi, set
down my duffle bag, and after one question turned around to see an the
escalator completely empty except for Robert riding it! I said "Sean, get
your camera", and when Plant hit the landing asked if he had a moment; he
replied "Nope...but I'll be back in a minute." He walked 10 feet past us,
grabbed some candy from a table in the lobby, said something to his road
manager, and came back over to me.

I showed him a couple 8 x 10s from 1985 and 1993 when we'd previously met,
and asked him if he'd sign a couple things...though he looked VERY tired, he
instantly warmed up and said "Yep." The night before I'd had two things
which were too large to bring into Cain's, yet I had them with me at the
Double Tree. When we went to our room for the night, I just instinctively
took them with me rather than leave them in the car...so I happened to have
them right on me in a bag by my duffle! I took out a 12" by 24" Dreamland
display flat and Robert asked my name; he inscribed it to me and autographed
it in his usual way; Sean took a picture:

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/7RickAndRobert.jpg

I complimented him on the new songs he'd done the night before and he
replied that they were "Better than a poke in the eye with a stick, as we
say in England". I asked if there'd be more dates added to the itinerary,
and he said yes but after they played the UK. Then I said "One more?" and he
said "Sure", so I reached down for a BBC poster which I'd already had signed
by Jimmy and John Paul; Robert completed that item nicely. I thanked him and
asked if Sean wanted a picture and reached for the camera, and Sean asked
Robert if it was OK, and Plant again said "Sure":

http://www.77266.com/Plant2005/8SeanAndRobert.jpg

Thanks again were exchanged, and good wishes conveyed as well, and off
Robert and the band headed to their two vans. I was just completely amazed
at our good fortune, especially after killing so much time after the show
the night before. While walking to my car in the parking garage, Sean said
"Maybe it's a good thing we went to the Double Tree last night...if we
hadn't stayed up so late we wouldn't have slept in so long, and we would've
left earlier." Obviously he was right, as the timing of things couldn't have
been better...the rock n' roll Gods were certainly with us on this trip.

Our reconnection, the great concert, the unbelievable chance encounter, and
the joy of meeting Robert again made for a super ride back to Houston. We
rehashed the past 24 hours several times while listening to Zeppelin
bootlegs, and finally got back home in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I
couldn't ask for a better experience...all of the expectations since buying
the tickets on January 15th were more than met, after an intense emotional
buildup. I really look forward to the release of Robert's new album to enjoy
things all over again, and see where his musical endeavors take us. Thanks
for indulging me here; it's GREAT to have like minded Zep fans to share this
experience with!

All the Best,
Rick Barrett