"We'll be just as good, or bad, as ever. . ." So said Jimmy Page on the eve of Page & Plant's first concert since February 1996, launching a seven-date eastern European tour on February 21, 1998 as warmup for their massive worldwide trek beginning in America in May.

The band arrived in Zagreb, Croatia on February 16th and spent five days rehearsing in a film studio. Page's comments came during a radio call-in show on the 20th, in which the duo fielded questions and comments from fans including one who claimed that he was ". . . not so happy to see that you are so old now," eliciting a burst of laughter from both Robert and Jimmy.

The tour, which was the first live taste ever of anything Zeppelin-related in eastern Europe, sold out very rapidly (venues were 6,000 to 10,000-seaters) and the crowds were deliriously enthusiastic at every show. Page and Plant made themselves very accessible to the media, conducting press conferences in most cities and even meeting with the president of Bulgaria, Peter Stoyanov, after their show there. The full itinerary:

• 2/21: Dom Sportiva, Zagreb, Croatia
• 2/23: Sports Hall, Budapest, Hungary
• 2/25: Prague Sports Hall, Prague, Czechoslovakia
• 2/26: Spodek Sporthall, Katowice, Poland
• 2/27: Sanremo, Italy (side trip to appear on Italian TV's "Festival of Italian Song," lip-synching "Most High")
• 3/1: Sala Palatului, Bucharest, Romania
• 3/2: Winter Sports Palace, Sofia, Bulgaria
• 3/5 & 6: Bostanci Gosteri Merkezi, Istanbul, Turkey

The shows featured local support acts such as 'Gazde' in Zagreb and 'Walk Choc Ice' in Prague, who played short twenty-minute sets and got mixed responses at best from their Zep-rabid countrymen.

Page and Plant's sets were concise, 95-minute performances, featuring the Michael Lee/Charlie Jones rhythm section augmented by keyboardist Phil Andrews (another Plant solo alumni) and a spare, almost dark light show much more low key than that featured on the 'No Quarter' tour.

And how were they? In a word, hot. There's no question that the Page/Plant band has picked up exactly where they left off in Australia two years ago, where the results of a year on the road were clearly evident in the tightness of the band and in particular the fiery, confident playing of Jimmy Page-no longer in need of a second guitarist on stage and in full command of his legendary showmanship and musical prowess.

Without missing a beat, the renaissance of Page continues in 1998. On the European tour he was louder in the mix than before, he took longer and more improvisational solos and he prowled the stage displaying energy and intensity impressive for a man half his age.

The setlists were pretty much identical from night to night, as represented by a soundman's list from Istanbul reproduced at left (click on list shown to see bigger version). Featuring only three news songs from the Clarksdale album, the shows again leaned heavily on familiar Zeppelin material, though word is that they will be more varied by the time the band gets to the U.S.

The shows opened with the same ominous-sounding arabic music that served as introduction on the second leg of the last tour, crashing into the standard "Wanton Song"/"Bring It On Home" opener. The version of "Heartbreaker" that came next was closer to a live Zeppelin version than the truncated Page/Plant arrangement of '95, with Jimmy absolutely tearing it up on the solo.

The first new song performed was "Walking Into Clarksdale," again providing the forum for an extended Page solo and coming across a bit heavier than the album version. The first surprise in terms of Zeppelin material was a version of "No Quarter" more or less straight off Houses Of The Holy-featuring a modest Page solo but nothing close to the epic versions of the later Zeppelin tours. While this may be seen by some as yet another slight of John Paul Jones, it came off as one of the best Zeppelin songs of the show, with Page's wah-wah work and Robert vocals particularly exciting.

A short acoustic set featured Phil Andrews' mandolin on "Going To California" and "Tangerine," plus a very sped-up-almost perfunctory-race through "Gallows Pole" with concertina (also played by Andrews) replacing Nigel Eaton's hurdy-gurdy.

"Burning Up," one of the most straightforward rockers from the new album, got a powerful live treatment though the recorded version's harmony vocals at the end were missed. On the other hand, "Most High" came across even better than the album version, with Jimmy's guitar more prominent and Robert's vocals outstanding as he played around the melody and improvised extensively.

Replacing "Calling To You" as the big jam/centerpiece of the show was a fairly straightforward rendition of "How Many More Times," featuring Page lead fills sounding for all the world like the Fillmore in 1969, as well as a brief violin bow workout which had the crowd in hysterics. Slowing down in the middle, the song interestingly evolved into "In The Light," at least a tantalizingly brief snippet of it, which sounded absolutely terrific. Here's hoping they expand it as the tour progresses.

Ending on a crowd-pleasing note, the "new" Page/Plant version of "Whole Lotta Love" was followed by "Thank You" and a letter-perfect "Rock & Roll," complete with spine-tingling high vocals from Robert. In all, it was an enjoyable and auspicious return to the stage. While the setlist perhaps played it a bit too safe, the new material sounded great and the promise of more of it being added bodes well for the upcoming tour. And most important, the tightness of the band and the impassioned playing of all-particularly Jimmy Page-promises an exciting summer ahead for Zeppelin and Page/Plant fans around the world.

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