The one show that left Robert Plant in tears: “I was the only one who carried this thing”

Every concert tends to be an emotional experience for any performing artist. Even though they may be on the touring circuit for years at a time playing the same old cliched riffs, there comes a moment during every show where they seem to capture the same energy they had when they were young kids ready to take on the world. That kind of feeling may have felt like a pipe dream after Led Zeppelin broke up, but once Robert Plant was reintroduced to the world, he was in shambles playing some of his first solo gigs.

Because, really, what would people be clamouring for the former members of Zeppelin to do afterwards? They had experienced the death of John Bonham, and after a few months of consideration, they realised there was no way for them to carry on with someone equally as powerful behind the drumkit.

In fact, if there was any member that should have been hit the hardest, it was probably Plant. He and Bonham had both been born and raised in the Black Country, and seeing one of his musical brothers die after drinking too much at Jimmy Page’s house was bound to do a number on his soul, especially after the passing of Plant’s son just a few years prior.

Then again, maybe that built up a rough exterior for Plant that helped him weather through the storm a lot better. Whereas Page was in shambles seeing his musical baby bite the dust, Plant saw it more as an opportunity to leave that era in the past and move on to bigger and better things as a solo artist.

And for the most part, it actually worked. Sure, there were always going to be people who were wondering whether he would break out the same chops they heard on ‘Immigrant Song’, but the success of singles like ‘Big Log’ actually got fans paying attention to what eclectic styles Plant could do without Page’s riffs behind him.

While Plant was afraid of being treated like a has-been, his hero’s welcome during his first gig led to all those Zeppelin emotions flooding back, saying, “I walked onstage, and the place went nuts…and I wept. I looked at the microphone, and I looked to my left and my right, and I was the only one there who’d carried this thing, this mute state, to the centre of the stage in a new time. There was a huge feeling of loss.”

Just because Plant was dwelling on the past didn’t mean he would let it define him. Despite some ill-fated decisions trying to sound like Talking Heads on projects like Shaken n’ Stirred, his core sound never left him, even getting smoother with age when working alongside Alisson Krauss as of late.

And while it would be great for fans to see Plant get back together with his old mates and play a few reunion shows, that might be a bit more painful than his first gig back. Because over time, songs become more than just a catchy tune. These are pieces of an artist’s soul, and no matter how much fun they had making them, there’s a bittersweet feeling if they were to stay in that era for the rest of their days.