Monday, February 19, 2018

An interim post ....

Do you recognize anyone is this group? I only recognize one individually -- a guy named Robert Plant. Put together, this crew is a band called the Sensational Space Shifters, which will be in town Thursday evening .... and, I plan on attending the performance. By the way, I found this photograph drifting along lost and lonely on the internet and brought it home with me ....

Rock, folk, blues, jazz, bluegrass & hmmmm ….

Ever hear of a rock band called the Sensational Space Shifters?

Me, neither .... until I opened the Sunday edition of a Saint Paul newspaper.

Ever hear of Robert Plant? Ever hear of Led Zeppelin?

Me, too .... in fact, (once upon a time) I saw both perform on stage -- together, which makes sense because Plant was the front man for the band. That was more than a few years ago.

If I kept up with the "music scene" to the degree I once did, I probably would have been aware that Plant is on tour once again at age sixty-nine and has been for a few years with his own group, namely the Sensational Space Shifters. He and they (no doubt an ungrammatical way of putting it) will be in the Twin Cities Thursday evening. I just used the magic of the internet to purchase a ticket .... one ticket, mind you, since me, myself and I will be alone at the event.

The appearance reminded me of how much there is to do in the Twin Cities for someone with an unlimited supply of time and of money and of energy. This is not New York City or Los Angeles or even Chicago (thankfully), but it is an area where someone could theoretically do something different, go somewhere different every single day in a lifetime.

To clarify things a bit, when I refer to the "Twin Cities," I am writing about a seven-county metropolitan area which includes Minneapolis and Saint Paul and too many suburbs and adjoining communities to count. According to the most recent census figures, nearly four million people reside in this zone, making it the fourteenth largest in the United States.

The world-renowned Guthrie Theatre and the Walker Art Center are here, along with a couple of professional orchestras, a professional ballet company, a professional opera group and countless museums. Professional sports teams -- the Minnesota Vikings (football), the Minnesota Twins (baseball), the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx (basketball), the Minnesota Wild (hockey) and the Minnesota United FC (soccer) all are here. The Super Bowl was played here earlier this month.

Many major concerts take place here .... there is an international airport and a few "smaller" ones here .... the University of Minnesota is here and so many private colleges that I am not sure anyone knows the exact number .... I could go on, but since my mind is beginning to boggle trying to think of everything there is to do here, I will stop now.

I might add that I do not like going places by myself, that I am a master at entertaining myself, that I am a self-described bookworm and that I hibernate during winter months as much as possible .... so, consequently, the "delicacies on the menu of activities" available in the Twin Cities largely are not tasted by me: I am very selective about the fun and games in which I participate.

Here are two renditions of the same song -- "What Is and What Should Never Be" -- one with Plant and Led Zeppelin from way back when and the other recorded in London with Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters last October. The song is one of my three or four Led Zeppelin favorites .... pick your preferred version of it ....

Incidentally .... according to legend and lore and "named sources," Plant wrote the piece in 1969 following an affair with his then-wife's younger sister .... hence, the title of the song .... one more time, hmmmm ....




12 comments:

Anita said...

Good luck at the concert Fram!Iam eager to hear all about it.Do love Led Zeppelin.Imade a painting of them once..remember the kids crawling on the mountain..

I didnt know Plnt was making a new group..Shall look them up later in the afternoon..Today isa very sunny day after weeks with dirty weather..So i go out now..

and yeah totally agree

about books..i think i need a new book shelt..hmmmm..

Kindly greetings on a sunny monday Yours friend Anita


again good luck and I envy you soo much that concert!!

Kaya said...

I never heard of the group " The Sensational Space Shifters".

You have to share with us, Fram how did you like the performance of this group.

Well, I didn't hear about Robert Plant either and I liked his performance a lot in the second version of the song "What is And What Shoul...", I liked how he was feeling through the song, he was very human and expressive. He is great. Led Zeppelin made a good choice making him a lead singer.

I don't have the preferred version of these two songs. They are both beautiful!

Wish you a great time at the concert, Fram! That will be one unforgettable evening. I am sure of it.





Fram Actual said...

So, Anita has sun today.
You are a fortunate young lady.
My weather-luck must have abandoned me and gone over to you.
I have sleet coming down at this moment, and a winter storm warning for today and tomorrow.

February is a strange month in terms of the weather. The first time I experienced "thundersnow" was in February .... and, one of the fiercest blizzards in my memory came during the last week of February.

Yes, I do recall your "kids crawling on the mountain." I have liked Led Zeppelin since the first time I heard one of the band's songs, and I remember where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard one. Other than three or four songs I really/really/really like, the main attraction to me has been the guitar work of Jimmy Page. He is a virtuoso ....

I have a habit of not writing about any concert I attend after the fact. I once coordinated an arts and entertainment section of a newspaper and I still have a tendency to fancy myself an "objective critic." For instance, I wrote in a post that I would be attending a Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance last December 30. I went/I saw/I enjoyed. That was it -- not a further word.

The same has been true on other occasions. A few years ago, I went to a Michael Schenker Group concert. (The band was known as the McAuley Schenker Group at the time, and only for a rather short time.) I noted beforehand that I was going, but did not write about the experience after it. (Just for the record, it was sort of like I imagine heaven might be for guys like me.)

I am happy you came to visit me, Anita, happy you left a comment for me, happy that you have sunshine to enjoy, happy that winter is winding down .... I guess all is well in my world, and you are part of the reason ....

Fram Actual said...

Good morning, Kaya ....

I am not a morning person, but you have found me -- inexplicably, perhaps -- in a good mood this morning, although as I look through my windows I see the sleet has turned to snow and has moved from a "dusting" to a measureable amount. Well .... it cannot last forever .... can it?

I have been thinking about Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin since I wrote the post, and it occurred to me that a year or so ago I ran across a video in which he was performing with faces unfamiliar to me. Whether the group in the video was named or not, I cannot recall, but, with hindsight, I suppose it could have been the outfit known as the Sensational Space Shifters.

As I noted in my response to Anita, I do not write after the fact about concerts I attend. The definition of criticism includes pointing out both the good and the bad in any performance or review, whether it involves music, books, visual arts or whatever. Due to my background in newspaper journalism, I have a tendency to throw any and all punches I consider to be honest and objective, realizing that experience makes opinions difficult (if not impossible) to be impartial/unbiased/independent.

Anyway, though I expect to thoroughly enjoy Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters perform Thursday evening, unless for some unexpected reason I decide to break with my tradition, I doubt I will write anything further about the experience in a specific sense. It is not that I am shy about offending anyone, but I assume my posts reveal my likes and my dislikes to the degree it does not take much imagination to figure out whether I enjoy a particular event or not.

I agree with you about Robert Plant being very human and expressive. I think he always has been that, but over the years it shows up in varying, progressive stages/ways.

This might seem a bit strange or weird or whatever, but my "preferred" version of, "What Is and What Should Never Be," is done by Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes. Listen to it sometime when the mood is right ....

Thank you, Kaya, for being here with me today and for writing a comment. You are a special person in my eyes, and I very much enjoy your company ....

Liplatus said...

Unknown to me Sensational Space Shifters.
I know and I've listened to a long time ago Led Zeppelin.
Both video presentations are good.
It was a good idea to watch and listen for a long time.

Nice concert for you!

Fram Actual said...

I am sort of embarrassed about my lack of knowledge regarding the Sensational Space Shifters, especially since the band is associated with Robert Plant, who is one of giants and among the legends of rock 'n' roll. I did a bit of "easy research" and learned the group has been around since 2012 .... uffff ....

My only excuse is that I still associate Plant with Led Zeppelin, even though the band's members have gotten together to perform only a very few times since breaking up in 1980.

Yes, Liplatus, I agree that both versions here of, "What Is and What Should Never Be," are very good. As I mentioned to Kaya, my preferred rendition of the song is with Jimmy Page performing with the Black Crowes. I would recommend you listen to it sometime, too, when the mood is right.

I am certain I will enjoy the "Plant and associates" concert here Thursday evening. I went to a Rolling Stones concert in Minneapolis in June 2015 and loved every moment of it. I think the morning after hearing/watching Plant on stage my emotions will be pretty much the same as they were after the Rolling Stones show.... although, to be frank, I would rather have Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham up there alongside Plant ....

Thank you, for coming here and for writing a comment for me, Liplatus .... your presence is a pleasure ....

Anita said...

Good day !God Dag!Hello Fram.
I am coming here to tell I have finished the book by Nevil Shute A town Called Alice.Shute did a fiction in this book and lucky for him.The event took place in Sumatra during 2 ww.Shute wrote that a forced march of women by the Japanese did indeed take place during World War II, but the women in question were Dutch, not British as in the novel, and the march was in Sumatra, not Malaya. Jean Paget was based on Carry Geysel (Mrs J. G. Geysel-Vonck), whom Shute met while visiting Sumatra in 1949.Geysel had been one of a group of about 80 Dutch civilians taken prisoner by Japanese forces at Padang, in the Dutch East Indies in 1942. Shute's understanding was that the women were forced to march around Sumatra for two-and-a-half years, covering 1,900 kilometres because the japanese didnt know what to do with them. He based the character of Harman on Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards, whom Shute met in 1948 at a station (ranch) in Queensland. Edwards, an Australian veteran of the Malayan campaign, had been crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway. He had later escaped execution a second time, when his "last meal" of chicken and beer could not be obtained. Crucifixion (or Haritsuke) was a form of punishment or torture that the Japanese sometimes used against prisoners during the war.

All in all it was a good book.And I do want to travel to Australia after reading it..
Thank you for comments on my blog.I appreciated it very much.Today I am going to the museums.Have a good day and good time at your concert
Anita

Fram Actual said...

Greetings from Minnnneeeessoooota, Anita, land of the gray sky, snowy days, lutefisk and Swedish meatball church suppers and pretty much the walleye capital of the world ....

I have a few hours before I will leave for the concert, so I will write a reply to your comment. I plan to take a taxi to downtown Minneapolis in order to escape congested traffic and high-cost parking, have a bite to eat and then make my way to the site of the performance.

For no particular reason, I will mention the concert is being held in the Orpheum Theatre, which was once owned by your friend and mine, Bobby Dylan. It has a seating capacity of about twenty-six hundred (2,600). I have no idea if this evening's show by Bobby Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters will be sold out or not, but I am sort of hoping not since I prefer small venues. I occasionally attend events at the Orpheum, which often is the location for stage plays and "smaller" concerts. For instance, the touring production of the Broadway play, "Hamilton," will open there in August. Minneapolis and Saint Paul actually "rock" quite well, while coyote and deer still roam the suburbs.

I think I will obtain a copy of the novel, "A Town Like Alice." It sounds interesting¸ and I am curious. The Japanese, incidentally, were notorious for their brutality during World War II. Wounded Marines almost always were killed and often subjected to horrible forms of torture .... the same was true for those captured, which is one reason Marines would fight to the death rather than surrender.

I still have no book recommendations for you .... I am a very slow guy, at most things, I guess ....

Yes, Anita, I am certain I will enjoy my evening .... I hope your day at the museums was a success. Take care, be well, stay out of mischief .... later, baby ....

Marina Filgueira said...

¡Hello, Fram!!!

Forgive my delay in returning the view. I was not good health and I am going very calmly.
Please leave your footprint on this my poetic space, if I like poetry, both in prose and in verses, all my blg is that, poetry. What I don't know is if you understand, not for anything but the language... Well since now you commented so broadly, your text.
As I understand it that tells me the translator... Since I English only know four words, good morning. good morning. Good evening. Good night. bring me the account which I have taken: bring me the account which I have taken. A coffee please... collect the coffee... And little else, Fram.segun'm reading, I see you're a fan of rock music guy. You have gone to a concert I congratulate you, me also I love concerts is the kind of music that is. It also seems that you are traveling... Travel, culture, it is learning from other customs, other forms of life. Although, it seems to me that it is your own country, unless you're a London... Well that is unimportant, the important thing is to understand a little bit. I try. I leave you a fraternal embrace and my high esteem. Master entertaining bookworm who describes himself. I loved the video have spent awhile very nice escuchandoSe = very very happy.

ESP...

Hola,Fram!!!

Perdona mi demora en devolver la vista. No estuve bien de salud y voy con mucha calma. Gracias por dejar tu huella en este mi espacio poético, si me gusta la poesía, tanto en prosa como en versos, todo mi blg es eso, poesía.
Lo que no sé, es si tú lo entiendes, no por nada sino por el idioma…

Bien pues ahora te comento así a grandes rasgos, tu texto.
Según entiendo por lo que me dice el traductor… Puesto yo de Ingles solo sé cuatro palabras, buenos días. good morning.
buenos noches. Good night. tráeme la cuenta de lo que he tomado: bring me the account which I have taken. Un café por favor... collect the coffee... Y poco más, Fram.

Según voy leyendo, veo que eres un chico aficionado a la música de rock. Que has acudido a un concierto te felicito, a mí también me encantan los conciertos sea la clase de música que sea. También parece que viajas…
Viajar, es cultura, es aprender de otras costumbres, de otras formas de vida. Aunque, me parece que es tu propio País, a menos que seas londinense… Bien eso es lo de menos, lo importante es entenderse un poquito. Yo lo intento.

Te dejo un abrazo fraterno y mi gran estima. Maestro entretenido ratón de biblioteca que así se describe a sí mismo.

Me ha encantado el video he pasado un rato muy agradable escuchando

Se muy =muy feliz.


Fram Actual said...

I know from reading your blog that you have been experiencing health-related issues, Marina. I hope your problems are not serious and that whatever they might be, they soon will be alleviated and you will return to the best of good health.

It would seem your knowledge of the English language exceeds my knowledge of the Spanish language. I understand that nuances within poetry often are lost when a poem is translated from one language to another, so all I can do is hope for the best when I run your work/page through an internet translator device.

Yes, I went to the Robert Plant/Sensational Space Shifters concert last night. It was a sellout. I enjoyed it very much. My only regret is that the performers did not include, "What Is and What Should Never Be," among the songs they played. Many of the pieces were original to this band, but a few Led Zeppelin numbers were included, as well. In the past, I attended many concerts, but I manage to get to only a few these days.

I also try for a half-dozen stage plays each year, with at least one at the Guthrie Theatre, and an occasional opera and a periodic ballet. Much of my time is spent watching films both on television and in theaters, and I am a voracious reader.

Travel, for me, often involves work, which means money. There have been times when I have gone to a city in another country, rented an apartment and tried to fit in as one of the local residents. This technique certainly is preferable to traveling as a typical tourist from place to place as a means to get to know the customs and the lifestyles of other people in other countries. Best of all, it is fun and I do like doing it.

So, Marina, I thank you for coming to visit me and for writing a comment for me. I think you are a wonderful and a talented woman, and I very much enjoy your company ....

Smareis said...

Não conheço nenhum dessa foto. A banda pra mim é desconhecida. Led Zeppelin eu gosto muito. Mais os dois cantaram muito bem. Gostei da interpretação de ambos.

Led Zeppelin eu gosto muito. Mais os dois cantam muitoooo. Gostei da interpretação de ambos. Robert Plant boa interpretação, tão bem quanto o Led Zeppelin.

Sua cidade deve ser bem bonita. Pouco tempo vi uma reportagem sobre Minnesota .
Volto depois pra ler suas outra postagens anterior.
Boa semana!
Se cuidaaaa!
Sorrindo e sorrisos.

Fram Actual said...

Robert Plant is the fellow in front and toward the right as you look at the photograph, Smareis, and the other members of the Sensational Space Shifters band are standing behind him. At age sixty-nine, his voice is not what it once was in terms of quality and power, but his Led Zeppelin reputation continues to draw people willing to pay money to watch him perform.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul and the suburban areas are attractive in most respects. The entire state is beautiful in different ways. Most would agree the North Shore of Lake Superior is the most stunning region, with forests and rocky cliffs. Southern Minnesota is agricultural country, while the northern portion is woodland, where lumber and mining and tourist industries are dominant.

Thank you, Smareis, for coming here, for your comment, for your smile .... later ....

Something special ....