No Quarter: Jimmy

Page and Robert

Plant Unledded

the North American concert tour

at the Boston Garden

April 9 & 10

Former Led Zeppelin superstars Jimmy Page and Robert Plant closed the first round of their long-awaited North American tour, "No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded," with a pair of stellar shows at Boston Garden April 9 and 10, treating fans to a nostalgic performance of their earlier hits while also adding a liberal dose of contemporary experiments.

The 38-city campaign, hailed by some as a "Led Zeppelin reunion," was the first tour for the two musicians since they disbanded Zeppelin following the sudden death of drummer John Bonham in 1980.

Page and Plant showed some signs of aging. But they played at a frenzied pace for exactly two hours, leaving the sell-out crowd with a sense of satisfaction at having seen the men who hundreds of other rock stars have subsequently pointed as their inspiration.

Page and Plant didn't play "Stairway to Heaven," but they charmed the audience with a string of classic Zeppelin hits, including "When the Levee Breaks," "Ramble On," and "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do," to which the audience sang along in maudlin harmony.

They also mixed the new with the old, adding several pieces from their esoteric 1994 "No Quarter" release, which fans greeted with thoughtful--if confused--applause.

Plant, 46, repeatedly joked with the audience, pointing the microphone towards the crowd and blowing kisses towards young women in the balcony. "This is our last stop before we take a couple weeks off," Plant told the crowd. "So we've got nothing to lose if we burn the place to the ground."

Three large television monitors hung from the ceiling, displaying psychedelic images and footage of previous concerts. There were also close-up shots of Plant, who danced across the stage sporting a pair of black leather pants and a brilliant green 1970s-style shirt.

The cameras also gave fans a firsthand view of Page, 51, who sweated through his dark purple satin shirt, alternately smirking and grimacing while his fingers flew across the guitar.

The group didn't improvise as extravagantly as in their heyday--when Page was prone to playing his guitar with a violin bow during 30-minute renditions of "Dazed and Confused." But there were several occasions when Page stole the spotlight, doing guitar takeoffs from the recorded score.