DOWN TO EARTH : Singer Robert Plant’s Post-Zeppelin Careet Isn’t So Full of Hot Air

There are no second acts to American lives, said F. Scott Fitzgerald. He didn’t say whether that also applied to the British. But for a curly-maned, banshee-voiced Brit named Robert Plant, Act Two has played out rather well.

Plant’s first act was a 12-year ride with Led Zeppelin, a band that redefined rock by putting pure sensation first and plain old sense a distant second, maybe ninth or tenth.

To give the devils their due, Led Zeppelin often could make pure sensation a fairly sensational experience. The band’s method during its 1968 to 1980 tenure was to start with conventional blues and traditional British folk, then inflate them. Everything about Led Zeppelin, including Plant’s vocals, was aimed not at painting the mortal plight of mere individuals, but at heralding a sense of Olympian grandeur.

In the ‘80s, many bad bands (Whitesnake the most commercially prominent) copied the Led Zep sound. But Plant, who turns 42 this month, has gone on to concentrate on more subtle, textured music. Lust and mystery remain the main lyrical topics, but Plant’s five solo albums often throw them into a moodier, strangely evocative light.

After pointedly putting Led Zeppelin in the past through most of the ‘80s, Plant has allowed a rapprochement over the past few years. On his 1988 tour, he inserted Led Zeppelin material into his shows for the first time--a policy that continues now as he tours to support his latest album, “Manic Nirvana.” Rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour abound, and with a huge new fortune to be reaped, it would hardly be a surprise if they came true. Maybe that’ll be Act Three.

Who

Robert Plant.

When

Friday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m.

Where

Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Plant shares a bill with Alannah Myles.

Whereabouts

Irvine Center Drive between Lake Forest Drive and the San Diego Freeway.

Wherewithal

$20.50 to $28.

Where to call

(714) 855-8096.