Robert Plant and the Band of Joy The Sage, Gateshead, October 20
Robert Plant’s 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss, RAISING SAND, marked a new direction for the former Led Zeppelin front man and was very well received indeed. The change of direction has continued deeper into Americana territory on the BAND OF JOY CD, released earlier this year. The Band of Joy in question features Buddy Miller (guitar), Darrell Scott (guitar et al), Byron House (bass), Marco Giovino (drums) and—best of all, as far as I’m concerned—the inimitable Patty Griffin on harmony vocals and acoustic guitar.
Following an intriguing support act of Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara— blending the blues with traditional West African music—Robert Plant and the Band of Joy took to the Sage to great applause and launched straight into Tall Cool One. ‘I’m like a strange cat running in the heat of the night’. Right from the off, it was clear we were in for a special evening. Harmony vocals abounded, sometimes with four voices at once. The musicianship was just as good as one can rightfully expect from such an eclectic group of people.
Robert Plant has lost none of his posturing. The microphone stand went where he did, a rock‘n’roll prop carried around in both hands. His voice certainly isn’t stuck in one era or genre though and he showed a terrific range in both lead and harmony vocals. Two standout songs included Please Read The Letter, Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down. A sprinkling of Led Zeppelin classics— including Tangerine and Rock and Roll—sat nicely amongst the pure Band of Joy set list.
Robert Plant was happy enough to step out of the spotlight midway through the show to provide harmony vocals on songs by Buddy (Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go), Patty (Move Up) and Darrell ( A Satisfied Mind). Nor was Plant confined to vocals throughout the evening; a harmonica was strongly in evidence while the other artists took centre stage and at one point he even produced a skiffle-style wash board. He said he’d always wanted to play an instrument, but claimed: ‘I was held back’. The three-song encore concluded with I Bid You Goodnight, featuring a four-way a cappella harmony. It was a beautiful finale to a magical evening. Sean Marsh
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