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23 July 2012
And as the minute hands continues its inexorable march past 9 o'clock it became ever more apparent that there is no epic length Led Zeppelin style set coming our way any time soon. Just any set would be welcome though, it's hot and humid in The Forum - a combination of the place being rammed to the rafters and the same sell-out crowd being in various stages of wet following the endless summer rain that has been trudged and queued through to get into the gig. At length Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters take to the stage and, against the flow of expectations, they seem to be a very straight forward rock line-up. As they kick off with a bluesy 'Fixin' to Die' there are traces of Zeppelin heaviness but as Plant remarks later on they have no intention of "murdering wonderful old blues tunes" - a refusal to live in the past underscored by the presence of 'Tin Pan Valley' which is Plant's manifesto for musical growth. "I live on former glories so long ago and gone / I'm turning down the talk shows the humour and the couch / I'm moving up to higher ground / I've found a new way out". Zeppelin, in a nut shell, has given him the means to follow his own muse - come along or don't, it doesn't matter.
Ironically then there's still the odd dollop of Zeppelin thrown into the mix to keep us sweet - "uh-huh, uh-huh" call and responses on 'Black Dog', a true to the original take on 'Friends' and 'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp' reworked as a duet with Patty Griffin. The introduction of Patty Griffin did give the set something of a "Raising Sand" feel, although her mini-showcase mid-gig did start to drag after a while, as Plant progressively moved from dueting to being just a backup singer lurking in the shadows at the back of the stage. More successful, to my mind, was the injection of traditional African instruments to the mix - an introduction of something beyond the standard Western rock sound.
There was a late flash of brilliance which really brought everyone back to life with the inclusion of a pair of British Blues Explosion numbers - John Mayall's 'Your Witch Doctor' was masterfully handled, and writhed with electric power as did a very Blues Explosion take on 'Who do you love?' The band rocked out, Plant sang with power, and just for a few moments everything was perfect. So, here's a surprise - Plant's at his best handling electric blues. No surprise really, and certainly the early set highlight had been a glorious 'Spoonful' which had been part blues-rock, part esoteric world music, and when the keyboards kicked in with sweeping riffs as Robert Plant jigged around the stage beating a hand drum then they were even encroaching on Hawkwind territory.
Robert Plant seemed to be determined to confound expectations, and this is perhaps not surprising as he wouldn't be the first artist to set out to please himself in order to retain an interest in making and performing music. This night was destined to be a medley of all Plant's recent work - part country ramble in the style of his "Raising Sand" stylings, the odd flash of out and out Led Zeppelin rocking, never more than lightly touched with World Music stylings along the lines of the “Strange Sensations” album or the odd shake or two of the highly nostalgic along the lines of the "Band of Joy". So there were elements of all of these, sometimes frustratingly little of some parts, and sometimes an overdose of others. The sharing of front of stage duties with other band members - whilst admirably egalitarian is not a move likely to please the majority of people who've forked out to see Robert Plant. What does Plant care, though? He seemed happy enough to be exploring all these different aspects of his music, and this does give the opportunity to hitch your wagon to his wandering star for a diverse evening.
No matter how frustrating a gig this was at times, and there's no denying that label, no-one could argue with the encore. This was the perfect band to handle 'Another Tribe' from the "Mighty Rearranger" album, and it worked brilliantly. And the world music ceilidh take on Zeppelin’s version of the traditional 'Gallows Pole' stamped, stomped and reeled in all the right places. Everything came together nicely in the end. However, as it was out into the rain again there was a nagging thought - that ninety minutes isn't a long gig.
Set List
- Fixin' To Die
- Tin Pan Valley
- 44
- Friends
- Spoonful
- Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
- Ohio
- No Bad News
- Standing
- Black Dog
- Somebody Knocking
- Your Witchdoctor
- Who do you Love?
- Whole Lotta Love
- Steal Away
- Bury My Body
Encore
- Another Tribe
- Gallows Pole