This was Robert Plant's reincarnation of the Band of Joy which was originally a phenomenon in the West Midlands in the sixties although he of course is the only original member of that line-up. I had not checked on who the support act was so it was a delight to see Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara came out on stage to start the gig.
We had seen these two once before as support for Tinariwen and loved every minute. Juldeh is an astonishing exponent of a single-stringed instrument called a riti and Justin plays a bluesy, african-influenced guitar which is part Beale Street and part desert groove and the combination just works a treat. Juldeh's vocals are also an important element and there was one great track which I think may be called "Sahara" but I am not sure. The groove is brilliant and I would have gone to the gig just to see them. I went to buy their new album during the break but I am pleased to say that they had sold out so they must have gone down well.
Robert Plant came on with a band featuring Buddy Miller on guitar which is a big plus for any band and also Darrell Scott (various stringed instruments), Patty Griffin (vocal and some guitar), Marco Giovani (drums) and Byron House (bass).
The set was a mixture of tracks from the band's album and stuff from the 70s and also songs for the three featured musicians (Miller, Scott and Griffin). Despite the inclusion of older songs there was no focus on nostalgia and all the tracks were delivered in the band's style with Buddy Miller's guitar prominent and superb backing vocals , not just from Patty Griffin but also from Buddy and Darrell.
Throughout Plant's voice was exemplary - he has somehow managed an early career involving a lot of high volume singing without damaging his voice. Buddy Miller played fuzzy when appropriate and he picked fast and precisely as well - a tour de force. Patty Griffin had a beautiful backing vocal style - never dominant but always important. She also danced better than they do in 'Strictly' (in my view anyway).
Highlights for me included 'Monkey' a Low song off the new album, 'House of Cards' - also on the album and 'Please Read the Letter' but there wasn't a dud track in the show. Also superbly delivered were 'Twelve Gates to the City' and 'I Bid you Goodnight'a couple of old spirituals. The latter completed a brilliant three track encore consisting also of the Townes Van Zandt track 'Harm's Swift Way' and an old Led Zep track 'Rock and Roll'.
An excellent gig from the first track of the support to the Band of Joy encore. Faultless.
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