SAVING GRACE | LIVE REVIEW
The Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen, Tue 16 Apr
Robert Plant, the golden-haired god of rock, could be happily living on the legacy of his world-conquering, chest-bearing days as the frontman of Led Zeppelin. Instead, just months after performing live dates with his ever-developing eponymous project, Plant is on a tour of smaller venues breaking in new band Saving Grace. “There’s lots of other things we could have saved,” he quips.
On excellent form, full of wit and deference, Plant is definitely the frontman of this band too. But when he walks onstage, it is alongside fellow singer Suzy Dian. And, although the band is made-up of names that are far from household, it is a band of equals that performs together at Carmarthen’s 650-seat venue.
No one is quite sure what to expect from Plant’s new project. He introduces drummer Oli Jefferson, and guitarists Tony Kelsey and Matt Worley, as local friends from the Welsh Marches. The sound they create is glacial and throbbing, drenched in reverb and delay although, with no bass instrument, the banjo and mandolin were a little brittle on a night beset by sound issues. (Plant laughs the feedback away, wondering if the rodents in the speakers need cheese.)
But, despite their excellent playing, this set is all about the vocals. Plant had never really sung in harmony with anyone until he teamed up with Alison Krauss for their lauded collaboration Raising Sand. Plant and Dian duet perfectly on Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down which segues into the only Led Zeppelin reference of the night, In My Time Of Dying. Then the bar is raised as Kelsey and Worley join in on vocals and old Appalachian songs are delivered in close four-part harmony, with Plant often singing backing to his bandmates’ solos.
The night is given a spiritual quality, not just by the lyrical content of the bluegrass songs, but by Plant’s truly transformative delivery. He lives and dies for every note, more so now in his quieter years than when he was screaming to thousands in the 70s. Jazz standard Nature Boy and deathbed love letter Your Long Journey are standouts in an exceptional set, and closing with all five of the band singing And We Bid You Goodnight, a cappella, around two mics was unforgettable.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
