Austin, Texas music fans were thrilled when legendary English singer, songwriter, Robert Plant entertained audiences with two shows at ACL-Live on March 20 and March 21, 2016. The Sunday, March 20 show was the last stop of Plant's Southern US Tour, which started in Florida with the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival on March 4, and included 4 stops in Texas cities. The March 21 show was a taping for the 42nd season of the hit PBS television show Austin City Limits, which will be broadcast this fall. Plant also made an appearance at the Austin Music Awards on March 16 during SXSW.
Robert Plant has had an incredible career spanning 50 years including 12 years with one of the biggest bands in history, Led Zeppelin. One of the many honors Plant has received over the years has been receiving the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), the highest honor a British subject can receive below a knight or dame.
After Led Zeppelin disbanded, Plant worked with a number of artists including his former Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Alison Krauss. In 2012, Plant joined with a group of talented musicians and formed The Sensational Space Shifters.
In addition to Plant, The Sensational Space Shifters include an amazingly talented group of musicians: guitarist Justin Adams, keyboardist John Baggott, multi-instrumentalist Juldeh Camara, bassist Billy Fuller, guitarist Liam "Skin" Tyson, and drummer/percussionist Dave Smith.
Plant's Austin shows featured both old and new music including songs from Led Zeppelin and Plant's years as a solo artist. He covered many fan favorites including the final encore selection, Led Zeppelin's iconic song
Rock and Roll, which Plant introduced as "an old English folk song."
Many of the selections for both evenings were older songs performed with a newer twist. The Sensational Space Shifters are not just a run-of-the-mill backing band, but full-on talented musicians who each bring something different to the performances. While performing selections from Plant's latest album,
lullaby and ...The Ceaseless Roar, featuring the Sensational Space Shifters, the band used many unique instruments to accomplish their sound including an African one-stringed violin- type instrument, the riti, played by Juldeh Camara. In addition to his guitar duties, Liam Tyson also played banjo for some of the songs. Justin Adams not only played guitar with incredible aptitude, he also played what appeared to be some sort of possibly African banjo. Bassist Billy Fuller put down his electric bass to lend the sounds of an upright stringed bass to one song. Even keyboardist John Baggott could be seen adding his hand to different percussion instruments including the hand-held bendir, played by all members of the band including Plant during "Rainbow." The driving force for many of the selections was the bands very talented drummer, Dave Smith.
While the sheer talent of the band was impressive, the highlight of the night was still Robert Plant. Even though he has been performing for 50 years now, it was not evident on theses nights. Plant was still in great voice. Maybe he had changed a key here or there on some of the older numbers to account for a more mature voice, but he was definitely still rocking hard, especially for someone in their later 60's. Some might say he is slowing down, but it wasn't evident in any of the Austin appearances. He isn't wearing the old-school "open shirt to show off the chest" these days, but he is still sporting his signature mane, although it has slightly grayed with age. He is still writing new music and touring the world. He is drawing sell-out crowds and sending fans home very pleased with the outcome of the shows. I know I was!!
If you get a chance to see Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters live in concert in your area, jump on it. You won't be disappointed. If not, keep an eye out for his performance this fall on the Austin City Limits television show on your local PBS station.
To the best of my knowledge here is the setlist for the shows.
Setlist for Robert Plant's performances in Austin, Texas
The Lemon Song (Led Zeppelin song)
Rainbow
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)
Turn It Up
Spoonful (Willie Dixon cover)
In The Mood
No Place To Go
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You (Joan Baez cover)
Little Maggie
Fixin' To Die (Bukka White cover)
I Just Wanna Make Love To You/ Whole Lotta Love/ Hey Bo Diddley
Encore:
Rainbow (Retake for taping on night two)
Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down/ In My Time Of Dying
Rock And Roll
For information on Robert Plant's albums and upcoming tours:
http://www.robertplant.com/
