The rock legend, rock god, who is Robert Plant continues to follow his muse and play intimate venues such as The Glasshouse when he could be filling arenas or stadiums if he were to sing more Led Zeppelin songs. He has now established himself as part of the band Saving Grace and retains a strong faithful fan base. His fans continue to go to see Robert Plant sing with a relatively unknown female vocalist, Suzi Dian (who has an exquisite voice), and perform a set of quite obscure folk/world/country songs which the majority are not familiar with. I am glad that he does so and I once again came away from the concert feeling so fulfilled, elated and exhilarated.
From The Glasshouse website: “Transcendent. Brooding. May cause swaggering. Robert Plant’s Saving Grace, the co-operative features Suzi Dian (vocals), Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone, acoustic guitar), and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic, baritone guitars, cuatro). Since forming in 2019, Saving Grace have received numerous acclaims for their live shows with Bob Harris describing it as ‘One of the best gigs I’ve seen in years’ .”
I was due to meet my old friend, John, at the concert. However, a road closure on the A1 resulted in a series of diversions which prevented him from making the journey from North Yorkshire. To my shame, I missed the support act and chose to have a pint of Caffrey’s in the bar prior to Robert Plant and Saving Grace taking the stage at 8:45 PM.
Saving Grace is very much a band. Of course, people had turned out to see the main man, Robert Plant. But Robert is simply a singer in the band along with Suzi. The set comprised songs which Robert, unashamedly, has chosen because they have influenced him and touched him over the years. The set has changed since I last saw this band. There were several more unfamiliar songs, but some have been retained from last time I witnessed them in concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall including the traditional ballad “The Cuckoo” and classic progressive/psychedelic tracks which have influenced Robert including “It’s a Beautiful Day Today” by Moby Grape. This time some Led Zeppelin classics have crept back into the set including “Friends” and “The Rain Song”. And wonderful renditions they were. Lovely.
The stage setup was quite basic with a simple curtain backdrop naming the band and unobtrusive lighting. But the music remains exquisite, challenging, soulful and beautiful. Robert shares the vocals with Suzi and, in many cases, took us through the story of the song and what it meant to him. He recalled old times in Newcastle at the legendary Club a Go Go and an encounter with Graham Bond. It was soon 10:15 PM and the lights went up to signify the end of the show. But the crowd weren’t ready to leave just yet. Everyone stood up and cheered until the band returned.
For the encore we were treated to the Richard Thompson song “House of Cards”, a return to Led Zeppelin and a wonderful rendition of “Gallows Pole”. The final song was performed a cappella with the band all coming together at the front, arms entwined, singing the beautiful “And We Bid You Good Night”. We wandered out into the cool dark Gateshead night, everyone chatting and looking at each other, each of us knowing we had just had the privilege of experiencing something very special and unique. The taxi ride flew over and I was soon safely back home.
During the set Robert made reference to some of his musical influences from the West Coast of the USA including the aforementioned Moby Grape, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. I will use the latter reference to squeeze in a couple of images of items which I have recently acquired, courtesy of my aforementioned good friend John, who now lives in the USA. He was visiting a charity shop over there and came across a collection of items which had been donated by the estate of Marty Balin, original member of Jefferson Airplane.
John very kindly picked up a few items from the collection including, to my delight and fascination, a recent magazine/comic featuring Alice in Wonderland, on which of course the classic “White Rabbit” was based. A beautiful addition to my hoarders collection.
Thanks to Robert for a beautiful evening spent in his company once again. Each occasion is a privilege. Thanks to Elaine for the photographs and to Chris for helping me manipulate the site.
Caught up with a colleague from work and with a friend and his other half on the way out. Great to see you mate. Please keep rocking and do keep following my blog and my antics 🙂 happy days Peter
Setlist: Gospel Plow; The Cuckoo; Let the Four Winds Blow; Friends; Is That You; Too Far From You; May Queen; Everybody’s Song; It’s a Beautiful Day Today; The Rain Song; As I Roved Out; It Don’t Bother Me; Four Sticks; Angel Dance.
Encore: House of Cards; Gallows Pole; And We Bid You Goodnight.
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by John on November 25, 2023 at 6:19 pm
Nice review. I saw them at St George’s Hall, Bradford a couple of nights later. This was my second time the previous being in York at Easter 2022. He was once again in fine fettle and is very generous in sharing with the band. Who were tip-top. He looked pretty comfortable and nifty on bass too. There’s been talk of an album for a while – maybe he’s waiting for T-Bone Burnett to free up some time!
Keep on rockin’.
Posted by vintagerock on November 26, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Thanks John yes I agree Robert seems to be on great form these days. I was surprised to see him playing bass guitar. Happy days. Peter
Posted by ciarant1step on November 28, 2023 at 10:08 pm
Hi Peter, as you say, Robert Plant could probably sell multiple arenas if he just reprised all his Led Zeppelin hits but I really like the way he explores all these great songs and genres and the way he participates as a member of the band. Love the fact that he encored with a Richard Thompson song too!
Extraordinary to get books from Marty Balin’s estate. Hope you enjoy them.
Posted by vintagerock on November 29, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Hi Ciaran many thanks for your reply. Yes Robert Plant is very happy pursuing his own musical interests. And yes the Marty Balin items are pretty cool 🙂 Peter