Like Plant, we hail from West Bromwich in the heart of the Black Country (indeed, my dad frequented the same drinking hole as Planty) and wondered what the leonine rock god must make of the changes to the ’second city’ since he last strolled its streets. Gone are the grubby factories and warehouses, replaced by shimmering glass towers and a slick, cosmopolitan atmosphere. We were certainly struck anew by the city’s transformation as we wandered down the canal-side before the gig.

It seems Brum is not the only thing to have changed – there’s no trace of a Black Country twang in Plant’s voice and his partnership with Krauss on ‘Raising Sand’ is a departure from the heavy rock of his Led Zeppelin days. It’s also the stuff of music critics’ wet dreams: a beautiful bluegrass angel collaborating with the hoary old man of rock to make one of the finest and unlikely parings in recent musical times.

Anticipation was high for this, Plant’s homecoming performance. From a purely anthropological bent, there was also much fun to be had in identifying fans there for Alison Krauss and those there for Robert Plant. Needless to say there were ponytails aplenty on men of a certain age and later in the evening, some head-banging in the aisles to some of the rockier numbers. Of course I can only speculate that they were Led Zep fans …

But before I discuss the main act … the support. This was Scott Matthews, Wolverhampton-based urban-folk troubadour whose band and he were, he cheerily confessed, ’shitting ourselves’. The local feel of one up-and-coming Black Country lad supporting another made good, set a nice tone and the audience warmed to Matthews fast. He opened with the beautiful “Dream Song”, arguably his best work to date, and gave a soulful and professional support to the main act.

As “Rich Woman’s” swampy guitars kicked in, Plant and Krauss crept out from either side of the stage each looking a million dollars. There’s a strange kind of symmetry seeing them live, all big blond hair and even bigger voices, although this is as far as the visual resemblance goes. In her diaphanous, floaty dress with her perfectly coiffed hair, Alison Krauss looked like she’d been whisked in from Stepford; whereas Robert Plant, wearing block colours and some pretty fine winkle pickers, looked every inch the rock god. He trod the stage like a caged animal for the first few songs, a mesmerising “Sister Rosetta” and “Through the Morning, Through the Night”, and I like to think it did the old boy some good when he finally let rip on tracks like “Nothin” – it certainly looked and sounded like it!

The two were on fire; their voices were nothing short of awesome and melted into each other’s tones perfectly. “Stick with Me Baby” was mesmerising. I’d expected them to sound good, but this good? Krauss’s demure presence belied a torrent of feeling conveyed through her singing which was by turns eerie and angelic. Her rendition of Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose” was goose-bump inducing and her violin playing exceptional. Her voice was as sweet as honey but more penetrating than any I’ve heard in a long time, filling every crevice of the cavernous NIA.

Despite the obvious difference between her vocals and Plant’s blues wail, his voice was equally on form. He sang as if he wanted to tear the audience’s eardrums out on tracks like “Gone, Gone Gone” and an old Led Zeppelin track (that’s the head-bangers happy then).

By far his finest moment was on “Fortune Teller”, an amusing old standard on which Alison supplemented his bluesy delivery with haunting backing vocals. Of this track he confided that he’d first come across it in the ’60s and that only two others knew it – he got ‘free prescriptions and a long memory’ he self-deprecatingly joked.

On other songs his sound was more restrained, allowing the gravely textures of his voice to reveal themselves in a wonderfully new way. The two were generous to each others’ performances, stepping back to spotlight the others’ strengths through songs which ranged from the old standards from “Raising Sand” and beyond, to blues, country and soul.

The legendary T-Bone Burnett, a black-clad, narrow and angular presence on the stage, was met with adulatory cries of ‘you the man T-Bone!’ from an enthusiastic crowd when he performed two of his own tracks. Krauss nodded to his producing the score to ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’, on which Krauss sings, when she threw in “Down to the River to Pray” with Plant joining in for backing vocals.

To see the three on stage together, their chemistry and obvious ease with each other, was a live crystallization of the successes of ‘Raising Sand’ and was really something. In short, the gig was a triumph. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss made it look so easy and surpassed the elegance of their recordings. Long may the partnership between the bluegrass beauty and rock beast continue.

By: Lindsey Davis

If 2006 was all about promise for The Twang, 2007 has been all about delivery. Tipped by seemingly everyone at the start of the year, the five lads from Birmingham set about living up to such extravagant praise from the off whilst keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

First stop was the recording of debut album, the gold certified ‘Love It When I Feel Like This’ in Wolverhampton with long term associate Gavin Monaghan eschewing the big studios to keep it real. Next stop was a hectic touring schedule that saw the band’s fanbase explode and further saw the lads go to the people across the UK, a decision that has seen The Twang retain some of the most loyal and committed fans of the moment.

Then the promise was fulfilled, “Wide Awake” and “Either Way” becoming mainstays on radio, NME covers but, more importantly to the band, a Top 3 album position and increasingly big shows remain the high points of the year for The Twang. The summer saw them slay T In The Park, Phil unsure as to whether the huge crowd were all watching his band until the hands went in the air from front to back on “Either Way”, a packed John Peel Tent at Glastonbury despite the lake in the middle of the audience, two packed NME / Radio One tents at Reading and Leeds respectively and continued sales for the debut album that the band had thought about since the day they formed.

As The Twang journey around the UK on their biggest tour yet and another sell out to add to the list the boys have re-imagined one of the stand out tracks from the live set and the album for a single release on November 26th, 2007. Built around a cheeky sample of the bassline for Salt n Pepa’s “Push It” by Jon, “Push The Ghosts” has been twisted a little to emphasise the dance floor nature of groove and come out as a sparkling floor filler for the winter months ahead.

It seems even more appropriate – given that this is a song about their ambitions for the band – that it arrives to cap what has been for all five the best year of their lives. The single comes as a Double A with the band’s praised re-interpretation of Bran Van 3000’s “Drinking In LA” for Radio One’s 40th birthday celebrations, given a Midlands twist and a delicious lop sided groove. The formats also feature an unreleased acoustic version of “Push The Ghosts” and new tracks “First Sight” and “Put Your Faith”.

The Twang band members are: Phil Etheridge – vocals; Saunders – vocals; Stuart Hartland – guitars; Jon Watkin – bass; Matt Clinton – drums.

The Twang October/November 2007 UK tour dates:

Dates could change! Go to The Twang’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

18.10.07 – Loughborough Uni
20.10.07 – Leeds Uni
21.10.07 – Keele Uni
22.10.07 – Norwich UEA
24.10.07 – Nottingham Rock City
25.10.07 – Birmingham Academy
26.10.07 – Brixton Academy
28.10.07 – Cardiff University
30.10.07 – Brighton Dome
31.10.07 – Exeter University
01.11.07 – Bristol Anson Rooms
02.11.07 – Oxford Academy
03.11.07 – Southampton Guildhall

The Twang Official Website
The Twang on Myspace

Having reunited at the end of 2004 after The Beta Band called it a day, The Aliens put out their debut EP, ‘Alienoid Starmonica’ in May last year before heading to the studio to record their first full-length album. The resultant, ‘Astronomy For Dogs’ was released earlier this year to massive critical acclaim and looks certain to land the band a top slot in the 2007 album of the year lists.

The band’s fantastic new single “Robot Man” is released on June 25th following up last two singles “The Happy Song” and “Setting Sun” and with a summer of festival dates lined-up it looks like The Aliens are here to stay.

The psychedelic-infused rock trio are set to take to the road in the UK and Carling has got 10 tickets to give away for their spectacular live show at Carling Academy 2 Birmingham on Saturday 2nd June. Check http://www.carling.com/members/ for more information.