Each year, David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption brings together music, film, and art in order to raise funds to promote transcendental meditation to students, veterans, and various at-risk populations. On the first night of the inaugural 2016 event, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters performed a sold-out show at Los Angeles’s Ace Hotel. The lineup included Billy Fuller (bass), Justin Adams (guitar, bendir, mandolin, tehardant), John Baggot (keyboards, piano, loops, percussion), Juldeh Camara (riti, kologo, bendir), Dave Smith (drums), and Liam "Skin" Tyson (acoustic and electric guitar, banjo). The music that the nimble ensemble produces hews closer to the blues-infused rock of Plant’s past than to the roots music of more recent years. The most notable selections, four Led Zeppelin tracks, take on jazzier shapes in this configuration. "Black Dog," for instance, ends with an Afro-Celtic breakdown as Gambian musician Camara plays the kologo (a West African one-string fiddle), while Plant beats out a rhythm on a bendir (North African frame drum). The versions of "Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You" and "Whole Lotta Love" are also more expansive, distinguished by synths and flamenco-style guitar. Even when the band takes on an Appalachian number like "Little Maggie," the results resemble rock more than folk. After a 10-song set (including a medley), the band returns for an encore of "Going to California," the only song where Plant’s voice sounds rougher than in his youth. It’s a relatively short but potent set on behalf of a worthy cause. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo, extras include an interview with Lynch. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters: Live at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption
(2016) 77 min. DVD: $15.98. Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 3
Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters: Live at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption
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