Review of October 3, 2008–Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

originally appeared in the Daily Californian

By Derek Sagehorn

The eighth round of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass brought together regulars on the bluegrass circuit and artists who are not bluegrass at all. The third day showcased this diversity, with Elvis Costello’s High Whines & Spirits strutting their stuff on the same day as bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs. The rest of the festival placed equally formidable non-bluegrass talents on stage, from rocker Nick Lowe to indie-folk heroes Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Iron and Wine. One of the biggest acts, however, was the emerging twosome consisting of a legendary frontman and a sweet soprano.

Upstaging the powerful MC Hammer, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss delivered a sublime performance of their collaborative blues at the Banjo Stage. Opening with the suga momma song “Rich Woman,” the duo put a hush over Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park. The lead track from last year’s Raising Sand, it filled the venue with a sly fingers-crossed duet.

Helping Plant and Krauss was a back-up band led by veteran producer T-Bone Burnett. The band was as prominent as the two singers acoustically, especially the stand-up bassist who laid down the foundation for blues. Yet neither Plant nor Krauss were afraid to show off their instrumental skills. At one point Plant graced the stage with some three-finger banjo picking, perhaps in tribute to Earl Scruggs’ upcoming appearance. Alison Krauss offered a sweet helping of fiddle in a few solo songs, the best being “Down to the River to Pray” from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Plant got a chance to play some solo work too, which pleased many a Zeppelin fan in the audience. The acoustic version of “The Battle of Evermore” stood out from the rest. The bluegrassed re-interpretation of the song didn’t have Jimmy Page’s guitar but felt just as epic.

The solo work, while strong, never came close to the power and chemistry that Plant and Krauss offered together. Songs like “Gone Gone Gone” and “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” displayed Krauss’ vocal range and strength. Yet it is the tenderness that Plant reveals in these duets that is the biggest treat. The best example of this was the melancholic pleas of “Please Read the Letter.” Nearing the end of the set, Plant and Krauss sang the song with a perfect balance of heartbrokenness and hope. It probably even made Hammer cry.

Review of October 3, 2008–Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Originally appeared on mercurynews.com

by Shay Quillen

The seventh edition of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival kicked off Friday in Golden Gate Park with an afternoon of entertainment topped by a performance by the remarkable band that prompted Robert Plant to tell Led Zeppelin and zillions of dollars to take a hike. The former Led Zep lead singer recently announced that he won’t be touring with the band anytime soon — and considering that the guys are in their 60s now, probably ever. But why rehash oldies with Jimmy Page when you can create something new with Buddy Miller every night? So Robert Plant & Alison Krauss will continue with producer-guitarist T Bone Burnett as a touring unit and a recording unit for the forseeable future (Marian Leighton, one of the founders of Rounder Records, confirmed that another RP&AK CD was in the works). ||Continue reading||

Review of October 1, 2008–Seattle, WA

originally appeared on seattlesoundmag.com

By Kim Ruehl

The lead singer of one of the greatest rock bands of all time; the Grammy Award-winningest woman in history, who’s also a fiddle prodigy; one of the most celebrated record producers in roots music; a tremendous singer-songwriter-guitarist; and one of Nashville’s most talented multi-instrumentalists. That was the scene last night at the WaMu theater when the lights went down and Buddy Miller’s tremolo-laden guitar played the first watery notes to “Rich Woman.”

There’s a reason Raising Sand—the collaborative album attributed to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss—was one of the most universally praised albums of last year, and it’s due in no small part to not only the contributions from the two biggest names on the bill, but also that of everyone else involved. This isn’t just a great band; it’s a perfect band. It’s the kind of band that comes from every opposite direction to make the kind of music that, as you sit in the middle of a giant venue, you realize could not be made by anyone else in any other moment. Still, there’s no mistake about who the stars of the show were last night when the band extended the intro from the album’s opening track so Plant and Krauss could enter from opposite sides, strolling slowly and calm to their mics, as if this whole thing was no big deal, after all. ||Continue reading||

Review of October 1, 2008–Seattle, WA

Oritingally appeared in the Seattle Times

by Patrick MacDonald

Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame and bluegrass star Alison Krauss blended styles and voices to perfect a Wednesday-night WaMu Theater concert that felt like a jam session.

WaMu Theater is an industrial-strength 7,000-seater inside Qwest Field Event Center. But Wednesday night the warehouse-size space felt more like a Louisiana honky-tonk or a Southern grange hall or some other down-home place where a bunch of like-minded musicians get together to jam and have some fun. ||Continue reading||

Review of October 1, 2008–Seattle, WA

Originally appeared on seattleweekly.com

by Mike Seely

The first sign that the Robert Plant-Alison Krauss show at WaMu (soon to be JP Morgan?) Theater might be something special was when Jim McDermott showed up at Sluggers in a bolo tie about an hour before showtime to prefunk. Sheepish upon my recognition of him, McD put his index finger to his lips, as if to say, “Yikes, if people knew I was back home enjoying myself amidst bailout negotiations, I’d be in deep donkey doo.” No, you aren’t, Congressman — you’re much the cooler for it.

The second sign of specialty was when my mother showed up at Sluggers, having scored a ticket from one of her neighbors. Upon ordering a red beer, she admitted to not knowing the difference between Robert Plant and Robert Palmer. I explained that Robert Plant was the rock star of roughly her age who partied hard and is still alive, while Robert Palmer is the lesser rock star of roughly her baby brother’s age who never partied and died prematurely. Nobody ever said life — and death — would be fair.

On with the show: I’d never been to a show at WaMu Theater before, in part because I figured the acoustics would suck, what with the room essentially being an exhibition hall and all. Not true; the sound was just fine. Now for the lone disappointment: Plant and Krauss failed to play “Killing the Blues,” arguably the best song on their album, Raising Sand. But that’s nitpicking — the rest of their nearly two-hour set was nothing short of marvelous. ||Continue reading||

Review of October 1, 2008–WaMu Theater, Seattle WA

Originally appeared on Seattlepi.nwsource.com

By GENE STOUT

Robert Plant, the man who loved raising hell as the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, is now “Raising Sand” with the belle of bluegrass, Alison Krauss.

In a gritty, semi-acoustic concert Wednesday night at WaMu Theater, the unlikely collaborators were joined by a band of Nashville aces led by producer/ guitarist T Bone Burnett. The concert featured a selection of songs from the duo’s well-received 2007 album, “Raising Sand,” as well as a few other carefully chosen songs from their respective careers.

It was one of the most anticipated shows of the fall, and Plant and Krauss were simply stunning as they traded vocal leads and performed stirring duets. Plant mined his softer, gentler side, while Krauss often went for full-throated renditions of classic songs. ||Continue reading||

review of September 30, 2008–Theater of the Clouds, Oregon

Originally appeared in the Oregonian

by Luciana Lopez

I had high expectations for the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss show at the Rose Garden Theater of the Clouds on Tuesday night. After all, the album they made together (along with T Bone Burnett, who deserves vast credit for bringing the project together), “Raising Sand,” topped my 2007 list. And the tour has been getting great reviews across the country. So the show caused me both excitement and some trepidation. ||Continue reading||

Review of September 26, 2008, Zoo Amphitheater Benefit

Originally appeared on Newsok.com

by George Lang

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss could save the music industry. Any record executive looking to pull the business out of its tailspin should look at Plant and Krauss’ Friday night benefit concert for Hurricane Ike victims at the Zoo Amphitheatre.

It was the meeting of two great tastes that just learned they taste great together. Bluegrass fanatics rubbing shoulders with rockers. Seniors cheering alongside teenagers wearing Target-bought Led Zeppelin shirts. It was one of the most demographically bizarre shows I’ve seen.

That crowd was about 10,000 strong with only a week’s notice. You know what it takes to get 10,000 people to attend anything? Weeks of constant promotion, including overplaying of a pop star’s hit on the radio, is needed to get average fans to buy tickets — that, or a series on the Disney Channel.

Plant and Krauss defied the conventions of the market by defying conventions of artistry. At first glance, the duo’s 2007 disc “Raising Sand” looked like a white elephant gift, or one of those time-passing games in which music geeks assemble inappropriate performers for duet albums. But the music was wondrous; the rendering of Krauss’ high-lonesome soprano and Plant’s otherworldly wail into twilight-of-the-soul music — thunderous and quiet, romantic and mournful. It made dozens of Top 10 lists because almost nothing else like it exists.

The key lesson from the show is finding combinations that bring people together. When the duo performed Led Zeppelin’s mandolin and violin-heavy “Battle of Evermore,” the crowd noise surged as bluegrass and rock factions reached agreement. If the music industry is paying attention, it will start setting up musical “blind dates,” and hoping Plant and Krauss’ magic is not just a fleeting illusion.

review of September 27, 2008–Austin city Limits

Originally appeared on austinist.com

by William Mills

When bluegrass legend Alison Krauss took her place on stage right next to rock music icon Robert Plant the two seemed so naturally comfortable, cooperative and complementary that it was as if they’d been playing together and recording for several years. Krauss and Plant took turns on lead vocals while the other provided backup, often engaging in rich harmonies while sharing a gaze full of gratitude, making it clear that this project has nothing to do with competing egos. They both shared vocal duties on a folky, hushed version of the Led Zeppelin hit, “Black Dog”. It began with banjo, light drums and a near whisper and picked up with a dusty, ramblin’ melody as the two stood side by side. But, it wasn’t until the song’s guitar solo, which was played by a fiddle, that the ultimate strength of this version emerged. Anyone who took their eyes off the stage would’ve missed the fact that it was indeed a fiddle. Steady stand-up bass and speedy mandolin picking provided the background, along with some pedal steel on “Through the Morning, Through the Night,” which was led by Krauss. Occasionally, a hint of the old Plant came to the surface on songs like the rockier “Fortune Teller”.

Review of September 27, 2008–Austin City Limits Music Festival, TX

Originally appeared in Houston Chronicle

by Joey Guerra

Deep into Saturday’s superb headlining set, Alison Krauss serenaded the mammoth ACL crowd with Down to the River to Pray, a haunting bit of gospel poetry. Robert Plant joined in, a few steps behind, on backing vocals.

It was a brave choice — met with solemn, awestruck silence. The blaring sounds of Beck were audible at the other end of Zilker Park. But eventually, large pockets of fans began singing along with Krauss’ angelic voice, unified in a glorious moment of song.

The Plant/Krauss pairing was filled with instances of sublime beauty. More than any show I’ve seen in recent memory, it felt important and inspired, a thrilling intersection of performers and genres.

The duo’s chemistry was effortless and palpable. Krauss often seemed reserved and almost shy, but Plant was clearly having a blast. They were joined onstage by a top-notch band that included guitarist Buddy Miller, Stuart Duncan and, of course, T-Bone Burnett.

But if Krauss let Plant take the lead in terms of presence, he frequently deferred the musical spotlight to his “co-leader.”

The song choices were smart and expectedly diverse. Krauss fired up her fiddle for a gorgeous sequence that included the Kurt Weill-inspired Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us, the midnight country groove of Through The Morning, Through The Night and Mac Wiseman’s It’s Goodbye and So Long To You.

Her voice was heartbreakingly delicate and astonishingly forceful, often within a single song.

There were simmering, slowed-down takes on Zep classics Black Dog, Black Country Woman, Battle of Evermore and Plant’s own In the Mood. Krauss took the lead again on the Carter Family’s Wildwood Flower, and the duo ended with the fuzzy, galloping Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On).

Sunday is still to come, but it’s doubtful anything else at ACL will come close to this kind of magic.