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concert review: robert plant and alison krauss an absolute delight at first of two sold-out vancouver shows
arena rock legend robert plant and star bluegrass artist alison krauss make great music together
aug 14 2024
4 minute read
robert plant and alison krauss at the rbc bluesfest.
sean sisk
/
bluesfest photo services
it hasn’t really been a long time since robert plant rock n’ rolled. on the first of two back-to-back sold-out queen elizabeth theatre shows with alison krauss, one of contemporary music’s odder pairings frequently cut loose.
they just do it much, much quieter than his other band did.
the grammy-winning duo has mined the shared musical history between bluegrass and heavy blues and produced two acclaimed albums of material featuring inspired reworkings of everything from everly brothers hits to vintage blues covers and, yes, some fabulously reimagined led zeppelin classics. in the case of the brilliant versions of gallows pole and set closer when the levee breaks, they even made a case for zep as a bluegrass band.
ok, a bluegrass band with as much devotion to tradition as u.k. heavy rockers had for the original source material they amped up into arena rock in the late 1960s. for her part, krauss has been both a standard bearer and modernizer of american traditional music. plant and krauss are an absolute delight together, both sharing the spotlight with one another and the equally incredible backing band of lead guitarist jd mcpherson, multi-instrumentalists stuart duncan and viktor krauss and the brilliant rhythm section of upright bassist dennis crouch and drummer/percussionist/marching band jay bellerose.
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with that cast of creative geniuses providing the groove, the 75-year-old british vocalist and 53-year-old american singer and fiddler flow together to turn everything from benny spellman’s upbeat fortune teller and randy weeks’ chestnut can’t let go and even plant’s solo-era career hit in the mood into something new and often exciting. while plant can still bellow, he is most comfortable keeping to his more expressive lower register — think thank you or in my time of dying — than those signature banshee shrieks.
magical night of music with @robertplant & alison krauss at queen elizabeth theatre in vancouver. such a treat to see the led zep legend surrounded by such a killer band. pic.twitter.com/iqv5gfenfh
— tom zillich (@tomzillich) august 14, 2024
krauss carries many of those off instead, with her pristine bell tone of a voice positively blowing up on the fantastic version of the battle of evermore. this was certainly a set highlight, as was the plaintive and touching please read the letter. originally from the lacklustre 1998 page & plant walking into clarksdale album, the plant/krauss cover won the two a grammy and is now one of the group’s trademark tunes.
“what a treat for me to come from the dark ages and find some fresh new air,” he said. “this is our 95th show tonight, and i still thank the day i was given a card with a note to call this number, which started it all.”
plant is clearly having a great time with this group and enjoying the standing ovations that came when he and krauss walked on stage, as well as for the zeppelin material. as this audience contained a great many who knew what the singer was talking about when he mentioned beginning his relationship with vancouver back in 1968, the standing ovations were followed by quickly sitting down. as noted earlier, the music is meticulously mellow.
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for his part, plant stuck to striding up to the mic or stepping to the background with his maracas a-shaking. he keeps his shirts buttoned now and the hip-shaking to a bare minimum.
but he still sounds unmistakably like himself, owning that distinctive phrasing and unexpected volume shifts in songs such as high and lonesome. this was, arguably, the highlight of the entire evening with its twin fiddle breaks breathing gravitas into the traditional murder ballad.
by the time the final few everly brothers encores were through, fans certainly got a full night’s entertainment. at the time of writing, four tickets are still available for tonight’s show.
for any that are attending, do not miss jd mcpherson’s opening set.
the tulsa, okla., musician specializes in good old-fashioned americana rock with a definite influence from british pub rock. besides mixing up everything from surf, rockabilly, power pop and more into his tight and hooky tunes, his songs stick in your head after hearing them. imagine dave edmunds dragged through a swamp and you’ve got a good idea of mcpherson’s style. my guess is he’s going to move some albums after people see him deliver the goods.
here’s hoping that the plant/krauss pairing isn’t done with recording yet, as there is certainly more material out there for these two talents to turn into their own.
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