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RP and Allison at Jazz Fest

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Robert Plant and Allison performed at Jazz Fest yesterday for the opening day of the festival. ( In New Orleans) They took the stage at around 3:30. I was listening to a local radio station that was frequently giving a live broadcast from the Fest. I didn't get to go myself, but I was curious to know if anyone did? The 5 o'clock news also featured a small piece of RP and Allison and a few other big name acts of the day, and I know for sure these concerts are always recorded. I'm curious to know how it was, if anyone was in attendance for this show.....

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Man I can so see swinging to that! Sounds very funky and very new Orleansy actually a bit like the Grateful Dead playing They Love Each Other or another slow grooving funky thing.

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Aquamarine

Aquamarine

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Robert Plant and Allison performed at Jazz Fest yesterday for the opening day of the festival. ( In New Orleans) They took the stage at around 3:30. I was listening to a local radio station that was frequently giving a live broadcast from the Fest. I didn't get to go myself, but I was curious to know if anyone did? The 5 o'clock news also featured a small piece of RP and Allison and a few other big name acts of the day, and I know for sure these concerts are always recorded. I'm curious to know how it was, if anyone was in attendance for this show.....

Yes, it was very enjoyable! :D

http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...=5528&st=60

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alwizard03

alwizard03

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Robert and Allison Declined to allow them to sell recordings of the show same as ZZ Top from last year . Jazzfest Live records and sells the shows and a portion goes back into bringing in acts next year and other items maintenance etc but sometimes like this one Bands decline to be recorded.

Dissapointed but I will live I am sure they have thier reasons. I am just waiting for My pants to dry so I can bring My friend Sharon back to the Airport as She came down to see the show and did but I could not go with her due to a prior commitment .She came from Washington State.She is the girl in my avatar picture with Robert and Me

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alwizard03

alwizard03

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Sharon said the show was great and She met someone who took some pictures that she wants me to print for her so I will either post them or she will when they arrive .I am so sad That She had to go Home but thats life I guess.I did inform Her about the Forum so She may join and everyone please be nice to Her if She does I know its hard but try

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allthekingshorses

allthekingshorses

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Here are a couple of youtube vids from the Jazz Fest show, When the Levee Breaks and Black Country Woman, both of which were mind-numbingly good! Please excuse me for the shaky camera, I was so excited!

Very cool, thanks... you were so close! nice.

And I really like Alison on Black Country Woman.. wow.

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SteveAJones

SteveAJones

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Alison Krauss and Robert Plant: who woulda thunk it? And that would work

Originally published in Tuscaloosa News on April 26 2008

Tommy Stevenson

When I heard that Alison Krauss, of bluegrass and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" fame, and former Led Zeppelin lead screamer Robert Plant had made I record together I wondered whose bright idea that was and if it could possibly work.

The answer to the first question seems to be T-Bone Burnett, the legendary producer who put together the sound track to the movie and who is now heading up the Krauss-Plant band touring behind the record. And while I haven't heard the record yet, the set the fiddle-playing Krauss, the now non-screaming Plant and Burnett and various sidemen including Nashville super guitarist Charlie Miller, put on a draw-dropping show at the Fair Ground on the opening day of the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

As I walked worked my way around the 50,000 or so people crowded in front of the Acura Stage Krauss and Plant were doing a duet on the classic Ray Charles "If You Don't Want To, You Don't Have To (Get in Trouble)" which was followed shortly by, yes, "Black Dog," from the Zeppelin songbook. It was done a lot slower and more subdued than the original and featured not only fiddles and guitars, but a mandolin and even peddle steel.

At one point Plant, who referred to ring master Burnett as "Lord T-Bone Burnett," said when he was growing up in England, "we didn't have any music of our own, so we were obsessed with American music, much of it from right here in New Orleans." He told the crowd how honored he was to have just met Alan Toussiant back stage and the launched into a Toussiant number he said he had been singing since he was 14 (he's nearly 60 now): "Fortune Teller."

But for me the highlight of the show as when Burnett, dressed as he was at the Fest for his amazing show last year, like a hell fire and brimstone circuit rider, finally emerged from the shadows for a searing rendition of Memphis Minnie's 1934 classic, "When the Levee Breaks."

Nuff said.

Plant, Krauss Set Early High Bar

Originally published in USA Today on April 26 2008

By Edna Gundersen

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival started Friday with a jam-packed day of wildly eclectic sounds, ranging from the country-Cajun strains of female sextet The Figs to the percolating island rhythms of Rudy's Caribbean Funk.

But at 3:15 p.m., it seemed that everyone had congregated at one stage on the sprawling Fair Grounds Race Course for an hour-long set by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

The oddly harmonious couple, a bluegrass fiddler and heavy metal pioneer, set the early high bar for the rest of Jazz Fest's eclectic bill. Against a suitable backdrop of cool breezes and darkening skies, the duo dipped into their acclaimed Raising Sand album, playing Appalachian-kissed versions of Rich Woman and Killing the Blues. They also sampled their respective catalogs, with a captivating dip into the Led Zeppelin realm that turned Black Dog into a steamy, haunted ballad. The duo's band included Sand producer T-Bone Burnett on guitar.

On stage, Plant dubbed the pairing "new, fantastic and stimulating" and talked about an early frustration with British pop that led to his fascination with America's urban music, especially the sensual, earthy sounds that flowed from New Orleans. He beamed as he mentioned meeting singer Aaron Neville backstage and "the magnificent" Allen Toussaint, whose Fortune Teller ("a song I played when I was 14″) was a raucous highlight.

Dapper in a tie and sport coat, Toussaint was grinning at the side of the stage during the performance.

"It was wonderful," the storied New Orleans musician/songwriter said afterward. "It was so tasteful the way they took it in a different direction. I love their rendition on the album. And it's in good company there."

Plant, Krauss Dazzle Friday at Jazzfest

originally published in The Times-Picayune on April 26 2008

by Keith Spera

The early contender for show to beat at the 2008 Jazzfest? The bewitching Friday afternoon set by Alison Krauss, Robert Plant and their all-star Americana band.

I wasn't sure how the intimate arrangements from their "Raising Sand" album would translate in the wide-open space at the Acura Stage. They translated just fine, especially with a brooding gray sky framing the whole affair.

The bluegrass sprite and the grizzled rocker are, at first glance, an unlikely duo. But their voices and sensibilities are simpatico. Led Zeppelin shares a common Celtic root with Appalachian music. That common source was especially apparent as they veered off on "The Battle of Evermore." Plant's wail stood tall out front as Krauss swooped in like a banshee over a bed of ringing mandolins. Power stuff.

Plant was reportedly under the weather on Thursday; he and Krauss canceled a video shoot slated for One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. But he showed no ill effects onstage. He wore a long-sleeve black shirt and brown slacks, his goatee and mane of curls flecked by gray.

A dedicated student of roots music in general and New Orleans music in particular, he gave a shout-out to Aaron Neville, Lafayette guitarist C.C. Adcock - "he's a piece of work, but I like him" –and a beaming Allen Toussaint, who watched from the Acura Stage guest area. Plant and Krauss then delivered a fetching "Fortune Teller," a classic Toussaint composition that appears on "Raising Sand."

They had eased into the set with "Rich Woman," another cut from "Raising Sand." The early going went well enough to elicit a "hot diggety!" from Plant. They harmonized beautifully on "Killing the Blues." Elsewhere, Plant seemed to chafe a bit at the confines of the chosen genre; a jagged Buddy Miller guitar solo added bite.

Plant did not ignore his substantial history. The Zeppelin romp "Black Dog" was spun into a study in banjo, with whispered harmonies and a violin beaming in from some spooky pocket of Appalachia. The acoustic "Black Country Woman" came out much closer to the original; a banjo dominated until the violin kicked in. Plant grasped his microphone stand and leaned into. "Oh, do you get it?' he said, pleased with a big response from the crowd.

With the Mississippi River at flood stage, flecks of rain falling from the sky, and New Orleans' recent history, "When the Levee Breaks" could not have asked for a more dramatic setting. Plant and Krauss absolutely tore into it against swooping mandolins. She pushed her voice to its limits to keep pace with his wail. "Soul sister Alison Krauss!" Plant exclaimed.

Yet another peak occurred during an even quieter moment. Krauss gave her haunting, sumptuous voice full flight and sang "Down to the River To Pray," from her Union Station songbook. Backing her, Plant and two bandmates harmonized on a shared a microphone. The a cappella arrangement induced goosebumps even where I stood, far back on the field.

Plant and Krauss are in the early days of a tour slated to stretch through the summer. He described his adventure with Krauss as "new, fantastic and stimulating." With that, they added their names to the Jazzfest Hall of Fame.

Poor Sheryl Crow - she had to follow them.

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SteveAJones

SteveAJones

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blogger McClain Johnson on their JazzFest performance:

The Robert Plant-Alison Krauss set at this year's Jazz Fest was one of the best performances I have ever seen. These two greats from different styles of music came together to perform songs that were filled with beauty and emotion.

Plant and Krauss' voices blended effortlessly throughout the hour and 30 minute set. It's reassuring to see that Plant still has his trademark wail after all these years.

A galloping take on Led Zep's "Black Dog," "Please Read the Letter," "Through the Morning, Through the Night" (both from the their album "Raising Sand", were highlights from the set.

However, the pinnacle came when Krauss sang ana cappella version of the gospel standard "Down to the River to Pray." Backed by the vocal harmony of Plant and the other band members, Krauss' voice soared. The song was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever witnessed at a concert. I'm not one to normally start tearing up at shows.

The only misstep was including the Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks" in the setlist. Seemed at bit rude considering the show was in New Orleans. However, the show was still one of the most powerful and moving gigs I have ever witnessed.

Joel Selven from the San Francisco Chronicle opines:

Though not necessarily candidates for the top of the pops, New Orleans rhythm and blues has always been a brand known throughout the world. Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant took the stage at Jazzfest with country singer Alison Kraus in one of the finest performances Jazzfest will see this year and gushed about meeting New Orleans songwriter Allen Toussaint backstage. As Toussaint watched from the crowd, Plant sang his old song "Fortune Teller," a number, Plant said, that he had been singing since he was 14 years old.

Keith Spera of the Times-Picayune made up his own Jazz Fest awards:

The Show Must Go On Award runner-up: Robert Plant. Plant reportedly was so sick the day before his Acura Stage set with Alison Krauss that the duo canceled a scheduled video shoot at One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. Good thing he rallied because . . .

The best set I saw: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I can't declare it the best set of the fest, because obviously I didn't see everything. But the bluegrass sprite, the grizzled rocker and their all-star Americana band, featuring guitarists Buddy Miller and T-Bone Burnett, were absolutely spellbinding. They tore into a banjo-laced "Black Dog," and built "When the Levee Breaks" atop surging mandolins. Krauss' haunting, sumptuous voice took full flight in "Down to the River to Pray," as Plant and two bandmates harmonized on a shared microphone; the a cappella arrangement induced goosebumps even where I stood, far back on the field. Plant described their collaboration as "new, fantastic and stimulating." No argument there.

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