Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
July 21, 2008 by Anne Sabatino
Plant and Krauss Rock the House
If you’ve spent any time listening to Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’ collaboration, Raising Sand, I’d say the show at Rupp Arena was just what you were looking for. After all, with two such talented musicians (not to mention their supporters and back up band members), watching the orchestration of all the sounds into the familiar jams is a great part of the enjoyment. And they certainly didn’t disappoint.
T-Bone Burnett, a country/rock-n-roll songwriter/producer/musician was stand-out, even as a supporter, Krauss brought her trademark fiddling and soulful voice, and mandolins, steel guitars, banjos, acoustics, electrics all added to the country-rock-symphony–and then there was Plant.
Even having heard the album, there is something more than faintly odd about seeing Robert Plant singing gospel. Perhaps pleasingly odd, but odd nonetheless. And, what about the dirge-like backcountry cover of Black Dog? The harmonies, the haunting qualities, the surprise–embodies the character of this collaboration.
Many in the seats next to me were enthusiastic about the performance and yelled out their sentiments. I even saw a few lighters going. I’ve also heard comments on the other side of things with attendees citing an uneven pace or stating they just kept waiting for it to pop.
While I personally couldn’t disagree more, I can see where they’re coming from. I think that this particular kind of collaboration is one that takes both the artists and their audience outside a comfort zone–and the reactions are bound to be mixed. Overall, though, the performances were stellar, and we in Lexington are exceptionally fortunate to have the opportunity to see a show of this magnitude.
Thanks Allison, Robert and Rupp arena for a great night!
I saw Alison w/Unions Station @ Rupp last year. Although I wouldn’t classify her as having the most visual of shows, she has the best Bluegrass/Country voices PERIOD. She can be catagorized right up there with the music legends of Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline. Her voice is hypnotic to say the least. And what can I say about Robert Plant. He is a legend in his own right. When I first heard that these 2 would be doing a project together, I thought it was laughable. Then, I saw them on a public brocast station and realized how wrong I was. I could’t get enough and wanted more. I couldn’t wait to see them live and in person. As I mentioned, just had the opportunity to see her last year and had see her on a couple of other occasions. But I had never had the priviledge of seeing Plant. (I can’t wait to see Led Zeppelin. I believe that is comming soon) After seeing over 200 concerts in my life, ranging from Country, Bluegrass, Gospel, Rock and Roll and some of the Heaviest Metal you can imagine, I will place this one in the top 5%. And that is saying alot since I have seen some of the biggest and best. This show was pure Ear Candy. I took over 400 pictures (wow) and if any one is interested, for a small fee I will be happy to sell some copies. If anyone is interested, you can email me @ garryharville@yahoo.com for more information.