I'm not exactly sure how and when Robert Plant first met Alison Krauss (to Google I go), but their meeting has produced some musical magic.
Their golden harmonies were on full display Tuesday night (Aug. 13) in Vancouver on the first of two nights at a very packed Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Haunting, hypnotic and high-class all night, the band behind them gave a masterclass in restraint and precision playing, especially drummer Jay Bellerose and guitarist JD McPherson, whose rockabilly/surf-inspired band opened the night with a short set.
"It's a thrill to be back again in this beautiful city, as it was first in December 1968 for me, apparently," Plant told the crowd a few songs in. "Some things happened in those days, some of it happened here, and this is one of those things that didn't," he added playfully before the fiddle intro of Rock And Roll, the old Led Zeppelin classic done bluegrass style.
All night, the band worked hard to reinterpreted and re-imagine, not replicate. And wow, the results were magical and downright moving. It was their 95th show on tour, Plant reported, "but it feels like the first time."
The early set (8 p.m. start) featured standout versions of Trouble With My Lover, Please Read the Letter and Fortune Teller, and finished with Battle of Evermore and When the Levee Breaks, before an encore.
Throughout, the volume was kept low, the passion high. People remained in their seats, for the most part. I usually don't like sitting for concerts, but it felt like the right thing to do Tuesday night with legends in the room. After 90 minutes of musical magic, I didn't want to leave.
