Stopping At The Top: Plant/Krauss' Raise The Roof Tour Reaches Its Peak July 8, 2023

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Photos By Natalie Cantle, Karen Sharpe Buckshi, Kendra Morley, Brad Ley

They're critically acclaimed amongst the classic rock and roots scene, they've been frequently touring on a near-solid basis over the course of the past 12 months since the long-awaited release of their sophomore effort Raise The Roof, and, most surprisingly, they were supposed to have ended the tour three days earlier in Toronto.

Maybe it was the crowd ambience from previous performances at other local festivals that had prompted the sudden inclusion of the headlining slot for that particular day, but as completely anathema to KNAC.COM's mission statement of Pure Rock as both their albums would be to many, ROBERT PLANT and ALISON KRAUSS still put on a performance which many facets of music fans would appreciate.

Opening with "Rich Woman", Plant and Krauss, backed by a massively talented string band comprised of mandolin, fiddle, banjo and upright bass alongside the occasional electric guitar or two, had the crowd immediately captivated. Not just from the performances or even the setlist - which I swear featured more EVERYLY BROTHERS songs than LED ZEP songs but whatever keeps someone in the audience from even thinking of yelling out "STAIIIIRRRRRWWWWAAAAY!" is actually fine by me - but damn is Robert Plant tall. He must have about a foot's height advantage over Alison Krauss when he's commanding the stage either during a rendition of lesser-known numbers such as "Fortune Teller", "Trouble With My Lover", "High And Lonesome" and other assorted cuts from both Raise The Roof and 2007's Raising Sand or during any quick segueway into classic ZEP numbers such as "Rock And Roll", "Gallows Pole" and "When The Levee Breaks". And while we're all aware of Plant's mad vocal skills on pretty much everything he's lent his name to, there could be no better vocalist to handle the folky homages to 60's troubadour group FAIRPORT CONVENTION than Alison Krauss and her spiritually uplifting vocals. She covered her renditions of "Matty Groves" and "The Battle Of Evermore" with the same humble delivery of her predecessor Sandy Denny had done. And once the closing numbers such as "When The Levee Breaks", "Stick With Me Baby" and "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" had boosted the endorphin mood of the audience, both the show and the tour had reached the end as Plant and Krauss, along with their multi-talented backing band, took their final bows and exited the stage, their rest and their accolades well-earned after a year on the road.

Truly a roof-raising experience which made for the perfect self-birthday gift for this reviewer.

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Setlist:

• "Rich Woman" (L'il Millet & his Creoles cover)
• "Fortune Teller" (Benny Spellman cover)
• "Can't Let Go" (Randy Weeks cover)
• "The Price Of Love" (Everly Brothers cover)
• "Rock And Roll" (LED ZEPPELIN cover)
• "Please Read The Letter" (Jimmy Page/Robert Plant cover)
• "High And Lonesome"
• "Trouble With My Lover" (Allan Toussaint/Leo Nocentelli cover)
• "In The Mood" (ROBERT PLANT cover)
• "Matty Groves" (traditional cover)
• "Gallows Pole" (traditional cover)
• "The Battle Of Evermore (LED ZEPPELIN cover)
• "When The Levee Breaks" (Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy cover)

Encore:

• "Stick With Me Baby" (Everly Brothers cover)
• "Gone GoneGone (Done Moved On)" (Everly Brothers cover)