Mojo - The Music Magazine

IT’S GOOD TO KNOW that Glastonbury doesn’t have the exclusive on Biblical weather conditions. Torrential downpours, thunder and lightning and a swampy Bayou heat, however, couldn’t dampen the spirit of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which kicked off with a Cajun bang last weekend. A slight misnomer, the festival is a glorious mix of blues, jazz, rock, country, zydeco, folk, gospel and any number of hybrid combinations spread over eleven stages and two weekends. This is a music jamboree for grown-ups, the lineup crammed with quality and heritage.

MOJO found its way to the main stage for the Day 1 highlight, a mid-afternoon 70-minute set from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss with T-Bone Burnett, show number five of their US tour to support their current sleeper hit album Raising Sand.

From the moment they sidle quietly onto stage, introduced as “a T-Bone stew”, it’s clear we’re witnessing something quite special. Plant is decked simply in a black shirt and plum silk trousers, Krauss in a simple pink dress; the former’s snakeskin winklepickers the only hint of starriness on show. From here on in it’s an ego-free stage, no-one willing to hog the spotlight for more than a few moments at a time.

Opener Rich Woman leads into a non-album cut, a cover of Ray Charles’ Leave My Woman Alone, Plant and Krauss working hard to maintain a 50:50 vocal balance, probably easier for laser-tuned Krauss, a seasoned duettist but more challenging for Plant, surely more accustomed to having the microphone to himself. The result, though, is a perfectly smooth blend lacking in bombast or rock affectation. Only once, in a stripped-down versh of Zep classic Black Dog, does the Golden God peek out: in a moment of concentration-lapse Plant gurns and throws his mic stand into the air, catching himself halfway through and immediately throwing an apologetic, “Oops” smile at T-Bone, Krauss laughing and tutting.

The duo work through the entire album, interspersing the setlist with samples from their respective catalogues. Plant brings The Battle of Evermore, Hey Hey What Can I Do and Please Read The Letter to the table. He’s then happy to take backing vocal duty on Krauss’ Green Pastures and Down To The River To Pray, which reduces 50,000 people to a hushed silence.

“The calibre of other artists at Jazz Fest tends to raise an artist’s game,” says festival organiser Matt Goldman, a theory borne out by Plant who namechecks two other performers from the stage (although Billy Joel, watching from the wings, goes unnoted). He introduces Fortune Teller with “This is an Allen Toussaint song I used to sing when I was 14 years old”, the author grinning from the side-stage. During a quiet passage, CC Adcock’s set drifts across from another stage and distracts the performer. “He’s a piece of work and I like him,” he grins.

Festivalgoers who speculated whether the group would have the courage to perform When The Levee Breaks in the city that lost thousands of lives in the wake of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, but the answer isn’t long in coming. As the first chords of Louisiana-born Memphis Minnie’s 1929 blues ring out, the first rain of the day starts to fall, eliciting an audible gasp from the crowd.

The musical and personal chemistry between Krauss, Burnett and Plant on this project is palpable. All are wealthy, successful in their individual arenas but clearly loving what they’re creating right now. The contrast between this show and a lacklustre Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation gig MOJO saw just a year ago couldn’t be greater. “This adventure we’ve embarked upon is spectacular,” he announces in that awkwardly pretentious way he has, but he’s not wrong. As they exit the stage with a brief, “Peace and love”, you’re left with the oddly satisfying feeling – Zeppelin can wait.

Stuart Williams