For now, just the reviews

I'll dish about myself some other time. For now, here's the reviews, also available courtesy of Milwaukee Dave:

176 Miles from Here: Plant/Krauss Own the Louisville Palace

(Writer's note: Per Mr. Plant's banter, this review will skip any mentions of "grizzled rock gods" or bluegrass high priestess" pounded into every article about this collaboration.)

He might not release those banshee wails anymore, but Robert Plant's amazingly preserved voice more than held its ground when mingling with the flawless tones of tourmate Alison Krauss during their second night at the Louisville Palace Theatre.

Never nostalgic or too serious, this odd supergroup plowed through 2-hours of musical acreage on Sunday night, tilling up revamped Led Zeppelin gems, bluegrass, and every song from their best-selling Raising Sand.

While sharing the stage with Krauss, guitarist/producer T-Bone Burnett and a solid backing band, Plant remained the consummate rock star, his swagger building as the show went on. He strutted and shuffled, leaned hard on the microphone stand and always looked natural in his approach.

Krauss was slightly more reserved until she grabbed the fiddle or hit those pristine high notes.

The live highlights barely strayed from the best of Sand. The Townes Van Zandt dirge "Nothin'" brimmed with intensity only found live, while Krauss shone through the darkness of "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" and Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose."

The Sand highlights were expected, but the reworked Zeppelin cuts took stark detours. An apocalyptic banjo line submerged "Black Dog" in a Louisiana swamp to great effect. "When the Levee Breaks" bore more in common with Memphis Minnie's original than the Zeppelin take.

The best demanded the fewest changes - "The Battle of Evermore." Krauss' soaring vocal equaled the late Sandy Denny as Plant's duet partner (Plant introduced it as, "This is an English song .... if Mordor is in England").

Krauss got her solo spotlights as well, going a capella on "Down to the River to Pray." With a backing trio led by Plant, Krauss easily punched through the drunken whooping that threatened to derail the O' Brother, Where Art Thou? standout.

The only bump came on a two-song interlude from Burnett - one bizarre, one bluesy, both were received poorly from the sold-out crowd.

Plant assured the crowd he dreaded "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" for the looks that Krauss gave him when he screwed up, and sure enough they caught eyes and laughed about two minutes into the Everly Brothers' tune.

Through ovation after ovation, the band stayed loose; Plant even turned out the best-ever response to the anonymous fan's proclamation of love. "You wouldn't love me. Maybe you would ... but not for long," he said between laughs.

Those hoping for a Zeppelin reunion tour might not love him quite so much. Plant rarely stopped smiling, and when he declared the show "the second night in a new career," there was no questioning him.

Closing with the only song they could - the Doc Watson weeper "Your Long Journey" - these new duet partners began their own long path in sweeping fashion.

Minus Case, Pornographers Soldier On

Sat, 04/19/2008 - 7:52pm

Reports of the New Pornographers’ demise are greatly exaggerated, if their Friday show at the Cannery Ballroom is any indication.

Despite missing core members Dan Bejar (on tour with Destroyer) and Neko Case (sidelined with a fractured ankle), A.C. Newman led

the Pornos through a rollicking Friday night set heavy on its brand of tuneful pop songs.
Keyboardist Kathryn Calder didn’t merely replace Case’s vocals, but completely glossed over the indie rock goddess’ absence.

When the group broke into the somber “Challengers,” the title track Case’s most prominent vocal on their latest album, it was the second biggest surprise of the night.

The largest opened the brief encore – an enthusiastic take on “Don’t Bring Me Down” from fellow Canadians ELO. With their harmonies intact, the band didn’t stumble once.

The hour-plus set easily surpassed the studio versions – even when the Pornographers went soft, they never sacrificed their relentlessness.

No Case meant one big silver lining - every pause in the music wasn’t loaded with badly coiffed hipsters shouting marriage proposals to her. Sprinted through the layered “My Rights Versus Yours” then nearly every significant track off its last two long-players, Newman showed that he captained this ship even on Bejar tunes like “Myriad Harbor.”

With the news about Case, Okkervil River stood a good chance
of upstaging their tourmates.

They came close, and Will Sheff’s heartfelt, literate songs demonstrated this Austin band qualified for its own headlining tour. With a tight crew behind him, Sheff ably warbled above his own acoustic playing, his soulful voice at times evoking a long-lost Davies brother.

The arrangements were nothing less than stellar, with bursts of trumpet, electric guitar and piano placed perfectly in nearly every song.

Minus its superstars, this indie rock twinbill went on without a hitch.