Archive for the ‘Press’ Category

En acceptant le Spirit Award du Festival de jazz des mains d’Alain Simard et d’André Ménard quelques minutes avant son concert à Wilfrid-Pelletier, Robert Plant a raconté que, tout jeune, il avait été impressionné par la magie noire de quantité de bluesmen américains vus en spectacle en Angleterre, de Son House à Muddy Waters. Il découvre aujourd’hui une autre musique qui le fascine, celle des Blancs des Appalaches. «Je suis dans un environnement beaucoup plus intéressant et dynamique qu’à toute autre période de ma vie et j’ai dû attendre d’avoir 62 ans pour connaître ça. Ce n’est pas la peine de tenter de rivaliser avec la jeunesse ou avec mon passé. Je suis très bien là où je suis.» (more…)

MONTREAL – The assembled media people were waiting backstage in the Green Room at Place des Arts to watch Robert Plant accept the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s Spirit Award and maybe field a few questions. And the journalists were issued a warning, individually and collectively: no questions about Led Zeppelin. Ask about Zep and Plant might just turn around and walk out, some were told.

So as opening act Bahamas were playing onstage, Plant – looking every inch the legend – entered the room, listened to some praise from festival co-founders Andre Menard and Alain Simard and accepted his prize. And what’s the first thing he does? He quotes Led Zeppelin’s drummer. (more…)

Robert Plant at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts

Robert Plant’s sold-out show at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier Friday night kicked off with a mighty twang, which was soon met by a gigantic howl from the fans as they recognized the Led Zeppelin classic Black Dog. (more…)

La voix est la même. La longue tignasse bouclée aussi. La musique elle, ne l’est pas. Elle est plus étoffée, plus subtile et un peu moins costaude. Premier soir du Festival international de jazz d’Ottawa. Il est 21h03. On entend un coup de baguette sur la caisse claire suivi d’un impressionnant «riff» de Buddy Miller. (more…)

OTTAWA — Rock legend Robert Plant thrilled a capacity crowd on opening night of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival by reworking the old Led Zeppelin nuggets with a touch of twang, a twist of world music and his still-captivating vocal arrangements. Sure, there were plenty of other songs on the setlist, too, but it was the Zeppelin fare that most delighted the 11,000 fans packed into Confederation Park. (more…)

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/899192–in-pictures-robert-plant-rocks-jazz-festival

After all these years, this sound that emerges from his throat is still made of velvet hellfire and nighttime tides.

True, it is not exactly the same as it was. It doesn’t stretch so high; maybe doesn’t cut so fine. But from the moment this voice spoke its first syllables over the Centennial Concert Hall on Tuesday night — “Hey hey mama, said the way you move,” classic, the crowd leaped to its feet — you knew it well. (more…)

Robert Plant’s new group “Band of Joy” is aptly named.  One need only watch the ex-Led Zeppelin singer’s facial expressions and interaction with his fellow musicians to know he’s sincerely having the time of his life onstage.

It might seem hard for some to imagine how a rock god who once fronted arguably the greatest hard rock group of all time could be so comfortable in a relatively small (though acoustically superb) theatre like Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall, after having headlined at Winnipeg Stadium (now Canad Inns) at Manpop Festival with Zep in 1970, but such is the enigma of Robert Plant. (more…)

With Robert Plant, the songs do not remain the same.

Then again, neither does anything else. Not the sound. Not the style. Not the supporting players. Not even the set list.

Thankfully, there is one thing you can always count on: The 62-year-old rock icon and former Led Zeppelin frontman remains one of the most charismatic performers in music. (more…)

And the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s Spirit Award goes to…  Robert Plant.

Was there even a second of doubt on this one? The award, launched in 2006, is said to honour “a popular artist’s extraordinary contribution to the musical world.” The word “popular,” of course, is key.  So far, the prize has gone to rock legends. All of them, in fact, are in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame: Paul Simon (2006 winner of the Spirit award), Bob Dylan (2007), Leonard Cohen (2008), Stevie Wonder (2009) and Smokey Robinson (2010)

Plant being the weightiest rock name in the festival line-up this year, his induction seemed a done deal. (more…)