AC is a promoter and all, but he's not usually prone to over-the-top hyperbole. And he knows concerts. So if he says:

"This is one of the greatest and most thoroughly wonderful concerts I have EVER seen. Period."

You can probably trust him.

(We won't be able to make it. Look forward to your review.)

From the moment they opened the phone lines. Never miss a chance to see Ms. Krauss (and I'm not really an avid country/blue grass fan). The voice of an angel has she.

No Plant-Krauss... heading to Nashville to see Steve Earle tonight (at City Hall), since he's skipping Knoxville on this tour.

I've got tickets for the Nashville show in July.
Have a great time tonight. I know it will be nothing short of fantastic!

Wow, the event security sure seemed awfully concerned about the notoriously rowdy blue grass fans last night. I've come to expect these folks to look through every purse and bag at the door, but the twin iron cattle gates seemed a bit much. Then, inside the Coliseum, the ushers wouldn't let the fans stand up except to clap between songs (we were on the floor, row 5, seats 5&6), and security pulled two fans in front of us out of their seats and took them back to wherever it is the "disappeared" fan is condemned to go. One apparently was yelling a little too loudly at Robert Plant between songs. The other, seated directly in front of us, was clearly yanked for texting during a concert. She seemed too shocked and stunned to protest, so I briefly left my seat and spoke to one of the lady ushers about it. She said something along the lines of "probably thought she was recording it. She'll be back in a couple of songs if she was just using her cell." Sure enough, three songs later, the lady was returned to her seat, still looking a little rattled.

I bring this up not because I rarely go to concerts and was shocked at the levels to which security has plunged, but because I'm a very regular concert goer and I've never seen anything like what went on last night. I saw Boys Like Girls and Avril Lavigne with my daughter just this past weekend in Atlanta. I've been to Ron White, Celtic Woman, Seussical, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Ringling Brothers, Southern Fried Chicks, Gordon Lightfoot, and that's just since January 1 and off the top of my head. Never have I seen anything like what was going down last night. What's up?

As for the concert itself, well, I thoroughly enjoyed that. I was pleasantly suprised by how much off album stuff they did and was overjoyed to hear Ms. Krauss do "Down to River to Pray." I don't believe in a diety, but listening to that amazing voice sing praises to one never failes to make me envious of those who do.

I don't want to attend another concert at the Coloseum, period.

I have to believe this was an amazing concert but there's just no way to get clean sound with that much exposed concrete, so I can't say I heard enough of it to really say.

I did feel like I was constantly being watched by security. Weird, that.

Robert Plant is still 80% of Robert Plant, and Allison is still 120% of anyone else, so it worked out. The only chill bump moments I had were during the acapella piece featuring Allison Kraus with back up vocals by Buddy Miller, Stewart Duncan, and Robert Plant...

...And one other Allison piece that showed her vocal range and perfect pitch and made it all work. She is a superior talent, and though I would be crushed if she gave up bluegrass, she branches out so easily that I want to see her wander "the path less travelled by" as much as she will.

I don't want to attend another concert at the Coloseum, period.
I have to believe this was an amazing concert but there's just no way to get clean sound with that much exposed concrete, so I can't say I heard enough of it to really say.

I didn't want to be the spoiler before today, but that's one reason I would not have considered going. Saw a lot of loud bands there in the '70s and I couldn't really hear them, and I still had ears then.

I'm sure there's a reason why the Coliseum was taken out of concert mothballs and booked for this, but filtering good artists through that acoustic is an insult to artist and fan alike.

As for the heavy security, maybe Plant's mgmt still employs the British mafia goons Zep was notorius for. (Kidding.)

P.S. That's too bad too. To know they did stuff not on the album and had such a great band w/ Buddy Miller, et. al., really makes it a shame.

I also plan never to go back to Thompson Boling for the same reasons. Even with better acoustics, they're just too big and distant from stage.

It was an AWESOME show! The only thing that kept it from being perfect was the sound system, but that in no way overshadowed the performers. Plant & Krauss have great chemistry together and I kept thinking, "I wonder how they are going to top that one?" Plant's voice was smooth, strong and mellow and Krauss was .... well, she's Allison Krauss! The arrangements were creative and original. They bounced from songs like "Down to the River to Pray" to "When the Levee Breaks" seamlessly and artfully.

And the crowd was great too.

It would've been better in the auditorium venue instead of the gymnasium. That is kind of a head-scratcher why the organizers went that direction.

I feel sorry for all y'all complainers. You missed a great show!

OK. I'll leap in here. The Coliseum was chosen because it was the only venue in town that had the capacity that the show felt they needed. Thompson-Boling was not available. The Tennessee and the Civic Auditorium were too small given the expense of having this show on the road...they would have required a ridiculous ticket price that no one wanted to charge. The show sold out...with a few extra tickets ultimately released the night of the show at the sides of the stage...so from that perspective, it was the right decision.
This was certainly not my first choice for where to present this show. But that's the way it worked out.
My wife and I sat and watched the entire show last night, which was my third night seeing it. We sat at the back on the floor during the opening act...and I was very pleasantly surprised about the quality of the sound. I could hear the nuances of the music, the words, etc. very well. During Robert and Alison's show, we moved to the balcony at the side of the stage...again, the sound was really very good...and I moved around a bit to hear from other places in the room.
There were a couple of brief moments of feedback during the show, but they hardly a spoiler.
The audience clearly had a wonderful time...there were several standing ovations...and I saw people on their feet dancing throughout much of the show.
As for security, I did not witness nor did I hear of any problems. Security is provided in-house by the venue...so no one with the tour or with AC really had any direct involvment in their selection or performance, but before the show, I was all over the venue, watchng people come in and get seated, and no one that I saw seemed to be having any problems.
I'll concur with North Knox Guy, this was a great show...beyond great, really, for me...powerful and inspirational...even in the Civic Coliseum.
I'm headed to Chattanooga to see it again tonight! Cheers!

That's great it sold out and a bit of a relief to hear that it could sound good. I knew there was a logical reason it booked there, and I even wondered if modern sound equipment could "fool" the acoustics. It's not too surprising that if the direct-to-reflected ratio is high, kind of like headphones--a nearfield effect in a large room(?), if that's possible, that it could work. Kudos again to AC Entertainment.

As a long time Zeppelin/Plant fan from Cleveland, Ohio, I was invited to see the show by my sister, who lives in Knoxville. My perspective is this - It was a great show covering most of the Raising Sand album while touching on some of Alison's and Robert's past material. Nothing flashy, just great music by two great performers!
Parked close by, got right in and enjoyed some cold beer waiting for the show to begin. I sat towards the back and could still easily see the show. As far as the crowd goes, polite, friendly and remarkably quiet during the songs. Come on up to Cleveland and I'll show you a drunk, noisy, loud crowd.
I had a great time!

How much do you hear audiences yell Freebird! up there?