Lez Zeppelin (Concert Review by Jeff)

I thought it might be somewhat interesting to give a review of shows seen. Although not necessarily of the Prog nature, as that would be difficult since we don't have the opportunity to see many Prog shows, but of anything that might be of interest.

Last night Oct 28, 2006, I had the opportunity to see Lez Zeppelin, an all female tribute band to the great Rock & Roll band Led Zeppelin. I was invited by a friend who had seen the band a year ago and said they were really pretty good. I had a tough time imagining anyone, much less a girl, playing guitar anything close to Jimmy Page. I imagined they could get a vocalist that, while no one can be Robert Plant, at least would have a strong voice. I also couldn't imagine a drummer strong enough to match Bonham. As far as the bassist/keyboard player goes (and yes I'm well aware the bass player normally drives the band), I didn't know Zeppelin even had one so what's to compare.

The stage was pretty simple with the drum set consisting of a bass drum, snare, one tom tom, a high hat, one cymbal and what looked like a gong. I thought this is going to be pretty simplistic. The band comes out and my attention is immediately drawn to the Robert Plant of the group. Hmmm, didn't look like Robert Plant. At least I don't remember him with long black hair and hot! Maybe some ladies did. The, just above the navel, shirt she was wearing together with the hip hugger jeans showed a mid section I only dream about. The Jimmy Page of the group was pretty thin with long brown hair that for the most part covered her face. I had to question if it was really a guy. Her fingers were pretty tiny so I went with the female impression. The drummer was a big lady that looked like she could handle the drum set, and any, or all of the Roadies for that matter. The bass player was definitely female. I was on the side of the stage in front of the guitarist and never really paid much attention to the bass player (I can hear Kev saying, "figures").

The first set started with Immigrant Song and ended with their version of Dazed and Confused, during which the guitarist played with a violin bow. That was something I hadn't seen before. The vocalist's voice was strong and feminine. Both the vocalist and guitarist dominated the stage, and in a good way. I suppose that's what you'd expect from Zeppelin. I was psyched to see the second set and they did not disappoint. It seemed to be two steps up from the first. It could have been their song choices, but they rocked and really seemed to enjoy what they were doing. The vocalist had command of both the stage and audience when she wanted and deferred to the musicians for moments to shine. The guitarist had more than I could even speak of. Page plays such a difficult guitar. I couldn't believe how good she was. They opened the second set with two acoustical songs. There's something more intimate about 4 ladies sitting down playing and singing Kashmir. I never saw Led Zeppelin, but I think I would prefer this version. When it was the drummer's turn to shine, the treat was of course, "Moby Dick". The drummer had what seemed like the longest drum solo I'd seen. At one point, she put the sticks away and played with her bare hands. It certainly sounded like there were more pieces to her set. She played with authority and was damn good!

I recognized every song, although I could not have put titles with some of them. Dazed and Confused, Rock & Roll, Kashmir, What Is and What Should Never Be, and Your Time is Gonna Come. What really surprised me was no Stairway to Heaven. I must admit, I was looking forward to following the chord progression of the guitarist, and when the drums come into the song, it certainly is one of the great Rock & Roll songs in history.

The band is from New York City and have been together for 3 years. There's mystery as to whether the Lez stands for lesbians. There is a following of lesbians, but the members are mum. The have a don't ask don't tell policy. If I had a vote, I'd say yes to the bass player, maybe to the guitar player, I hope not to the vocalist and I pity the partner to the drummer. On the other hand, I don't care, and neither did the audience. These chicks have something going. Lez Zeppelin starts a European tour soon and I can only imagine they'll do there what The Musical Box did in Canada. Unlike the recreation of a specific Genesis concert, which musically was more a re-creation of the studio albums along with acting out Peter Gabriel's exact movements and charades, Lez Zeppelin is a band that plays Led Zeppelin's music live. They put their own touch on things. I remember the first time I saw "The Musical Box", I was able to close my eyes and put myself back in the early 70's. It was a surreal experience. This was different. There was no way to close your eyes and believe you were listening to Led Zeppelin, at least not when the vocalist was singing.

If you ever liked Led Zeppelin, or could appreciate their music, it's worth the price of admission ($10.00) in my case. Enjoy the show!