Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Get The Led Out - March 25, 2011 - Grayslake, IL

Watch Get The Led Out's promotional video here:
http://vimeo.com/29823309#

[Concert review originally posted to For Badgeholders Only mailing list]

GET THE LED OUT
Friday, March 25, 2011
James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts
College of Lake County
Grayslake, IL

GTLO is comprised of:
FBO's own Paul Hammond - Electric/Acoustic Guitar/Mandolin
Paul Sinclair - Lead Vocals
Jimmy Marchiano - Electric/Acoustic Guitar/Backing Vocals
Billy Childs - Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals
Adam Ferraioli - Drums
Andrew Lipke - Vocals/Electric/Acoustic Guitar/Keyboards/Bongos on Royal Orleans!
Diana DeSantis - Vocals on Battle of Evermore

Once upon a time, I really wanted to review concerts for a living, but this delayed effort is another example of how I couldn't meet a deadline to save my life...

It was a distinct pleasure to experience the joy of a three-hour set from Get The Led Out on a Friday night amongst a respectful and appreciative crowd in a fairly intimate theater setting (the place was pretty much packed, with a capacity of ~600). We had a pretty smooth drive up from Chicago with minimal traffic, taking about sixty minutes to make the trip. After reading all the glowing reviews here on FBO, the band had a lot to live up to, but you can now count me among the believers.

Anyway, I'll hit some of the highlights. Since I've Been Loving You was incredible, Ramble On was a real treat, the entire acoustic set was fantastic, Dazed and Confused was appropriately menacing, Heartbreaker was joyous, and - well, I could go on and on, but there are only so many superlatives.

Guitarist Paul Hammond is simply amazing, playing with all the fluidity and speed of Jimmy Page in his prime. I can't adequately communicate just how awesome Since I've Been Loving You was with the combination of Sinclair's delivery and Hammond providing a sublime rendering of one of my all-time favorite Page solos. Excellent. The same can be said with Paul's delicate picking on Over The Hills and Far Away and Bron-yr-aur. Great stuff.

Hammond was ably assisted by Jimmy Marchiano, who shared the spotlight in a phenomenal Heartbreaker medley and spot-on Stairway solo, and jack-of-all-trades Andrew Lipke who played some guitar, keyboards, and even a bit of bongos on Royal Orleans, which was a tremendous surprise to hear.

You knew Billy Childs was going to be great all night after hearing him in Good Times Bad Times, which had me hoping for the addition of The Lemon Song to the set. Maybe next time? Adam Ferraioli rounded out the powerful engine room of the rhythm section and acquitted himself magnificently on Moby Dick as well as (perhaps more difficult but less-noticed) tracks like Dazed and Confused, and keeping the driving tempo of Kashmir. However, GTLO needs to make sure they mike him up better for the introduction of The Ocean - I couldn't hear that count-in very well!

Vocalist Paul Sinclair is not a carbon copy of Robert Plant (no one is), but he reaches almost all the notes Plant was able to in the 1968-1971 peak years, and does an excellent job channeling Plant with all of his idiosyncratic inflections and flourishes that we all recognize from the studio versions. Sometimes I'll see someone try to do a Zeppelin song and I just end up cocking my head to one side or cringing, but with Sinclair, there was just a lot of nodding and smiling - he was nailing it. It needs to be said just how effectively GTLO employs backing vocals from Lipke, Marchiano, and Childs to augment and enhance what Sinclair is able to do, resulting in a great layered sound. There are many examples, but Misty Mountain Hop, Good Times Bad Times, and Your Time is Gonna Come particularly come to mind. Certainly the studio version of Ramble On would be impossible to perform without competent co-vocalists, but with Get The Led Out,
it was a pleasure. One can't help but wonder how much of a different live band Zeppelin would have been if Plant could have relied on a little help from the other guys to get through some of the material, as he was able to do later with Charlie Jones in Strange Sensation for In The Light or with Jason Bonham for Misty Mountain Hop at the O2.

The stunningly beautiful acoustic interlude (which begins with a nice nod to The Song Remains The Same film) reached its ultimate height during The Battle of Evermore and the addition of lovely Ms. DeSantis to the mix. It was a cool moment to watch Sinclair reach over to the volume knob on Paul Hammond's mandolin to gradually increase it during the introduction. As their rendition progressed flawlessly, it was difficult not to wonder what the hell Zep were thinking in talking Jonesy into singing Sandy Denny's part on the 1977 tour... who thought that was a good idea? I love JPJ, but surely if they wanted to do the song that badly, they could have found a comely lass with a good voice to bring along with the rest of their large entourage?

It was really interesting to hear the studio version of No Quarter in a live setting. It didn't sound right to Laura because she's been subjected to so many live versions, but of course the studio edition has a bit of a different vibe (achieved, if memory serves, by manipulating the playback to get that slightly druggy, slowed sound).

Thanks to all of Get The Led Out for sticking around for a meet-and-greet session after the show. It was great to meet and talk with the band, especially Paul Hammond, who had graciously included some of my pre-show requests like TY, OTHAFA, and "something from Presence" (Royal Orleans was a real shock - I'd never heard anyone attempt that, and they really pulled it off). Laura and I both had a fantastic time, and I picked up a nice GTLO t-shirt as well. Can't wait till you guys make your way back to the Chicago area!


The order is incorrect, but the setlist included:
Immigrant Song
Misty Mountain Hop
Good Times Bad Times
Since I've Been Loving You
The Ocean
Ramble On
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Bron-yr-aur
Going To California
Bron-yr-aur Stomp
Battle of Evermore
Black Dog
No Quarter
Your Time is Gonna Come
ROYAL ORLEANS!
Moby Dick
Thank You
Dazed and Confused
Heartbreaker (Electric Guitar Showcase Medley)>
Livin' Lovin' Maid
Kashmir
Stairway To Heaven
Over The Hills and Far Away
Whole Lotta Love

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