[My photos here]
Led Zepagain put on a fantastic show Friday evening at 115 Bourbon Street on the South Side of Chicago, in Merrionette Park, IL. They had to deal with more technical issues than Page, Plant, Jones, and Jason Bonham did in 1988 at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary bash, but they pulled off one hell of a show nonetheless. From the opening salvo of Rock and Roll>Celebration Day to the last strains of Whole Lotta Love>Achilles Last Stand>Whole Lotta Love [reprise] (yes, a WLL-ALS medley!), the band captured the spirit of Led Zeppelin, circa Summer '73.
Zepagain followed Fair Warning (Van Halen tribute) and Blackened (Metallica tribute), even though the original program had LZ in the middle position (I joked that someone wised up enough to realize that no band should have to follow Zeppelin). I'm not a huge fan of either VH or Metallica, so I'm probably not qualified to critique either of those tribute acts. I felt a bit sorry for Fair Warning because their repeated attempts to get the crowd involved were for the most part futile. Blackened fared much better in terms of crowd involvement and interest and seemed to do a great job with the material. Zepagain had to set up during - and then wait through the judging of - a costume contest (a guy dressed as Slash [complete with actual guitar] and a woman dressed as Alice Cooper comprised the final two... the Cooper chick won). Before the show, Led Zepagain guitarist, R-O hotel resident, and FBO badgeholder Steve Z intimated that the theremin was not working correctly, and as the band set up, there were signs pointing to what lead singer Swan Montgomery acknowledged later - that the keyboards were also out of commission for the night - perhaps due to malfeasance on the part of a Southwest Airlines employee... thus, no Kashmir, Stairway, et cetera. Since this booking was 1700+ miles outside the band's normal base of operations, they had not shipped their entire instrumental arsenal - notably having to employ Blackened's drum kit (minus the second bass drum that the Sandmen
used). Led Zepagain navigated around, over, and through these obstacles to bring it on home during the course of a ~70 minute set.
I will undoubtedly leave a song out of this account, but the setlist included Rock and Roll>Celebration Day, Ramble On, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, The Song Remains the Same, How Many More Times, Heartbreaker>Whole Lotta Love/Achilles Last Stand.
Vocalist Swan Montgomery delivered the goods with the rough-edged power and range that Robert Plant had during the 1973 American tour and thus sounded uncannily like he stepped directly out of The Song Remains The Same film. Bassist Jim Wootten's adroit playing stood out
during Ramble On, D&C, and TSRTS. Jim Kersey was relentless on drums throughout but especially impressive during Achilles. Finally, it is difficult to overstate the dexterity, dynamism, fluidity, and pure feeling that axeman Steve Zukowsky exhibited. This is going to sound over-the-top and exaggerated because people will think that I'm just flattering a fellow 'net Zeppelin' person, but I was simply blown away by how great Steve was, especially by all the little nuances he was able to incorporate from Page's work live in concert and the studio into his own style. I soon lost track of how many times I found myself grinning as I recognized yet another aural nod to a particular way that Jimmy had of playing a specific passage. Any Zeppelin fan who has watched much video of the band would also have to acknowledge that Steve has Page's stage moves down to a science, especially the Sorceror-esque arm movements.
The bow solo of Dazed was incredible - the definitive visual showcase of the evening. Apparently the high point of the evening for my wife arrived during the "got you in the sights of my..." climax of How Many More Times, since it was at that moment after "guuuuun" and the band
crashing back in that her attempt to dance with me resulted in knocking the beer bottle out of my hand and shattering it on the concrete floor below. Luckily there wasn't much harm done - it was only a Miller Lite (Miller was promoting the event and not even local favorite Goose Island 312 was available in the room where the band was playing) and it was only about 1/4 full - we laughed about our collective clumsiness and got a look of mild reproach from an employee as they cleaned up the glass. Although I had hoped to hear Achilles, I did not actually expect it, figuring instead that the band would be more likely to play the more 'radio-friendly' staples to a crowd that was seeing three different bands that night and perhaps not containing many die-hard LZ folks aside from myself. Perhaps I can chalk the good fortune of getting to hear Achilles up to whatever misfortune befell the keyboards and the subsequent elimination of Stairway et al? Either way, I roared my approval as the tales of an April morning were recounted, and Albion slept to rise again. As the show ended, Steve tossed a guitar pick my way that I was pleased to actually catch. It all added up to a very satisfying, entertaining, and enjoyable experience for this Led Zeppelin fan.
The general crowd activity and engagement level was pretty disappointing beyond the first ten feet or so in front of the stage. I had never been to that venue before and neither had my wife. She grew up relatively near there, but she said that it was completed right about the time she moved away for college. Despite the fact that no band should follow Zeppelin, the Metallica tribute might have had the best 'time slot' as far as crowd energy was concerned. I think some people left after the costume judging, which took quite a while. As happy as I was to hear such authenticity from the band, I think it was lost on some in the crowd. On the upside, Byrd - the DJ from The Loop 97.9 seemed to have some decent information about the guys, including their
'seal of approval' from Jimmy Page and the fact that Jason Bonham sat in with the band in March '09. I can only compare the crowd at Bourbon Street to the "Led Zeppelin 2" crowd at the House of Blues, which is actually downtown. LZ2's vocalist had real talent (although he didn't really know the lyrics very well), but the rest of the band was not in Led Zepagain's league - yet the crowd was going nuts for them. I hope that Led Zepagain can come back to Chicago soon, at a better location closer to the center of the city, where they will find a more appreciative audience.
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