LED ZEPPELIN 2 Brings Intimate Zeppelin Experience

By Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal

My rating points:

February 4th 2011, Key Club, Hollywood CA: It's rare for a tribute band to get the opportunity to tour across the country, but Led Zeppelin 2 are defying the norms by doing just that. The Chicago quartet brought their show to the Los Angeles area for the first time ever. I strongly feel that Led Zeppelin's music is the best rock music ever written, and yes, that includes metal as a sub genre of rock. Having never gotten a chance to see the real Led Zeppelin, I literally jump at every chance I get to see a good tribute act perform the same music. This was one such occasion, and I was excited beyond words at the prospect of another night of some legendary Zeppelin music.

But before all of that, there were some opening acts to contend with. The first band of the night was jazz artist Matt Von Roderick. He put on an interesting show which involved a high degree of choreography and direction, in addition to the use of trumpets, a stand-up bass and a DJ. As he described it, it was "some beautiful music combined with some sexy moves". The female performers were aesthetically dressed, and carried out their roles really well. As for the music, it's something that usually goes right over my head, but on this occasion I found myself enjoying it. It wasn't even remotely metal or rock music, but it was interesting all the same.

The next band was called Stitched Up Heart, a local female-fronted pop rock band. Their music wasn't really my cup of tea but they were doing a good job at what they were trying to do. The bassist tried his best to pump up the crowd and get them involved, but unfortunately for him and his band, it wasn't to be. Nonetheless, they put in a 100 per cent effort into their show, did their set and left the stage.

After them were Venrez, another local rock band. Well, it was more like alternative rock than classic rock. Again, it wasn't my thing and I won't pass any further judgement. On this occasion the singer attempted to get the crowd going, and just like the previous band, he didn't quite succeed in his attempt. The crowd was just waiting for these bands to be done with their sets, and as soon as Venrez got off stage, everyone on the floor moved up to take their spots close to the edge of the stage.

Led Zeppelin 2 kicked things off with "Good Times Bad Times", a pleasant opener that beautifully set the tone for the rest of the night. I was glad to see them turn to the often largely underrated Presence album, and play "Nobody's Fault But Mine" next. It's always a great live song and the crowd was happily participating in the sing-along portions of the song on frontman Bruce Lamont's cue. Guitarist Paul Kamp, addressed by Bruce as "our Jimmy Page", got a chance to be in the spotlights and showcase his talents for the first time tonight through the next song, the ever-delightful "Heartbreaker".

The shortest and fastest Led Zeppelin song "Immigrant Song" was up next, and by now the entire crowd was involved and interacting with the band. Following that truly rocking number, they went into a couple of deep cuts with "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Misty Mountain Hop". Bruce did a tremendous job on the former, and handled the variations in vocals perfectly. Bassist Chris Klien, or "our John Paul Jones" took the piano for the first time, the sound of which created quite a trippy atmosphere inside the Key Club. Misty Mountain Hop, almost a dance-type tune, was a great follow-up to its beautifully slow predecessor. After this thoroughly enjoyable and hugely underplayed tune, there was that one song that has to be a part of every Led Zeppelin show, real or tribute. It was none other than the timeless classic "Stairway To Heaven", and Led Zeppelin 2 were absolutely spot on with their rendition. Drummer Ian Lee, or "our John Bonham" left his seat as the other three members took theirs, which meant that an acoustic song was on its way.

"Going To California" was that song, greatly appreciated and savored by the gathering tonight. This was by no means a generic Zeppelin tribute show, as was proved thus far by the hugely interesting and deeply thoughtful song selection. The trend continued for the rest of the set, as "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" came next, one of Zeppelin's most deeply moving tunes. To truly feel the magic of the song, I momentarily closed my eyes and it felt like a trip to a Zeppelin concert in the 70s. After that powerful, almost hallucinating moment, it was time for a more straight up rock tune "Black Dog", and another greatly enjoyable crowd sing-along accompanied it. They went back to the Zeppelin I album to bring out an extended version of "Dazed And Confused". This is as powerful as any other Zeppelin tune, but in a very unique way. It's definitely of the bluesy kind, and almost drains out the listener's energy in a psychedelic kind of way, during the course of its extended live version.

They were switching up the set excellently by mixing the slower, deeper cuts with the more straight forward rock tunes, as "Ramble On" followed Dazed. And just as on the album itself, our John Bonham's drum solo in the form of "Moby Dick" promptly followed it. They ended the main set with the one and only "Kashmir". An encore was definitely in order, and it consisted of "The Ocean" and "Rock N Roll". With that the band left the stage but not before promising to hang around at the merch booth downstairs to say hello to those who wanted to meet them.

Overall, in addition to a flawless performance, their stage mannerisms were exactly like the real Led Zeppelin. More than just the music, the way Plant, Page, Jones and Bonham in the real Zeppelin visually presented themselves back in the day was endearing to crowds all over the world, and hence it's an important aspect of any Zeppelin tribute show. As for the song selection, LZ2 did a great job at mixing up the staples with the deep cuts, and ensured that every album in the Zeppelin catalog was represented, with the exception of "Coda" and "In Through The Out Door". But then, going into those albums would have taken things perhaps way too deep for most fans to appreciate. Their song selection was actually perfect for this intimate setting. I would call LZ2's Los Angeles area debut as a successful endeavor, and they will certainly be welcomed with open arms whenever they choose to make a return to our neck of the woods.

With this powerfully entrancing yet endearingly beautiful performance, Chicago quartet Led Zeppelin 2 emphatically stamped their authority as one of the world's best acts that are here to carry the legacy of Led Zeppelin's magical compositions.

Here's their complete set list:

Good Times Bad Times
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Heartbreaker
Immigrant Song
Since I've Been Loving You
Misty Mountain Hop
Stairway To Heaven
Going To California
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Black Dog
Dazed And Confused
Ramble On
Moby Dick
Kashmir

Encore:
The Ocean
Rock N Roll

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