Cat Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Author: Jim DeRogatis "Upon us all a little rain must fall." If there was ever an occasion for Jimmy Page to trot out that particular Led Zeppelin classic, Saturday night was it. As the guitar legend kicked off a joint tour with Atlanta rockers the Black Crowes, horizontal sheets of water drenched the crowd on the lawn and blew in waves into the pavilion at the New World Music Theatre. Alas, the master did not grace us with a version of "The Rain Song." But it's hard to complain about what he and the Robinson brothers did give us. The seven musicians choogled through a handful of spirited Black Crowes boogies six out of 21 tunes during a 2 1/2-hour performance. But this was in essence a Zeppelin cover band, one of the best this critic has seen certainly more inspired than the last two tours Page made with his on-again, off-again mate, Robert Plant. Like so many of us, vocalist Chris Robinson and his guitarist brother Rich clearly grew up listening to and loving the Led, and that passion shined as they took the stage with their hero. Page rewarded them by being looser, more animated, and more enthusiastic than he's been in decades, even during the obligatory Crowes numbers. Heck, the wizard even spoke three times! ("Thankyou; thankyou, Chicago.") The group delivered most of the well-chosen tunes from the recent, online-only "Live at the Greek" album, reaching deep into the Zeppelin catalog for unpredictable stompers like "The Wanton Song," "Celebration Day," "Custard Pie," and "What Is And What Should Never Be." As a special treat, they tore through "Shapes Of Things," a psychedelic nugget by the Yardbirds that underscored the common ground that brought them together. For a creepy rendition of "In the Light," a guitar tech came out and added hurdy-gurdy. And for a show-closing encore of "Whole Lotta Love," Page toyed with his famous theremin. One can quibble. Chris Robinson does a fine Plant imitation, but the scrawny rooster lacks the imposing "golden god" stature essential to pulling off "The Lemon Song." And of course there were three guitarists doing what Page used to do alone. On the other hand, keyboard player Eddie Hawrysch, new bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Steve Gorman excelled in the roles of John Paul Jones and John Bonham. And personal comfort aside, the evening was a Zeppelin fan's (very) wet dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Author: Jim DeRogatis "Upon us all a little rain must fall." If there was ever an occasion for Jimmy Page to trot out that particular Led Zeppelin classic, Saturday night was it. As the guitar legend kicked off a joint tour with Atlanta rockers the Black Crowes, horizontal sheets of water drenched the crowd on the lawn and blew in waves into the pavilion at the New World Music Theatre. Alas, the master did not grace us with a version of "The Rain Song." But it's hard to complain about what he and the Robinson brothers did give us. The seven musicians choogled through a handful of spirited Black Crowes boogies six out of 21 tunes during a 2 1/2-hour performance. But this was in essence a Zeppelin cover band, one of the best this critic has seen certainly more inspired than the last two tours Page made with his on-again, off-again mate, Robert Plant. Like so many of us, vocalist Chris Robinson and his guitarist brother Rich clearly grew up listening to and loving the Led, and that passion shined as they took the stage with their hero. Page rewarded them by being looser, more animated, and more enthusiastic than he's been in decades, even during the obligatory Crowes numbers. Heck, the wizard even spoke three times! ("Thankyou; thankyou, Chicago.") The group delivered most of the well-chosen tunes from the recent, online-only "Live at the Greek" album, reaching deep into the Zeppelin catalog for unpredictable stompers like "The Wanton Song," "Celebration Day," "Custard Pie," and "What Is And What Should Never Be." As a special treat, they tore through "Shapes Of Things," a psychedelic nugget by the Yardbirds that underscored the common ground that brought them together. For a creepy rendition of "In the Light," a guitar tech came out and added hurdy-gurdy. And for a show-closing encore of "Whole Lotta Love," Page toyed with his famous theremin. One can quibble. Chris Robinson does a fine Plant imitation, but the scrawny rooster lacks the imposing "golden god" stature essential to pulling off "The Lemon Song." And of course there were three guitarists doing what Page used to do alone. On the other hand, keyboard player Eddie Hawrysch, new bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Steve Gorman excelled in the roles of John Paul Jones and John Bonham. And personal comfort aside, the evening was a Zeppelin fan's (very) wet dream. i saw this show. steve gorman is a kickass drummer, man. crowes were smart to go back and get'im. and maybe chris robinson didn'nt do the best vocal of "lemon song" that i've ever heard but it wasn't bad. and to see page play it was worth the admission... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 From what I saw of these shows (Youtube etc) they sounded GREAT! I would love to see Robinson do some shows with the boys if Robert keeps being so snooty about it all. The shows wouldn't be as massive as they would be with Robert but that would be alright too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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