I am not old enough to have said that I was lucky enough to see the original line up of the mighty Led Zeppelin in their hay day, but I have to say I came mighty close with seeing Page and Plant touring together back in the 90s. I also have been lucky enough to see Robert Plant solo whenever the chance presented itself, but it was never the real deal. When it looked like the remaining boys and Jason Bonham were going to get back together to do a tour in 2007, we were all on the verge of Nirvana, but that fell apart.
So what is a poor fanboy to do in the face of never seeing this timeless material live? A Zep tribute band of course, and not just any tribute band but Get the Led Out from Philadelphia, PA, who took over the Palace Theatre on Saturday, February 11. With their passion for Zeppelin completely eclipsing mine, I knew I was in for a night of pure heaven. Get the Led out is made up of Paul Sinclair on lead vocals and harmonica, Andrew Lipke, vocals, guitar, theremin, and keyboard, Paul Hammond, on guitar and mandolin, Jimmy Marchiano on guitar and vocals, Phil DeAgostino on bass, Diana DeSantis, vocals on “The Battle of Evermore” and Adam Ferraioli on drums these fine musicians with exclusion of a few lineup changes early on have been bringing these past masterpieces to life since 2003. This was no Las Vegas theater show where the players are dressed up with wigs and crazy period costumes these folks came to play and played they did.
Albany’s Palace Theater was packed with the Zeppelin faithful and the band kicked off the show with a ferocious version of “Rock and Roll” which set the tempo for the beginning of the first set. They followed up with “How Many Times,” “Killing Floor,” and “The Lemon Song.” They took it down a notch with “Down By the Seaside,” “Babe I am gonna Leave You,” and “Ramble On.” Sinclair proved himself a force to be reckon with a consummate version of “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” which then transitioned again to the mellow side of Zeppelin with “Going To California,” “The Battle Of Evermore” which featured the extremely talented Diana DeSantis on a stirring backup vocal. The band finished the first set with a crowd pleasing version of “Hey Hey What Can I do.”
After a short break the band came back in force for the beginning of the second set with a classic version of “The Song Remains the Same” followed by “The Rain Song.” Then it was drummer Adam Ferraioli’s turn to take center stage with a version of “Moby Dick” that would have made John Bonham proud. Finally the band rounded up the final set with versions of “Thank You,” “The Rover,” and fan favorite “Kashmir.” The band left the stage and the crowd called them back for an encore that started with Zeppelin IV’s “Black Dog” and “Stairway To Heaven” and finally ended with a killer version of Zeppelin II’s Whole Lotta Love.
Lead Singer Paul Sinclair nailed the nail on the head when he said on stage that the band were first and foremost Led Zeppelin fans just like the audience and it was apparent the band was feeling the love from an incredibly grateful audience that appreciated the craftsmanship and skill that Get the Led Out had for this amazing material.
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