Category Archives: Music

I just saw Led Zeppelin.

Well, the next best thing actually.

Kiers Marketing where I work sponsored the Classic Albums Live show at The Fredericton Playhouse tonight so I got to go for free. For the uninitiated, this is a group of guys who travel around performing classic rock records in their entirety, note for note. Tonight’s platter du jour was a classic for sure, Led Zeppelin III.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. I knew they weren’t ‘impersonators’ per se, I knew the lead singer wouldn’t be a shirtless, bellbottomed goldilocks that Robert Plant was, but I was also unsure of exactly what it would sound like.

Well, I tell you right now it was fucking awesome.

These guys came out and nailed it. It was unreal. Every note, every nuance, even the fuckups and false starts and ambient recording noise from the recording. All there. And talk about consumate musicians. Holy. Shit.

It sounds strange to gush so much about what is essentially a cover band, but I feel like it’s insulting to call these guys that. I have heard these tunes for years both on record and in many cases with various levels of proficiency by other musicians and cover bands, but to go there and hear and feel it live, and perfect totally blew me away.

They came out and proceeded to rip through the album Led Zeppelin III like they’d written it. All the power. All the emotion. All the skills. Right. Effin. THERE. It was nuts. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ was absolutely transcendent and gave me the chills.

I didn’t realize going in that there would be an intermission and then they were gonna come back and do a greatest hits set. Holy bonus.

Somehow, it was even better. Every lick I’d heard over the years was captured. I ended up laughing out loud and giddy in amazement of the display of guitar prowess. The guitar player nailed every Jimmy Page lick. The bow work, the Theremin. EVERYTHING. Did I mention that it was unreal?

So in closing, if you have the chance to check ’em out, I’d, uh, say, do so at whatever cost. WHATEVER COST. And thanks fellas, for the amazing show.

The lead singer closed by thanking the audience ‘for loving rock music’. Man, when you guys play it like that, how could you not.

Set list:

Set 1: Led Zeppelin III
Immigrant Song
Friends
Celebration Day
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Out on the Tiles
Gallows Pole
Tangerine
That’s the Way
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Hats Off to (Roy) Harper

Set 2: (I think this was all of ’em, not 100% sure of the sequencing)
Whole Lotta Love
Dazed and Confused – yep with the full blown bow/theramin solo
The Song Remains the Same
Lemon Song – KILLER.
Moby Dick – yep, with the monster drum solo
Heartbreaker/Livin’ Lovin’ Maid
Communication Breakdown

Encore:
Rock and Roll
How Many More Times – probably my fave of the whole night.

Juke Box Hero, with apologies to Foreigner.

I couldn’t get a ticket. It was a sold out show.

Well, really, I probably couldn’t have gotten a sitter either anyway, and it was a weeknight and I had to be up for work the next day and the headliners weren’t going on until 10:30 and that’s pretty late for me, and….

I have an acoustic guitar and have been teaching myself some chords. Isn’t that a Bryan Adams lyric? Shit.

Anyway, I can sometimes string 3 or 4 chords together into some sort of ‘song fragment’ and I’m beginning to get it now.

I understand why kids everywhere sit on their beds, banging out 3 chords thinking they’re going to take over the world. Thinking, even for a moment, that you might have created something moving and original is ridiculously empowering. Many of these kids give up or move on. Some become Joe Strummer.

I catch myself planning my world takeover tour and quitting my day job. Then I hear stuff like this. Then I remember why I’m a graphic designer.

I have a six-string. I didn’t buy it at the five-and-dime, cause they don’t exist anymore. I don’t play till my fingers bleed – but, sometimes, they do get tender at the fingertips and I have really dry skin, so I have to moisturize with some lotion and – dammit – that’s not very rock and roll. Moisturizer is not rock and roll. There wasn’t any in Spinal Tap. I’m pretty sure.

Sometimes, after I’ve spent a lot of time playing one evening, my fingers tingle the next day at the tips when I touch stuff and it dawns on me that, maybe, almost, I can almost, maybe start telling people I ‘play guitar’. And that’s pretty badass, especially for middle-aged dudes with dry skin. I’m even starting to build up calluses.

I can’t do anything with my pinky finger though. It’s fucking useless.

New Brunswick graphic designer, 40, quits rock and roll game due to inadequate pinky finger articulation. “It just stuck out there. When I tried to use it, it would just quiver, or shake. Ugh (shivers) it was embarassing. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m going to stick to drums as the pinky isn’t as crucial and I can hide the hideous quivering behind the kit.”

Don’t cry for me. Save your tears. There may still be a chance for me in adult contemporary, or children’s music. Maybe it’s more ‘Coffee Shop Hero.’

My Albums of 2011.

Here’s the albums I dug the most, mostly for 2011. No particular order. Enjoy.

Sam Roberts Band – Collider
I had hailed Love At the End of the World as Sam’s finest record yet to most of the people I argue about music with (ok, well, ONE person). But I think this record stepped it up a notch and I don’t even know how. My standout tracks: Let it In, Streets of Heaven (Promises, Promises)

Arkells – Michigan Left
I only discovered the brillance of the Arkells first record, Jackson Square about a month before this record came out and then was very impressed with the follow up effort. Jackson Square was a tough record to top. My standout tracks: Michigan Left, On Paper

Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
After a long wait, Dave and Co. return and do not disappoint. The media/blitz/circus that ensued was also something to behold and would have been easy to ridicule had the tunes not stood up to all the hype. Several TV/web appearances playing the record in it’s entirety as well as the timely release of their movie, Back and Forth prompted one reviewer I read to quip, “Thanks Dave Grohl, for making us care about the album again.” I couldn’t agree more. My standout tracks: Rope, Miss the Misery

Chevelle – Hats off to the Bull
A sleeper, I had no idea these guys were working on a record and it barely made it in this year, but since it came out, I’ve listened to pretty much nothing but. My standout tracks: Pinata, Hats off to the Bull

The Black Keys – El Camino
I didn’t want to buy into the pre-hype regarding this new record because, well , I secretly long to be a hipster. Also, I really didn’t think they could top Brothers. Seriously. But once it came out, dammit, they did. And in a record that’s only 38 minutes long. I’m still not a hipster though. My standout tracks: Gold on the Ceiling, Little Black Submarines, Mind Eraser

Rival Sons – Pressure and Time
Bringing the classic rock back, these guys are kicking out some jams. Production that cries of vintage Zeppelin and a singer who screams like Ian Astbury and/or Plant combined. Sprinkle with a touch of Black Crowes and, voila, you’re scissor kicking. Only thing I can possibly fault them on is their pro-vegan stance. Wha? Tré un-rock. My standout tracks: Pressure and Time, Get Mine, Save Me

The Twilight Singers – Dynamite Steps
Greg Dulli sulks out from wherever it is he hides in the ‘off-season’ and wrangles his compatriots to bring us this lush, moody gem of a record. It’s been said before by many people, but it never ceases to amaze me how Dulli seems to create ‘movies’ or ‘soundscapes’ with his records. They’re like concept albums, but the concept is unique to every listener. My standout tracks: Waves, On the Corner, Dynamite Steps

Matthew Good – Lights of Endangered Species
If you follow Matt at all this was an interesting record as he demo’d, discussed, and chronicled the writing and production of on his website/blog. A very interesting glimpse into the process. Given that, I have to admit it was a bit anti-climatic when the record officially dropped, as I’d already heard most, if not all the tunes in some form or another. That being said, I still think it’s an excellent record. My standout tracks: Zero Orchestra, Non-Populus, Lights of Endangered Species

In 2012 I’m really looking forward to the new Rush and Big Wreck records as well as some others.

Happy New Years, yo.