27/04/2007 | Fred Zeppelin | Review by Barry Martin |
From the first notes of an electrifying "Communication Breakdown" right through to a crescendonic "Kashmir" encore, this fab four-piece paid tribute to Messrs. Page and Plant's legacy with fitting passion and the ultimate respect.
Cool Kevin Brown as John Paul Jones on bass and drummer Stephen 'Blackie' Black as John Bonham hammered out the perfect back-beat for the band's two virtuosi. Vocalist Steven Gale, a dead ringer for West Bromwich's number one son Robert Plant, with his tousled strawberry-Titian curls, signature strutting and back-arched pouting, scream/sang the seething, sell-out crowd into willing submission, orchestrating their singalongs with experienced expertise.
Bandannaed lead guitarist Keith Jenkins as legendary axe-man James Patrick (Jimmy) Page illuminated the stage with breath-taking, flying-fingered riffery of the highest quality and in the most extraordinary quantity, classic cut after cut.
"Ramble On", "Black Dog", "Stairway To Heaven", a storming "Heartbreaker" and "Livin' Lovin' Maid" double-header plus an extended, special effects-spattered "Whole Lotta Love" were just some of the highlights in an altogether stratospheric performance.
We took a ride on a Stairway to rock Heaven and stayed there all night.
****** Eleven out of ten, In a word. Superb.