J's Random Thoughts

So no Grammy viewing for me! They are broadcast here tomorrow, but on a satellite channel. It bothers me but really it shouldn’t since every year I just bitch about how lame the show is. But this year my boyfriend Dave takes the center stage with some unknown musician playing with the Foo Fighters, so I guess I’ll have to youtube that tomorrow.

For the past few weeks I have been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin and I can’t really explain why. When I was in the fourth grade, I was talking to some boys in my class and to seem cooler, I told them that I liked Led Zeppelin, which is what my brothers were into at the time. Forget the fact that my two favorite LPs at the time were The Knack’s Get The Knack and the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Later in life I specifically remember having a conversation with my husband H about how much I disliked Led Zeppelin and how I would never like them. I’m not quite sure what’s happened, but I’m totally into them now. Since H is a fan, all of their records were already loaded on my iPod as if my iPod was anticipating my future requests.

New stuff is just not moving me right now. For example, this band Vampire Weekend that every music magazine is covering, in my opinion is just unnecessary. So here I go, regressing to the fourth grade and meaning it this time. Led Zeppelin at the moment is my favorite. --J

Raising Sand - Unexpected

While Robert Plant joined the rest of his mates on stage for the long-awaited Led Zeppelin reunion just a train ride away from me, I was downloading Raising Sand, his recent recording with Alison Krauss. It has become my lullaby record, playing as I lay in the darkness, hoping that insomnia will pass me by. Some of the songs are so haunting and beautiful at the same time. The standout track for me is Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us. Alison Krauss is amazing. --J

The Zoso Experience- Judakris

To see Zoso was the first time we had been to Pop’s on a weekend night. The place was packed for an all ages show and all ages, from about four to about sixty-four, were represented. Side note: Let me just say that occasionally K and I, who have both lived in the South, get comments from colleagues about the backwardness of Southerners. Is there anything more redneck than having a child so young in age that you can carry them at a smoky bar on a Saturday night to see a Led Zeppelin cover band? I didn’t see that in the South. You can find redneck anywhere.

I really don’t know what to say about this experience. Pop’s has a lot of tribute bands on their calendar ranging from Zoso to Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Pantera, and Dave Matthews. I ran into a friend the other morning and we were discussing the plethora of tribute bands coming to Pop’s and she said the most puzzling to her was the Sublime tribute band. Yeah, do we really need that? Zoso sounded great and kind of looked like the original band. I found myself looking away to just listen to the music because if I stared at the band members I started to pick apart the physical differences between and the members of Led Zeppelin. Where was Robert Plant's signature voluptuous curls, and tight tight pants, and...well let's just say we all know Robert dresses to the left.

I guess I just don’t understand the tribute band. I remembered this morning that actually my first concert-going experience was to see Beatlemania, but I was in the fourth grade and knew nothing of the Beatles so it was all new to me. Are you going to see a tribute band because you were too young or you missed seeing your favorite band in their heyday? Are you going because you just want to hear that music live? To me, it comes up short. I would rather listen to the recorded music. However, by the crowd response, which was enormous, I am in the minority.

In Chuck Klosterman’s book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs he tells a hilarious tale of traveling with a Guns ‘N Roses cover band. The story is called “Appetite for Replication”. They get nervous pondering their fate every time Axl Rose starts threatening releasing the long-awaited album, Chinese Democracy. He’s threatening once again. --J

The other night J and I sat down and watched the oddly unmoving concert movie The Song Remains the Same. It was not the first Led Zeppelin moment we had had in the last few weeks. It seems that the band was coming up in conversations, on Rollingstone covers, and in books (Chuck Klosterman IV, specifically) I had been reading recently. I don’t know what the gods were trying to tell me, but perhaps it was to prepare me for the news that J had acquired free tickets to see renowned Led Zeppelin tribute band Zoso at Pops. Of course we would go.

Tribute bands have always been a slight curiosity for me. I’ve seen my share of cover bands, but tributes are something completely different. Tribute bands base their whole career on sonically and visually imitating a band. I always thought that major fans of the original band would be somehow repelled by this notion, but I learned that, at least in Zoso’s case, this isn’t true. In fact, J and I were two spectators in a venue of hundreds ranging from children to classic fans in their ripened years.

Zoso, who eerily portrayed the originals with great accuracy, launched into their 2-hour set with Rock and Roll, a great opener. They sang all the hits, including Immigrant Song, Whole Lotta Love, Over The Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, and the crowd favorite Stairway to Heaven. We stayed much longer than we expected. For me, I was surprised at how much fun I was having watching a tribute band for my first time. For that I give this show an Unexpected!

On a side note, I read on their website bio page that when the band formed in LA in the mid 90s, each member “was selected to portray both the image and playing styles of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones.” What does that mean they were selected? Who selected them? The wizard on the cliff? -K