This past Memorial weekend, I had the pleasure of covering my first show of 2021 for All Music Magazine. This was also the first show of the year for Lez Zeppelin, as they took over the stage for two nights at, Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden, Colorado. The stage there is open to the outdoors but covered, as well as a large area for people watching the show in case of inclement weather.
Lez Zeppelin, created by, Steph Paynes in 2004, is an all female (first of it’s kind) tribute band to Led Zeppelin. Having the pleasure of covering their show in January of 2018, I was excited to spend two nights with them. For those of you not familiar with Lez Zeppelin, allow me to take a quote from their website by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. In June, 2013, Jimmy Page attended their show in London and said of the group, “THEY PLAYED THE LED ZEPPELIN MUSIC WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY SENSUALITY AND AN ENERGY AND PASSION THAT HIGHLIGHTED THEIR SUPERB MUSICIANSHIP.”
7pm Saturday night, Steph Paynes (guitar); Marlain Angelides (vocals); Joan Chew (bass and keyboards); and Leesa Harrington Squyres (drums) took to the stage to an excellent crowd, and opened their show with, ‘Communication Breakdown’, and then moved right on with, ‘Good Times Bad Times’. People got up from their tables, moved toward the stage and began to move with the music. The energy from these four ladies, poured onto the crowd and in return, they danced and applauded with appreciation. As Lez Zeppelin moved through their set of music with songs like, ‘Dazed and Confusion’, ‘The Song Remains the Same’, their stage presence only added to their amazing sound.
Front woman, Marlain in black leather bell bottoms and snake skin jacket, moved about the stage pouring out her vocals while interacting with the other members. At times, Marlain and Steph would lean on each others shoulder as the music flowed across the stage and into the crowd. Continuing through their music with, ‘The Immigrant Song’ and ‘Black Dog’. As I looked around, it appeared like everyone was on their feet and moving. At one point, Steph pulled a violin bow and started playing her guitar with it, occasionally stopping and pointing it at someone in the crowd. This first night came to end when the ladies blew everyone away with their encore of, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (a personnel favorite) and Steph wowing the crowd playing, the Theremin (Controlling a Theremin is done by moving hands and fingers around a vertical antenna, to raise or lower the tone). What an end to the first night with these amazing ladies!
Setlist Night 1:
Communication Breakdown
Good times Bad times
Babe Im Gonna Leave You
The Ocean
Ramble On
Dazed and Confusion
The Song Remains the Same
Kashmir
Heartbreaker
Livin Lovin Maid
The Immigrant Song
Black Dog
RocknRoll
Whole lotta love
On Sunday day 2, I awoke to rain and much cooler weather. But, as I mentioned earlier, the stage and a large area for the crowd, are covered and there were heaters that made it comfortable for everyone along with good food and drink. There was a good crowd of which many returned for the second night.
Shortly after 8pm, Lez Zeppelin returned to the stage and this time, most of the crowd were already on their feet and ready for another night of great music. This night of music started with the band playing the entire album of, Led Zeppelin IV and ‘Black Dog’ got the crowd moving right away. The energy from the crowd at the start was amazing to see. The ladies returned the energy with their amazing sound and stage presence. In my opinion, if there is one Led Zeppelin song that gets one swaying back and forth then rocks your heart out, it’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’! The passion flowing from these ladies on stage was amazing to see and hear and the crowd showed their appreciation at the end of the song. As the band finished up volume IV with the song, ‘When the Levee Breaks’, Rob Janos, (band/tour manager, guitar tech) joined the ladies on stage with his harmonica to the delight of the crowd.
Continuing with songs, ‘The Rover’, ‘How many More Times’, Lez Zeppelin kept the energy level high and everyone there was having a great time. Closing out the night was, ‘Communication Breakdown’. The crowd roared in appreciation for a great night as the ladies of Lez Zeppelin took their bows and showed their appreciation to everyone there.
Lez Zeppelin are:
STEPH PAYNES (GUITAR)
MARLAIN ANGELIDES (VOCALS)
LEESA HARRINGTON SQUYRES (DRUMS)
JOAN CHEW (BASS/KEYS)
Setlist For The 2nd Night:
Black Dog
Rock n Roll
Battle Of Evermore
Stairway To Heaven
Misty Mountain Hop
Four Sticks
Going to California
When the Levee Breaks (Rob Janos on Harmonica)
The Ocean
The Rover
Custard Pie
Wanton Song
The Immigrant Song
How Many More Times
Kashmir
Communication Breakdown
A big thank you to Lez Zeppelin for coming back to Colorado and Dirty Dogs Roadhouse for having them again!
FOLLOW LEZ ZEPPELIN ONLINE:
I have been dabbling in photography since I was a kid. Box cameras, instamatics, then 35mm film cameras. In the late 70’s I went to a concert and took pictures, no one cared at first. That came to end in 1980. When the first digital cameras came out, I got more interested and serious about photography. For years I did nothing but landscape and even started selling my work with some success. In May of 2014, I walked into a small concert venue and asked about photographing a band that was going to play there. Little did I know then how my life was about to change. My 2 passions, music and photography turned into a wonderful journey. 7+ years later, I have meet artists from all over the world, photographed bands from over 20 different countries. I am living the dream of being a concert photographer. To this day, when I step in front of the stage to cover a show, I still get as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!