Led Zeppelin's music is famous for its vivid, dramatic and orchestral quality. Now that the group is disassembled, the opportunity to experience a performance of their music with a full orchestra on board is a thrilling one.
The Buffalo Philharmonic with Randy Jackson, an expert Robert Plant impersonator, performed at Kleinhans Music Hall Saturday night.
It was an informal evening by philharmonic standards: musical conductor Brent Havens donned a leather jacket with a Cadillac logo on the back - a reference to the Cadillac commercials featuring "Rock and Roll" - as he rocked back and forth, grooving to the music while leading the orchestra.
The show opened with the classic "A Whole Lotta Love," an odd choice for a symphonic adaptation, with its irregular meanderings and strident vocals. The band showed another side of the song, with off-kilter violin doodling and punctuated orchestral hits.
After launching into the favorite "Immigrant Song," the band slowed down to a more relaxed pace in "Thank You."
Many concertgoers probably came in wondering if singer/guitarist Randy Jackson would be able to recapture the energy and essence of the original songs. Although no one can duplicate the mystique and depth of Plant and Jimmy Page, Jackson and lead guitarist George Cintron did a very respectable job of remaining true to the original material and not overplaying their parts.
Acoustic ballad "Going to California" showcased Jackson's guitar skills and vocal prowess. He can hit the high notes, and captures Plant's signature wails.
Likewise, Cintron doesn't miss a note in recreating Jimmy Page's guitar shredding and smooth, blues-influenced riffs. Cintron flawlessly ran through the breakneck melodies of "Heartbreakers."
Most songs demonstrate how little music actually needed to be written to accompany the pieces. Led Zeppelin's music is already epic and complex enough that the melodies need only be transcribed for the orchestra's instruments. Some songs like "Going to California" and "Kashmir" already have flute and violin parts, so the symphony instruments simply had to play the original parts live, with real strings rather than keyboard noises.
Drummer Powell Randolph got to show off his virtuosity in the instrumental "Moby Dick," the second half of which is devoted entirely to a heart-pounding drum solo. Randolph kept rhythm while switching between sticks and hand-beaten bongos, and received thunderous applause afterward.
The soft glow of lighters filled the auditorium for the aptly chosen closing number, "Stairway to Heaven." Even a few members of the Obo section lit up their Zippos during the introduction.
The audience was comprised mostly of families and a middle-aged crowd who may have had the privilege of seeing Led Zeppelin in person.
At one point, Jackson called out for a volunteer to conduct. Elizabeth, as she identified herself, had never led an orchestra before, but tried her best to lead the instrumentalists through "Dancing Days." She mostly waved her arms around and danced on the podium. Fortunately, the orchestra already knew what they were doing.
Many orchestral bands have been scoring classic rock music recently. Brent Havens has also scored the Doobie Brothers music for the Milwaukee symphony in the past. Several years ago, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performed a famous concert with heavy metal legends Metallica.
The Led Zeppelin concert was no "S & M," mostly because the actual band is missing, and the Philharmonic is a bit smaller than the San Francisco group. Still, the spirit of Led Zeppelin's music prevailed.
