Review: Led Zeppelin Tribute Band Hammers Away at Colonial
Friday the 13th was Pittsfield's lucky day as The Hammer of The Gods — The Led Zeppelin Experience made its way through the Berkshires. We have had our share of tribute bands come through the Colonial theater this year and all of them have been outstanding, with Nov. 13 not being an exception to that high standard.The Hammer of the Gods are Paul Colchamiro (Jimmy Page, guitar), Thomas Doscher (Robert Plant, vocals) Phil Greco (John Paul Jones, keyboards and bass) and Jay Kudreyko (John Bonham, drums).
I try not to set any expectations going into these types of events and I always walk away amazed at just how good the shows turn out. Doscher is fair facsimile to Robert Plant from a physical standpoint, including on stage presence. His voice is excellent, though at times with limited range, dependent on which song they are presenting. During the encore, when they played "Kashmir," he hit some of the high notes that I did not think were possible. I was impressed.
During each song, they used the effects available to them to give it that "wow" stadium-rock effect. For instance, during the vocal parts the echo effect is used frequently and very effectively to accentuate Doscher's voice and it came in handy in situations in which he could not muster the needed range to copy Plant with precision. I was not expecting perfection at all so I felt that the lead singer did a gallant job while sounding very professional. The rest of the band did a fine job supporting Doscher and they all look the parts they are playing quite well.
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The turnout was disappointing. When I looked behind in the orchestra section there were a lot of empty seats. This came as no surprise because the show was a late add-on that did not give people the usual time to plan; too bad, because those seats should have been filled for this great show.
The drummer Kudreyko was powerful and commanding just as he should have been. Certainly Bonham, God rest his soul, was smiling upon him this night. When "Moby Dick" began, he was ready to show the crowd everything he had. The drum solo on this song is a long stretch of pounding at rapid rates of speed. At one point, he discarded the drum sticks and flailed away with his bare hands! It was a marvelous display of talent and enjoyed immensely by all in attendance.
Greco was a standout on bass and keyboards as well, filling in his parts beautifully and a few times he got the spotlight for awhile. He is a very talented multi-instrumentalist and should get some more spotlight time for solos.
Some of the other highlights of the evening were outstanding versions of "No Quarter," "The Song Remains The Same" (during which Colchamiro took out the double-neck guitar) and, as mentioned earlier, an incredibly exciting version of "Kashmir."
It was a fun night and I am glad I attended to find out what it may have been like at a real Led Zeppelin concert. I had my chances back in the '70s and missed out, so this somehow appeased my regrets and I went home with a smile on my face.
