Adding a gender-switching aspect to the music of Led Zeppelin seems like an appropriate act of homage, one that highlights and recontextualizes some of the band’s testosterone excesses. Lez Zeppelin is an all-female Zep act. It’s not a tribute band exactly, not playing the roles of the band, but it summons the spirit of Zeppelin’s music and performances.
The chromosome count wouldn’t be noteworthy, but Zeppelin was overtly macho, with the pounding beats of John Bonham, the thrusting swagger of the band, and the erotic charge of Robert Plant’s stage style. And yet, the vocal approach — with Plant’s Valkyrie howls and falsetto moans, was always perhaps equally suited for what some might say is traditionally a woman’s range. Plant’s belly shirts and halter tops threw standard gender-based style out the window, too.
For fans of Zeppelin, seeing anyone tackle the mighty intricacies of deep-cut tracks like “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is always a thrill. Covering Zeppelin is tough, given that the three instrumentalists in the band are often considered to be among the best as what they did individually. Lez Zeppelin obviously reveres the music and cultivates the volatile uncertainty that its role models radiated on stage.
Lez Zeppelin plays Fairfield Theater Company’s Warehouse, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, on Dec. 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $38. 203-259-1036 or fairfieldtheatre.org.
