Kashmir – The Nation’s #1 Led Zeppelin Tribute w/ special guests Cousin Jake
8-8-09 @ The Budweiser Amphitheater
Set One
Rock and Roll
Celebration Song
Over The Hills And Far Away
Misty Mountain Hop
Since I’ve Been Loving You
No Quarter
Custard Pie
Thank You
Your Time Is Gonna Come
The Ocean
Ramble On
Good Times Bad Times
The Rover
Dazed And Confused
Set Two
The Song Remains The Same
Tangerine
Stairway To Heaven
In The Light
The Immigrant Song
Whole Lotta Love
Communication Breakdown
What Is And What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
In The Evening
Kashmir
Heartbreaker
Livin’ Lovin’ Maid
A spectacular August evening in Baldwinsville at The Budweiser Amphitheater on Paper Mill Island provided the backdrop and atmosphere for a evening of music not soon forgotten. Local mainstay Cousin Jake performed an opening set and had the crowd cheering for each original and cover song they offered up. The driving rhythms and wailing lead guitar infused the audience with energy for what was to come. (See accompanying article for much more on Cousin Jake)
Kashmir took the stage and to the near sighted it could well have been the real deal on stage. Their individual natural likenesses to Led Zeppelin originals are uncanny, mix that with the proper outfits and stage mannerisms and Kashmir takes you to a historical place in rock and roll. Jean Violet has the look, voice and stage presence to pull off the leading man role, with curly blonde locks and open shirt he prowled the stage belting out the classics. A consummate pro, he had the crowd eating from his hand. From behind his aviator shades Andy Urban blasted through the Page parts, deftly replicating the solo lines and crunching the big chord progressions. Paul Cooper kept the thunder rolling behind the drum kit, donning the traditional bowler hat and giving the impression he was channeling J.B. with his barehanded solo in Moby Dick. Cary Fields rounds the line-up out in the John Paul Jones position, smoothly switching from bass to keyboards then back again. His flourishes on the keyboards creating a lush feel in counterpoint to Cooper’s bombastic funkified fills giving Jean and Violet plenty of space to exude the cock-sure Zep attitude at the front of the stage. Jean strutted the stage like an alpha male, practically conducting the audience as they responded to his every motion to them with as his partner Urban, cigarette hanging from his mouth, ignited their senses both visually and mentally as he bowed his Les Paul and manipulated his exotic Theremin. The Theremin is an early electronic instrument controlled without contact from the hands through two antennas. Simply put, you control the volume with one and the pitch with the other, trust me, this is a dramatic over simplification. Robert Moog credited his experiences building and selling The Theremin to his creation of the groundbreaking synthesizer, The Moog.
Add in a traditional par style light show with half a dozen moving mirror fixtures, a blanket of stage fog and a surprisingly effective, compact laser light array and the crowd was receiving the full Led Zep experience. Let’s just say no one was leaving early, they wanted to savor every note the band served to them.
It was easy to tell the night was going to be big from the opening drum and guitar riffs to Rock And Roll as the crowd moved close, screaming their approval. Jean quickly took the crowd in, urging participation from his first “Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time” through the whole evening’s presentations of the L.Z. classics. His knack for the dramatic pause and sexual prowl was magnetic to the full house of Zeppelin fans who loved every classic Plant pose and singing position. Urban changed guitars and outfits keeping with the era of song they played. Although many may think that Zep was a guitar/vocalist band, it’s truly centered on the drums. Paul Cooper brings all of the aspects of this to life, the funk- based rhythms morphing into an earthquake of fills is responsible for the bands base. Field’s colorations on keys and nimble bass work complete the picture quite nicely, lending a subtlety to the madness around him, not an easy thing to do. Whether it was a bluesy Your Time Is Gonna Come, the fury of Good Times Bad Times or the seminal Stairway To Heaven, Kashmir gave the crowd every bit of Led Zep they could handle and then some more. My personal favorite and namesake for the band led to a crushing encore with Heartbreaker/Livin’ Lovin’ Maid leaving the crowd calling for more as the band exited the stage.
One of the most impressive things about Kashmir is that despite their abilities and rock star personas on stage, off the stage they are the most humble, nice bunch of guys you could meet. Gaining them as friends over the last year has been fabulous, watching them interact with the audience off stage is equally impressive. They roamed the crowd handing out leaflets, then manned their own merchandise stand before the show and spent time on their break and post show signing autographs and having pictures taken with their fans. The amount of energy and spirit they share is a benchmark for bands everywhere. Kashmir is definitively the nation’s #1 Led Zeppelin tribute, every fan should attend a show given the opportunity, you will not be disappointed!
You can keep track of Kashmir on their website at
www.kashmirrocks.com and on myspace at
www.myspace.com/kashmirtheband .
Kashmir was presented by IslandFest Entertainment, to learn more about the The Budweiser Concert Series and IslandFest see
www.island-fest.com .
