The other night, I headed a couple blocks down Bloor Street to check out Led Zeppelin 2, a Chicago-based tribute act that’s considered the best Zeppelin cover band going.  It’s not hard to see why: they’ve got a singer who not only sounds like Robert Plant, but dresses like him as well, while their Jimmy Page bears a strong resemblance to the real thing, right down to the double-necked guitar and the violin-bow solos.  The crowd, which was a lot thinner than when I saw Jello Biafra at Lee’s a week ago, but still thicker than it would be for a local rock night, was treated to a roughly two-hour set of all the hits, including an acoustic section and requisite guitar and drum solos.  I gotta say, it was a much younger gathering than I’d expected, predominantly 20-to-30-year-olds.  Hey, I guess I can see how anyone who would’ve seen the original back in the day wouldn’t care too much for a tribute act, but for those born too late, this is probably as good as it gets.  Like The Beatles–and I’d say even moreso than the Stones–the music of Led Zeppelin transcends generations, so kudos to these guys for keeping the spirit alive.

It was kinda hard to get a good shot of their John Paul Jones, cuz he was hiding at the back of the stage.  To his credit, though, the dude also plays piano and mandolin, so you gotta give him full marks for musical ability, even if he’s not exactly a lookalike.

(And yes, I’m aware that there’s red-eye in every single one of these photos.  I should probably get a new camera…)