Led Zeppelin was one of those bands I never really got into but have always enjoyed. When a song like “Communication Breakdown” or “Rock and Roll” comes on the radio, I’ll always turn it up; however I’ve never felt moved enough to go out and purchase an album.
Despite my pure corporate radio knowledge of this band, I do have the utmost respect for them. They are the Abrahams of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock; they created a sound that was one of the most forward thinking of the Seventies.
Like many of you, I would have loved to have been at a Zeppelin concert when the band was at their peak.
Due to my lack of a time machine, Friday night I, along with about 800 others, had to settle for Zoso, a full-on Led Zeppelin tribute.
Based in Los Angeles, Zoso has been playing homage to the group since New Year’s Eve 1995.
According to lead vocalist Matt Edwards, the band plays an average of 190 shows a year to capacity crowds of roughly 800-1000 bodies. Such was the case Friday night at Gatsby’s.
It should be noted that I have a love-hate relationship with Gatsby’s. They have one of the better rooms for live music in the area. Hands down it has the best atmosphere of any bar in Johnson City.
You definitely feel as if you’re in a much more urban environment. The gilded molding and 19 foot ceilings make one feel like one of the privileged and elite. It’s a great place to have a few quiet drinks over several games of cricket. That is until the crowds come.
You see I hate people traffic, and Gatsby’s is infamous for its lack of channels for bodies to flow through. Gatsby’s is also infamous for getting people drunk, which was quite the case Friday night, including me.
However, somehow through the chaos, beauty can emerge.
Gatsby’s is a black hole, a mystery spot, a phenomenon that cannot be explained. It is the local hub of drunken contact between 20- and 30-something Townies and college students from an institution in a blue collar area.
Granted I understand that many of you are from the area, so this is nothing new; but to us on the outside, it’s a dazzling spectacle.
There is a beautiful madness that emerges when different sides of a single generation mingle among each other and find common ground through beer taps and bottles.
Alcohol is the great equalizer — when you’re drunk, you’re drunk. Whether it is age, sex, race, intelligence, finances or anything, when you’re spinning and vomiting nothing else matters.
But I digress. Back to Friday night.
My friend Michael and I cruised into the venue around 10:45 p.m. After fighting my way to the bar and through the doorway into the next room, I got my first glimpse of Zoso performing.
Song-by-song we crept closer to the stage, soon realizing that we would be better suited in the balcony. From there, we could hear the band much better.
I must admit they did have their chops down. It’s was obvious that Edwards, along with the rest of the band — bassist Adam Sandling, guitarist Mike Morgan and drummer Greg Thompson — grew up listening to Led Zeppelin and genuinely loved playing their songs.
Edwards’ voice is spot on Robert Plant. Sandling’s bass and keys are solid and fluid, just like John Paul Jones. Morgan’s masterful playing recreates Jimmy Pages signature style and tones. Playing drums with spirited intensity, Thompson provides the much needed power of the late John Bonham.
His drum kit is set up just like Bonham’s was. He even has the freakin’ gong!
Being a tribute band, Zoso not only wants to rock you out on some Zeppelin tunes, they want to recreate the whole Led Zeppelin concert experience, which is in itself a very tough thing to pull off.
A tribute band must get into character for two hours a night and be those rock stars, only to go back to being non-famous musicians who pack up and move their own gear. No girls, no good drugs, no mud sharks, just you and your band mates packed in a van on your way to the next show or the nearest HoJo.
Part of being a two hour temp rock star involves having the look down. Some do, some don’t.
Two tribute acts that definitely have the look down are 1964-The Tribute (early Beatles) and Hotter Than Hell (Kiss). Their task of looking the part comes easy though. Just about anybody could throw on a mop top wig and a black suit or three-inch platforms and makeup and make a convincing visual argument.
While the look helps to sell a tribute act it’s not always necessary.
The best tribute I ever witnessed was Denny Diamond at East Nashville’s Slow Bar a couple years ago. Denny vaguely resembled Neil Diamond but it didn’t really matter.
The first time he played, he sang karaoke-style over prerecorded Neil Diamond tracks, which made the performance that much more kitschy and wonderful. Blown away by Denny’s voice and the crowd’s frenzied reaction, Robert Reynolds of The Mavericks and Swag decided to recruit some of his Music Row cronies to be Denny’s local house band upon his next return.
The result was glorious. I felt a moment of cosmic clarity during “Forever in Blue Jeans” as I danced and sang nudged between some smokin’ Vandy girls, a couple of indie rockers and a group of women old enough to be my mother.
Sorry. Back to Friday night.
Regardless of a tribute act’s resemblance to the actually band, what is important is that they try to go for the look. I have to give it to Zoso for trying.
Matt Edwards seemed a bit tall to be Robert Plant and I kept wondering if his blonde curls were benefited by a relationship with an L.A. hairdresser.
Speaking of hair, Adam Sandling seems to have eschewed the idea of wearing the Prince Valiant style preferred by John Paul Jones and went for the Hard Rock everyman mane. Mike Morgan mildly resembles Jimmy Page, albeit the middle-aged version. Greg Thompson was however spot on with his Bonzo look. His greasy locks and handlebar ‘stache made him the perfect counterpart to his Zeppelin doppelganger.
These minor visual discrepancies aside, Zoso does have the music of Led Zeppelin down. Not only were the songs performed to exact perfection, but you could actually hear the individual abilities and collective organic interplay of the four.
Zoso is more than a mere tribute; they are a collection of four really passionate musicians.
The real winners of the night were the true die hard Zeppelin fans. While Zoso played most of the hits, they also delved deep into the Led Zeppelin catalog and played many songs that casual listener like myself were oblivious to. True fans were in ecstasy.
The show seemed like a collective success for Zoso, the fans, Gatsby’s and local promoter Ansley Roberts.
Given this, surely the band will return to Johnson City the next time they tour through the Southeast.
I recommend checking them out, regardless of your knowledge of Led Zeppelin. It’s the next best thing to actually living in the ’70s.

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