Get the Led Out cranks out the hits of Led Zeppelin
Photo by Lisa Schaffer
Lead singer Paul Sinclair, left, and guitarist Paul Hammond play the music of Led Zeppelin in Get the Led Out.
Paul Sinclair, left, and Paul Hammond, revisiting the works of Led Zeppelin in Get the Led Out.
Photo by Lisa Schaffer
Bassist Phil D’Agostino and drummer Adam Ferraioli at a Get the Led Out performance.
Photo by Lisa Schaffer
ON THE COVER: An acoustic set in a Get the Led Out performance.
Bassist Phil D'Agostino and drummer Adam Ferraioli play in Get the Led Out.
Paul Sinclair, left, and Paul Hammond in Get the Led Out.
The music of Led Zeppelin has endured for more than 50 years, but the band itself came and went in a little more than a decade.
That means there are a lot more people out there who wish they could have seen Led Zeppelin live than actually did. The reluctance of surviving members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to reunite beyond a couple of one-off performances has almost certainly helped fuel a thriving industry of Led Zeppelin tribute acts that criss-cross the United States and Europe. Even Jason Bonham, the son of late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, fronts a tribute band.
If you need any evidence of how robust the market is for Led Zeppelin tribute acts, Exhibit A would be the fact that two of them will be playing in the Pittsburgh area this weekend – the all-female Lez Zeppelin will be at the Oaks Theatre in Oakmont on Saturday, and Get the Led Out will be at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg on Friday and Saturday.
Many of the Led Zeppelin tribute bands seek to not only faithfully replicate classic-rock standards such as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Kashmir” and “Black Dog,” but also adopt the skin-tight-jeans-and-open-shirts look of the band in its full 1970s glory. Get the Led Out takes a different approach. It has six members rather than Led Zeppelin’s four, and no one tries to play dress up when they’re in the spotlight, or attempt English accents. Instead, Get the Led Out dives deep into the band’s eight-album catalog, pulling out obscurities along with the hits, and trying to capture the complexity and textures that they brought to their studio work.
Paul Sinclair, the band’s leader and singer, explained by phone from his Philadelphia-area home last week that he and his bandmates are committed to “keep this music alive in a concert setting.”
“I think about how someone was moved by Beethoven, Mozart and Bach, who lived through that era,” Sinclair added. He pointed out that musicians still revisit the works of classical masters and “that’s not really that much different from what we’re doing today.”
The first time Get the Led Out played before the public was a little more than 19 years ago, so the group has far exceeded the lifespan of Led Zeppelin. Get the Led Out has played more than 1,000 shows, while the number of concerts Led Zeppelin played before they folded the tent in 1980 is said to be more than 600. In fact, if they make it to the 24-year mark, Get the Led Out will have been around twice as long as the band they pay tribute to.
A template for Get the Led Out, Sinclair explained, is the group the Fab Faux. Founded by Will Lee, the bassist for “The Late Show with David Letterman,” the Fab Faux plays the music of the Beatles, but they do so without putting moptop wigs on their heads or donning “Sgt. Pepper” outfits.
“I’d rather put the time into honing the music,” Sinclair said. “Nobody in this band set out to be in a tribute band for their career. It just turned into this wonderful option for these guys. We’re out there keeping (Led Zeppelin’s) legacy alive.”
Showtimes are 8 p.m. both days. For tickets or information go online to thepalacetheatre.org or call 724-836-8000.