When thinking of orchestral performances, one possibly thinks of stiff, formal environments that have a dress requirement of dresses and tuxedos. Visions of aloof, almost militant conductors with long tails on their suits also come to mind. However, after attending the Louisville Orchestra’s pops season event “The Music of Led Zeppelin”, it became very obvious that even the prestigious Louisville Orchestra and their devoted following could let their hair down and rock and roll for one evening Admittedly, I was unsure of how the Orchestra would pull off an arrangement of Led Zeppelin tunes. I had so many questions prior to the performance.
How would they incorporate Robert Plant’s vocals, which are so integral to the music? How would they incorporate the masterful guitar work of Jimmy Page? Would the percussion section be able to live up to John Bonham? Where would the bass come in at? And most importantly, how would they lose the air of formality in order to truly provide a Led Zeppelin experience? What I failed to ask or consider is whether the stereotypically strict dress code would still be required at such an event. Must to my chagrin, the answer was yes. It was almost mortifying to be one of four people in the theater to be wearing jeans, a tshirt, and boots.
The other attendees were wearing nothing less than their absolute best wardrobe. Not only did I qualify as the worst dressed concert goer, but I was easily the youngest person there. My boyfriend, who accompanied me to the concert, and I were the only people under 40 that I seen. This factor, I think is what led to the ushers dismissing us after a guiding us to our seat without handing us a program. Despite the age difference between myself and the audience, this concert is one of the liveliest that I have attended in a very long time. The band was incredible and took great care to involved the audience in their performance.
It was at this concert that I witnessed something that I never thought that I would see before: an 80 year old woman head-banging to Led Zeppelin. It was light head-banging, mind you, but there was still grooving going on. However the lively show must have taken its toll on the elderly audience as the theater was considerably less full after the intermission. With that being said, head banging elderly folks were not the only oddities at this concert. Another is something I had never even realized was a possibility in an orchestral performance: a guest conductor.
While I unfortunately did not catch the name, nor was it written in the abandoned program that I had to snitch from under a seat, I gathered that the guest conductor was a generous donor to the Louisville Orchestra pops season. He also was not a legitimate conductor. Just when I thought that the Orchestra could not get anymore impressive, I then got to watch them perform a song entirely on their own with no conductor or time keeping at all. Another unexpected aspect of the show answered one of my previous questions that I had about the show.
When I wondered how the Orchestra would reinvent the sound of Jimmy Page’s guitar, I did not expect an electric guitar and an electric violin to be the answer. The electric violin was shaped like a flying V guitar, which is an appreciated pun that I am not sure the performer intended to make. In addition to this question, the problem of Robert Plant’s vocals were solved through the singer of a local cover band. While not spot on, the performer’s vocals were sensational enough to have the entire hall rocking. My only complaint was that it took a while to fully appreciate the traditional Orchestra.
To fully recreate the Led Zeppelin sound, a traditional rock band set up was arranged in the middle of the stage. The electric instruments and drum kit were enough to drown out the other instruments during most of the performance. It was only during certain part of songs, such as “Kashmir”, that it became easier to appreciate other instruments. All in all, the Louisville Orchestra was a fully enriching concert. It surprised me every step of the way and thoroughly destroyed any expectations I had of a stereotypical Orchestra. I am more than excited to attend another concert in the future.
