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| Michael White and Brian Wall performing Led Zeppelin III |
February 11 2012 – Michael White and The White performed the third part of their Led Zeppelin discography series Saturday night at The Sound Academy. The band began the aural journey back in October 2011 with Led Zeppelin I (reviewed here) and continued with Led Zeppelin II (reviewed here) last month.
Led Zeppelin III was the first album I ever bought (more for the psychedelic cover than anything else) and it had a profound impact on my life as a young teen. It’s still the Zeppelin album I’d choose to take to a desert island so I was eagerly anticipating the chance to see The White perform it live [Ed note – Trust me, Steve really does love this album] . Led Zeppelin III was written after 15 hard months on the road in the US and Canada, spanning 5 different tours and of course, writing, mixing and releasing their first 2 albums. Exhausted, the band retreated to a cottage in the Welsh countryside called Bron-Yr-Aur. With no power available at the cottage, the band played acoustically and explored a softer side. With its textured layers of overdubbed guitars it would be a tough album for The White to pull off live.
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| Michael White and the White |
Since Michael White and The White performed Led Zeppelin II out of order last month, we didn’t know what to expect on this night. They launched the show in order of tracks on the album with The Immigrant Song leading off and Michael hitting all the high notes. He was, however, somewhat let down by the sound on the vocals which could barely be heard above the guitar. White gestured several times to someone for more volume on the vocals and it did improve shortly, a fitting irony of Plant’s lines in Out On The Tiles “There is no doubt about the words are clear, The voice is strong, is oh so strong.”
Guitarist Dano Murray was in fine form ranging from an extended Page-esque solo closing out The Immigrant Song before moving onto an electric guitar version of Friends. Reminiscent of Eric Clapton in The Last Waltz, Murray lost his guitar strap early in Celebration Day, but ever the pro, he promptly fixed it and proceeded to pump out a blistering rendition of the song. Moving right into Since I’ve Been Loving YouMurray’s fingers were a blur on the fretboard during another incredible solo. Bassist Davin Goudie and drummer Brian Wall had the rhythm section in a tight groove all night.
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| Davin Goudie and Dano Murray |
The set continued with Out On The Tiles, a great straight ahead rocker, followed by Led Zeppelin’s arrangement of Leadbelly’s Gallow’s Pole. The psychedelic Tangerine, a song from Zeppelin’s Yardbirds origins rocked and then we get to Hats Off To (Roy) Harper. This may have been the low point of the night but The White is not to be blamed for that. This song is almost unlistenable in my opinion, it’s truly a mystery how that song made it onto the album at all when they had so many other songs available at the time (and which appeared on later albums).
Murray switched to an acoustic guitar and Goudie switched to mandolin for That’s The Way. With Goudie back on bass, they closed the album with the highlight of the night, a rollicking version of Bron-Y-Aur Stomp that had the full house crowd clapping in unison with Murray wailing away on the acoustic guitar, his fingers again a blur up and down the fretboard.
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| Michael White at his best |
Once the album was finished, they continued with a brilliant version of Dazed and Confused. Murray’s performance with the violin bow was light years ahead of earlier performances and kudos to him for nailing it on this night. Ramble On was followed by Moby Dick, John Bonham’s, and now Brian Wall’s, signature piece. Wall’s brilliant thunderous drum solo on Moby Dick has me eagerly anticipating The White’s next show when they’ll perform the untitled fourth album. Some of Bonham’s best work was on that album, Rock and Roll, Four Sticks and the song that most epitomizes Bonzo’s sound, When The Levee Breaks, a song best played at eleven.
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| Brian Wall – Moby Dick |
Bring It On Home and Whole Lotta Love closed out the show with an expanded four part youth string section helping out (and sounding great) on Kashmir, the encore (though Michael never actually left the stage).
It even smelled like a Zep show. Anyone who ever went to the Danforth Music Hall to see The Song Remains the Same back in the day would have felt right at home.
Overall, the performance exceeded expectations and sounded great. Like last time, Michael White and The White left the crowd wanting more and more is right around the corner. The landmark Led Zeppelin IV is up next on Friday, April 13th. That’s a show no Led Zeppelin fan should miss. You can get on the guest list by sending a note to Micheal White on Facebook and tell him T-Mak World sent you. If April is too far away for you you can take a break from the Discography series and catch the band’s production of Orchestral Zeppelin (Featuring the Symphony of Rock Youth Orchestra) at the Danforth Music Hall on March 3rd – tickets are available here.
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| Dano Murray |
Verdict: As usual Michael White and The White kicked ass. Do not miss a chance to see this band.
Review by Steve Mallinson, Photos by Terry Makedon
Check out our reviews of others shows in the Michael White and The White’s Led Zeppelin Discography Series:
Sounds like a great show, love Zeppelin!
They are so good!!! Love all of You guys!!