Bootled Zeppelin – 16th December 2023 – Half Moon Putney – Live Review
I’ve been a Led Zeppelin fan since I don’t know when, but was never able to see them live. I love their studio albums, but it’s live where they are able to express themselves and when they improvise, it’s how they perform best.
While it may amaze the younger reader but I’m not old enough to have seen Led Zeppelin live, so when I get the opportunity it’s great to see them in a live setting.
The Half Moon Putney used to be where bands like U2, The Who and the Rolling Stones played early gig. Now it’s a place to see some of the best bootleg bands around, having seen bootleg versions of Marillion, Rush and now Led Zeppelin this year.
Bootled Zeppelin are pretty much the real deal, OK I could make some suggestions to smooth some of the rough edges but let’s be fair. If you squinted it could have been the real thing, pretty much note for note and beat for beat.
They played a Friday and Saturday night headline set; we just went on Saturday and it was full.
Talking to some of the fans outside, one woman said “they are great, I’ve seen them many times, the lead singer is fit, he looks just like Roger Daltry.” I wasn’t sure if she meant he looked like Roger (he didn’t) or she thought Roger Daltry was the lead singer of Led Zeppelin (he isn’t).
That said, Luke Ward the singer of Bootled Zeppelin looks the part, with his long hair, open shirt and medallion. The audience clearly noticed his jeans were tight and he had a couple of comments as to how he, let’s say, dressed. I have to admit, he missed the lyrics a number of times. Where he was comfortable with the words, on songs such as “in the evening” and the opener “good times, bad times.” On some song “Kashmir” for example, he struggled. You could see, where he was comfortable with the words he relaxed and was more “rock god”, when he stumbled on the words his energy was focused on that, rather than strutting on the stage.
CJ Evans was on drums while Mat Martin, their regular drummer has to undergo major surgery. CJ came in early once and spotted his mistake otherwise he was faultless, even played “Moby Dick” beat by beat. What made his performance was that he smiled and looked like he was enjoying himself.
Raff the guitarist, played everything, note for note, there was only one place where he missed moving back from 12 string to 6 string for one bar during “Stairway to Heaven”. Otherwise, faultless. I also loved the 1970s Jimmy Page costume.
Sorry, didn’t get the name of the John Paul Jones bassist / keyboardist and while he never smiled, apart from playing “Fairytale of New York” as part of a keyboard solo, I guess he played the part of JPJ perfectly. He never seemed to smile. Pity he tended to play the bass turned towards the band rather than the audience.
All that said, if you went and watched a Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John-Paul Jones reunion would it be 100% perfect? Of course not, and my recommendation is if you get a chance to see Bootled Zeppelin go, enjoy yourself and be entertained.
The set list, which I apologise is not in the right order, is a brain dump and totally from memory was
Good times, bad times
10 years gone
No quarter
Kashmir
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Achilles last stand
White summer
When the levee breaks
Intermission
In the evening
Dazed and confused
Moby Dick with drum solo
Stairway to heaven
Whole lotta love
Encore
Rock n Roll
Tim Hughes | Now Spinning Magazine
