Concert review: Fort Worth Symphony - The Music of Led Zeppelin at Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie (March 6)

by Travis Bush

Travis Bush

Fort Worth Symphony at the Nokia Theatre -- March 6, 2009

My memories of the symphony mainly revolve around being in grade school. These were fairly excruciating moments, having to sit still through an entire performance without so much as one outburst or sign of misbehavior, but much to my surprise as a kid, it didn't kill me. Although I have been many times since then, last night is a new and pleasant memory for me. I had free tickets to see the Fort Worth Symphony perform at Nokia Theatre. I hadn't been to Nokia and didn't really know what to expect. My first thought, after paying $15 for parking, was that the architecture was quite nice. The complex itself is huge, but this is a good thing. There wasn't a huddled mass of freaks waiting to see the show milling along in packed spaces, nor were the lines unbearable when waiting to purchase a $7 beer. Off to a good start and we were seated close to the outside smoking section, so definite bonus there..

Let's start with the vocalist. Randy Jackson has one of those voices that is pleasant on the ear. Melodious and not the raspy, crackling sound you get from many vocalists who sing rock. Although he sounded very similar to Robert Plant, I thought he sounded a whole lot like Geddy Lee, from Rush. He hit the high tones without wavering. My favorites included "Immigrant Song" and "Kashmir", both of which gave him ample opportunity to hit the vocal peaks. There were moments though when I thought his delivery was a bit robotic. Maybe this was from doing a ton of these performances over and over again, but it was only a minor distraction. He also played acoustic guitar with impeccable timing, sometimes a little louder than the orchestra, but overall it complemented and stayed true to the Zeppelin sound.

Tom Jones and Dan Clemens rocked the guitars! The bass-lines were tight and the electric guitar sang out and played off the orchestral accompaniment like they had been jamming together the way old friends do. I think may favorite from both of them was "I'm Gonna Crawl" and "Black Dog". Both have that blues quality that is well suited for the guitar man to show his stuff. No dancing around, no smashing guitars, just solid licks and you could tell they were enjoying themselves.

Powell Randolph. Can he play the drums! One of the big worries I had at the beginning was that the band would drown out the symphony, which is what I had really come to hear. I mean, if I want to hear some cheesy cover band, there are plenty of those around Dallas. Anyway, he obviously has the bass drum dialed down and this was a good thing. I think it was "Black Dog" that he did his solo on, and it was one of those moments where a musician is handed the keys to the kingdom and he blows the gates wide open. He went from the sticks to his hands, first pounding on the kit and cymbals and then switching over to his bongos. I don't know how long he went on, but he got the biggest standing ovation of the night and it was well deserved.

I do believe I've become a fan of the electric violin! It may be that a combination of things, but Allegra put on one heck of a show. Not only is she easy on the eyes, but she was all over the stage. Her contribution brought a new edge to "The Ocean". She played right off the entire violin section the whole night, digging for that electronic edge that her instrument brought to the show. You can really tell when a performer enjoys what they do and her smiling face proved this over and over again. When she switched sides of the orchestra the sound was noticeably different, bringing with her movements, some new sound to think about and experience.

Not sure what I can say about Brent Havens and the orchestra players, except it was great fun and mesmerizing to watch them play along with the band. I think I especially enjoyed the flutist. You could hear the melody high above the rest of the music of "The Rain Song" and it "pulled at the heart strings" as it were. You can see why bands would want orchestral accompaniment for their music. It definitely brings rock and roll to a new place and is thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

As a side note, the only thing I didn't particularly enjoy was bringing the cop onstage from Hurst. Apparently she was named officer of the year and this allowed her to insert herself into the experience. Needless to say, this intrusion wasn't received well by all in attendance, including yours truly. She pretended to conduct while dancing in place on the conductor's platform. Yeah, let's all clap for the police.

Overall, I had a good time and really enjoyed the fusion of the symphony and band. As far as the Nokia goes, I'll probably go back and see more events there, although it is a bit pricey and one wishes they would rethink the whole pay for parking notion. If you want people to come and spend money, why gouge them before they even make it through the door?

This article was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.