The Halloween tradition of musicians coming together to impersonate legendary bands of the past was taken to another level this past week at The Camel. The best Led Zeppelin tribute band in RVA THE WORLD, Zep Replica, took the stage in full regalia to perform note-perfect versions of some of the Led's best-loved tunes. And fortunately for all of us, RVA Magazine photographer Todd Raviotta was there to document it all.
Zep Replica consists of some of the local scene's most talented musicians, including Travis Tucker of The Animal Beat on vocals, Charlie Glenn of The Trillions on guitar, jazz musician/film composer Stephen Frost on bass, and at least for this set, You Guys Are Girls drummer Kevin Willoughby. The guys pulled out all of the stops, rocking wigs, period-appropriate clothes, and stage poses cribbed straight from How The West Was Won to give the ultimate experience of seeing Led Zeppelin in their prime, live on the stage of a small club.
Todd's recording of these tunes is a little bass-heavy, but it's still well worth listening to, as even with a slight rumble on the bottom end, the band sounds great. Plus, this way all of us who were making the scene at one of the many other Halloween parties happening around town that night can find out what we missed--and those of us who were there can relive what we were probably too drunk to remember the first time anyway. Enjoy!
Zep Replica - The Song Remains The Same from Todd Raviotta on Vimeo.
Zep Replica - When the Levee Breaks from Todd Raviotta on Vimeo.
Zep Replica - Communication Breakdown from Todd Raviotta on Vimeo.
Words by Andrew Necci
Still and Moving Images by Todd Raviotta (naturalscienceproductions.tumblr.com)