Taking their name from a famous lyric from the most famous song of one of rock’s most famous bands,
Bustle in Your Hedgerow recently brought their A-game to Hollywood to light up the Knitting Factory‘s main stage with two searing sets of Led Zeppelin music. And the Ice Cream Crew was lucky enough to be on hand for the treat (thank you Wagatail Productions!)
Bustle in Your Hedgerow is comprised of innovative instrumental rockers the Benevento/Russo Duo (drummer Joe Russo and organist Marco Benevento), former Particle guitarist Scott Metzger and Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz. From time to time the quartet gets together to wow audiences with surprisingly authentic Led Zeppelin songs.
Having never heard of any of these musicians before, I admit I was a little skeptical heading into this performance. Sure, everyone likes Led Zeppelin and most musicians can play “Stairway to Heaven”, but come on, this is Led Zeppelin– seminal rock legends, the original hard rock band, progenitors of album rock, and harbingers of the rock star stereotype-what can one reasonably expect from a Led Zeppelin cover band? Apparently, quite a bit.
Bustle opened the show with the cutting riff of “Good Times, Bad Times”, immediately impressing and seducing the audience. Everything-drums, guitar, rhythm, melody, and adoring crowd were dead on. The only thing missing was Robert Plant, whose role was skillfully recreated via Benevento’s organ virtuosity; a clever twist given Plant’s unique voice. Bustle in your Hedgerow does not sing, they just rock. But this is not elevator music; playing the vocals on organ clearly demonstrated how a vocal melody is not just poetry, but music-another instrument in Zeppelin’s deep bag of tricks, which was particularly apparent when Benevento played Plant’s wails on “Immigrant Song”.
The mixed crowd of 20, 30, 40, and 50-somethings loved the wild live ride down memory lane as the band blazed through such favorites as “Ramble On”, “Heartbreaker”, “Thank You”, and more. Bustle’s rendition of “Dazed and Confused” nearly brought the crowd to its knees with its long, lingering, bluesy guitar licks; the absence of lyrics calling that much more attention to Metzger’s powerful guitar playing (not to mention Jimmy Page’s skills).
After energizing the crowd with raucous versions of familiar favorites, the band brought the energy down a notch with a perfect rendition of “All of My Love”, not missing a note. But the respite was short lived as Russo nailed the distinctive drum beat lead-in to the heralded “When the Levee Breaks”, a crowd (and personal) favorite; with Benevento expertly playing the harmonica part on organ.
Though Led Zeppelin’s music is ubiquitously familiar and their history is the stuff of myriad rock legends, it’s no small feat to pull off two full sets of their music to discriminating fans in the heart of Hollywood. Bustle in Your Hedgerow’s performance was great fun that inspired me to go home and spend the rest of the week listening to Led Zeppelin.
