Another awesome night of killer music at Berbati's Pan in downtown Portland, with Zepparella headlining. What a show! If you've never seen Zepparella live, it needs to be placed on your "Things to do before you die" list! Being a big fan of Led Zeppelin, I was totally floored with how well the all-female Zep-tributers Zepparella rocked the sounds. The guitarist, Grechen, played just like Jimmy Page. Bassist Nila and Drummer Clementine rocked it the same way! I couldn't believe the way Clementine was playing the living hell out of those drums! She is one of the best drummers and performers I've seen. Put it this way, if I had a band, I'd recruit ALL of Zepparella to play with me. Vocalist, Anna, had her own style and made the songs her own, all the while honoring the great Robert Plant. Zepparella sat and had a drink with us, and shared that they, too, were big fans of Zeppelin, obviously. Very classy act. I'll definitely be going to see Zepparella whenever they are performing close to Portland. You can find out more about Zepparella by visiting their website.
The opening band was one of Portland's own, The Freemartins. Skipp, Thadeus, Tobe, Tom 'Boy', and Barbara put on a great show. I loved the upbeat rock and roll and the flair they had for showmanship. One thing that I noticed was really cool: the band often switched instruments with one another and lead vocals as well, showing that they are a very versatile and talented group. The big guns came out when Barbara let her voice rip and sang Jefferson Airplane's 'Somebody to Love'. She nailed it. Not everyone can get away with singing that song and doing it justice. Barbara did. She's got one hell of a voice and when she lets it rip, it rips to shreds. The band already sounds great with Skipp as the lead, but together with Barbara, they are a force to be reckoned with. The band says that we will be seeing and hearing a lot more from Barbara. I hope so because she's got a wicked voice and I love to hear it with all the band rocking loud and hard, as they did tonight. I will definitely go see them again, and I'm excited to hear what comes next. Portlanders, support your local bands. They rock and make us proud. You can find out more at their website.
