Words: Alex Borsody

Images: Rob Chapman

Bustle In Your Hedgerow continues to win fans with their sporadic gigging since coming together in 2003. Formed off the solid core of Joe Russo and Marco Benevento, they brought in friends Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Scott Metzger on guitar to form an epic Led Zeppelin cover band. The catch is that they play the songs in a completely new way, incorporating organ funk and jazz to create unique renditions of familiar rock standards. I got a chance to check them out at Brooklyn Bowl, a venue that sits in the heart of Williamsburg, across the street from a famous street art installation.

[All photos by Rob Chapman]

The show was 21 and up, as are many of the shows at the venue featuring jazz or funk influences and the place was still full of people. Over The Hills And Far Away was one of the highlights of the first set and featured an intro with Russo on vocals. These were the only vocals of the night and segued into Benevento’s melodic organ playing followed by one of the longest jams of the first set.

The set break saw hipster liaison Marco Benevento introducing the band, saying “if there was a magazine called Jersey’s Finest we would all be on the cover every month,” referring to the band’s Garden State origins.

Ramble On has perhaps one of the most memorable and melodic bass lines of all time. It is difficult to keep the melody and rhythm in sync and it took Dave Dreiwitz a little while to find the groove to the song. To his credit trying to keep up with John Paul Jones is not easy. The song climaxed with a solo from Benevento. You Shook Me was very bluesy and saw the guitar replacing Jimmy Page’s vocals. The five minute drum solo on Moby Dick, had Russo doing his best John Bonham.

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The show ended with a gloriously long version of What Is And What Never Should Be, Scott Metzger played a great blues guitar and for this song and he brought out the slide. A slide often seems like a gimmick but Metzger is obviously a student of the blues and even in standard tuning, played it great. Gibsons create a great sound for slide with the Humbucker pickups. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Bustle, be sure to catch them the next time they announce a gig.

Set 1
Custard Pie, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, When The Levee Breaks, Over The Hills And Far Away, Out On The Tiles, Dazed And Confused, Wanton Song, Fool in The Rain, Immigrant Song

Set 2
Kashmir, You Shook Me, Celebration Day, For Your Life, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, Ramble On, Moby Dick, Bring It On Home, The Song Remains The Same

Encore: What Is And What Should Never Be

Alex Borsody

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