So what is it, exactly? Certainly his work goes well beyond imitation, staking claim in the uncanniest of valleys. It isn’t fair to say that Sakurai’s goal is indulgence. Should a tribute band, even a great one, have a similar privilege? Since at best Led Zepagain is still a carbon copy of the original, isn’t it better, and more lucrative, to do covers of the hits in digestible chunks? Led Zeppelin was Led Zeppelin and thus could indulge performative flights of fancy like 20-minute-plus Page guitar solos (which you better believe Sakurai can mirror near-perfectly). Montgomery ultimately lands on the side of perceived audience expectation. Whenever he gently but firmly schools Swan Montgomery, Zepagain’s Robert Plant avatar, in the minutiae of lyric pronunciation, you can sense awe and irritation battling for emotional primacy. Several times Sakurai talks about the Japanese resolve to do one thing extremely well - a steadfast combination of competitiveness and devotion that’s alien to many American sensibilities. There’s a fair share of tension underlying their bafflement, much of it cultural. A good chunk of the film follows Sakurai’s work with the tribute band Led Zepagain, the members of which often appear bemused by their bandmate’s dedication. Jimmy show and the confluence of icon and emulator (archive footage included in the doc reveals that Page was visibly ecstatic at this tribute) reoriented Sakurai’s career path.ĭowd just happened to discover Sakurai in the early days of his move from Japan to Los Angeles, where he aims to perform the Zeppelin catalog full-time. For 30 years, Sakurai, the son of a kimono maker, performed in Tokyo clubs to small, appreciative audiences. But it’s not just the music: Sakurai is also a student of Page’s very essence - how he dressed, how he moved, the instruments (down to their discrete mechanical components) that he used to conjure his particular magic. Sakurai can perform distinct note-for-note “live” versions from any era of Zeppelin you’d care to name. Think there’s only one way to play “Stairway to Heaven”? Think again. His passion is all-consuming, to a point that would shame, and perhaps alarm, even the most self-styled fanboy. Since the age of 19, Sakurai has been obsessed with Led Zeppelin, particularly the rock group’s virtuoso guitarist, Jimmy Page. Jimmy, which takes its title from Sakurai’s onstage moniker, he’s certainly worked hard to get to that point. And as shown in Peter Michael Dowd’s documentary Mr. It’s not quite right to call Akio Sakurai an impersonator.
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