By: Maria Allard | Warren Weekly | Published January 21, 2025
WARREN — When Bryan Christiansen first heard Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” as a teen, it immediately grabbed his attention.
“This guy is the greatest guitar player,” he thought of axeman Jimmy Page. “The riff was just amazing with some killer vocals. I was just kind of baptized into Zeppelin so to speak.”
While there will never be another Led Zeppelin, Christiansen has banded together with other talented musicians to carry on the supergroup’s legacy. In 1998, he founded No Quarter, a Led Zeppelin tribute band that performs around the world.
For Led Zeppelin fans who never saw the band in its heyday, here’s your chance. No Quarter is coming to the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom Jan. 25, and they’re “gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove.” The Andiamo show is somewhat of an encore performance for No Quarter, which played a year ago at the 800-seat venue.
“The group was brought back because they were extremely popular with the audience members,” Joe Vicari Restaurant Group owner Joseph Vicari said in a prepared statement. “The music was spot on with Led Zeppelin’s.”
“We loved the place,” Christiansen said. “It had a good buzz and an excited crowd. Everyone was having a really good time.”
No Quarter, based on the West Coast, plays a full Led Zeppelin concert taking on the music, personas and look of the British quartet. Before going full throttle as Led Zeppelin, No Quarter had to get permission from the band.
On stage, Christiansen as Page — often dressed in a dragon-inspired jumpsuit — has sparks coming from his amps. Stepping into the mystique of vocalist Robert Plant is August Young hitting those high notes. Joel Pelletier recreates the talents of bassist/mandolin player John Paul Jones. The sonic booms heard on drums is Nathan Carroll echoing the force of John Bonham, who died in 1980, resulting in the band’s permanent breakup after a 12-year run.
But Led Zeppelin never really went away.
“The music is still alive today. We get on stage and we basically act out all the characters,” Christiansen said. “We walk on stage and perform the music the way they would. We do it note to note. We play it the way they played it. The music has to be there. That’s everything.”
For some rock fanatics, Led Zeppelin is the soundtrack of their lives. Whether the band was shaking the earth with its classic rock sound, bursting with a heavy blues vibe or feeling mellow with a song like “Going To California,” they lived up to their moniker “hammer of the gods.” No Quarter takes its on-stage personalities to heart. Christiansen even named the tribute band after a Led Zeppelin song, known for its haunting overtones.
“I study Jimmy Page, the look, the mannerisms. I think that’s important because that’s my character,” he said. “Fans really know their stuff and keep us on our toes. You get a lot of people that want the deep cuts. You got the classics like ‘Stairway To Heaven,’ ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love. We want to play what they know and what they like. It’s really fun to play. It’s never boring.”
For part of the show, No Quarter performs a mix of studio numbers. “Dazed and Confused,” for instance, is always popular with the crowd. Lately, one of Christensan’s favorite songs to replicate is “In My Time of Dying.”
“The power of that song blows me away. The way they rocked it up,” the guitarist said. “When we brought it into our set, the crowd reaction has been phenomenal.”
“When the Levee Breaks” is another highlight for the No Quarter founder.
“John Bonham launched into that with just an incredible groove,” Christiansen said. “I knew when he passed away Led Zeppelin was done. They had a psychic connection and you can’t bring someone in fresh and jump into it.”
No Quarter also brings its audience back to 1973 when Led Zeppelin performed three concerts at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. The footage eventually became the 1976 film “The Song Remains the Same.”
“It takes you right back to the Gardens,” Christiansen said. “It’s like you’re sitting in the fifth row.”
It’s hard for Christiansen to pick a favorite Zeppelin album. He’s a fan of “Led Zeppelin II” and “Led Zeppelin IV,” but “‘Physical Graffiti’ is probably my all-time go-to album,’” he said.
Although Christiansen never saw Led Zeppelin live, he made sure to attend a Page/Plant concert when the duo toured in the 1990s. That set the wheels in motion to form No Quarter.
According to Christiansen, No Quarter has been mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine and has played shows with many players from the rock world including Peter Frampton, Eddie Money, Tesla, Nazareth and Foreigner.
One highlight for Christiansen was performing at the Whisky a Go Go on the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. He said he stood in the same spot as Page did when the band came over from England to the U.S. in 1969.
No Quarter performs Jan. 25 at the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom. Doors open at 7 p.m. Showtime is 8 p.m. For ticket information visit andiamoshowroom.com or call (586) 268-3200.