When you think of all the covers that Pavement would possibly consider play, anything from the Led Zeppelin songbook is probably pretty low down on the list. Which makes their cover of “Stairway to Heaven” at the pre-party for the Mosswood Meltdown Festival all the more surprising and unique.
After a performance of their “Harness Your Hopes,” the band slowly and, methodically started into the second part of “Stairway.” (The “if there’s a bustle in your hedgerow,” part.) But, instead of singing the actual lyrics, Stephen Malkmus starts singing a random assortment of lyrics, while guitarist Spiral Stairs plays a (mostly) in the right key lead. In short, it was a great Pavement version of the song. (You can check out fan-shot video of both songs below.)
The performance was the kick-off for the Mosswood Meltdown Festival, held in Oakland, California and hosted by filmmaker John Waters. Also on the bill were Iggy Pop, Bikini Kill and The Dead Milkmen. Pavement has a few more US shows on the books for this summer, wrapping up at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
