“I haven’t been this happy since Slavic Soul Party!” were the words of a satisfied patron at the ’Sco last Sunday night. If this wasn’t enough indication of the success of Lez Zeppelin’s set, the flailing limbs of the hyper audience and the mob around the merchandise table after the show left no room for doubt.

The all-female, Bonnaroo-bound cover band of the legendary Led Zeppelin has certainly done their homework, and all four talented musicians knew every nook and cranny of the original songs. Drummer Helen Destroy was especially impressive, embellishing her assault on the drums with perfected twirls of a drumstick and topping off the set with a feisty solo.

A puzzling element of the show was the band’s choice to play Led Zeppelin in its entirety. The crowd’s enthusiasm waned slightly after the first few songs, and I wondered why LZ, who must know the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue quite intimately, didn’t seem to understand that not every song is necessarily worth covering. The album format worked at points, most notably during the smooth transitions from “Your Time is Gonna Come,” through the instrumental “Black Mountain Side,” and coming back around into “Communication Breakdown.”

But during the overly drawn-out “Dazed and Confused,” a comparatively low point in the set, guitarist Steph Paynes and bassist/keyboard player Lisa Brigantino traded off a few uninspired solos and made weak attempts to engage with the crowd. In an interview with Brian Ibbott on his podcast “Cover to Cover” last June, I was surprised to hear LZ guitarist Steph Paynes say that the song had become a favorite to play, and that she felt it had “really evolved for us as a band.”

I had expected a band that covers such a legendary collection of music to focus on the songs that have stood the test of time. LZ played “Kashmir” and “Rock and Roll” in the encore, giving the audience a taste of what they hadn’t even realized they’d been missing during the rest of the show. Instead of some of the more forgettable tunes from Zeppelin, why not pull out the big guns and blow us away with “Black Dog” or “Over the Hills and Far Away?”

Though very proficient and endowed with Zeppelin-isms, the women of LZ (Destroy aside) were lacking a certain amount of the grit and raw emotion of which they seemed capable. They emanated the rock star vibe and had chops to back it up, but I was periodically struck by the feeling that lead vocalist Sarah McLellan was composing a mental grocery list.

With this somewhat mechanical stage presence, and the nondescript dynamic among the band members, I wasn’t surprised to find out how LZ came together. In  a June interview, Paynes said that the idea for the band was hers, and that she had embarked on a hunt for the other musicians.

Ultimately, Lez Zeppelin was born from a deep respect for the original. This came through at the ’Sco, and the crowd was enthusiastic throughout, but I suspect the group has had more inspired shows.

In the June interview, Paynes hints at a reason for the band’s success: “If it’s less like Led Zeppelin note-for-note, but powerfully emotive for each musician, it’s going to sound more like Led Zeppelin.”

Perhaps there was some very slight emotional disconnect within LZ on Sunday, which would explain why the show was good, but not great.