Words by: Michael Bradley
Forty-five years since the passing of John Bonham – and subsequently the end of Led Zeppelin – the late drummer’s son, Jason, is bringing his dad’s music down under again. Aptly named Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening (JBLZE), the group’s shows are often jam packed with Zeppelin career highlights like Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, and Stairway to Heaven, as well as including often overlooked deeper cuts from the Rock Gods’ vast catalogue, ala Out on the Tiles and The Rover.
Their third time in Australia, these shows are different: celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin’s double LP studio release, Physical Graffiti, the band performs the record in its entirety in addition to playing some fan favourites as an added bonus. Extraordinarily, some of the tracks JBLZE perform were never performed live by Led Zeppelin themselves- this is your best bet to see them done the way they were intended!
Their first night on this Australian tour found them in Brisbane, playing at the Fortitude Music Hall. Before the show, hundreds of excited ticket holders queued down Brunswick Street as far as the eye could see. Once inside the venue, one of the first things you notice is John Bonham; Jason’s bass drum adorns the inimitable face of his father, a display of great pride and respect for the man who helped revolutionise drumming. The gravity of the situation is not lost on Jason– these are big boots to fill: John “Bonzo” Bonham is often referred to as the greatest rock drummer of all time! But from the first few notes, it’s quickly understood that Jason is the right (and definitely the only) man for the job.
The band comes on the stage and Jason jokes, “This is our third time here, which is better than Led Zeppelin; they only came once.” They launch into the first track from the album, Custard Pie, which then segues into the second, The Rover. They fly by, but from these first two songs, it’s clear that each member has been delicately chosen to pay homage to this music. On keys and rhythm guitar is Alex Howland, and on bass and mandolin is Dorian Heartsong. They each assist Jason in holding down the rhythm section and allowing space for guitar and vocals to shine.
Guitarist, Jimmy Sakurai, not only looks like Jimmy Page but plays like him, too. His approach to the instrument is the result of decades of practice and attention to detail. The way he can switch from a swaggering riff to a complicated, face-melting solo, and back again, before you realise what he just did, is more than impressive. Vocalist, James Dylan, has a gift which is incredibly hard to come by: Jason tells the audience that when Dylan first auditioned for him prior to the band’s creation, his jaw was left on the floor. His singing, along with everything else, replicates the Led Zeppelin studio and live sound to a tee.
Before the third song begins, Jason takes the mic to explain that although Physical Graffiti is being performed entirely, it won’t be in the order in which we expect. “We want to switch things up so you won’t sneak off to the bar when a song you don’t like is up next,” he muses.
The Wanton Song takes the place of In My Time of Dying which instead comes after. The latter is a true demonstration of the Bonham ability: throughout the 11 plus minute song with several tempo changes, his timing is impeccable. Jason never misses with the vitally seismic crashing of his cymbals and tom toms, replicating the sound of bashing on Heaven’s doors to be let in. Yet, he also knows not to be overzealous and play through the intended spaces of quiet. Mr. Jimmy delivers a stellar performance, complete with screeching slide guitar solos, which alone propels him as one of the guitar greats of the 21st century.
Houses of the Holy is preceded by Jason explaining to the audience that he used to ask his dad, “Why is Houses of the Holy on the Physical Graffiti album and not the Houses of the Holy album?” to which Bonzo’s reply was succinct: “Ask Jimmy.”
The next song changes the mood entirely. The band stand and watch in awe as Alex Howland plays an extended synthesiser solo as the intro to In the Light. It’s mystical and astonishing as a beam of light directs attention to the setup of keyboards and synths. After what seems like a religious experience induced by the eeriness shrouding the venue, Dylan comes in with the line, “And if you feel that you can’t go on…” It’s a highlight of a live music lover’s experience – the feeling is difficult to replicate by simply listening to the studio track alone.
Thrown into the mix comes the last track from the album’s original listing, Sick Again. Although one of those deeper cuts, it still gets the crowd moving, singing along and giving a great applause by the end. It features some of the heaviest hitting drum work of the evening as Jason beats the skins like they owe him money, something his dad was well known and respected for.
Another change to the show now comes when the roadies bring out seats for them to perform the acoustic part of the evening. Jason has methodically placed all of the acoustic tracks from the record back-to-back for the show. “If we play the acoustic songs in the order in which they appear on the album, we’ll be here all night changing instruments.”
The set commences with Bron-Yr-Aur, which sees Mr. Jimmy plucking away soothingly while accompanied by Dorian who uses a violin bow on his own acoustic to add the element of drama and crescendos. Next is Boogie with Stu, whereby something special happens: we get to hear Bonzo himself. Jason produces an Electronic Roland Sampling Pad, which he explains has thousands of sounds within, including his dad’s drumming. He hits the button and that honky tonk backing track begins, making the crowd scream in excitement. It’s wholesomely fun and interactive; we are all invited to clap along to the stripped-down, Southern-twinged track.
Jason also mentions that Phil Collins’ drumming is inside the Sampler and throws in a random anecdote for good measure: “When I was playing with Phil Collins, he sternly instructed me that when we do In the Air, he will play the famous drum fill, and I will not. He was very strict about this. But how can you tell a drummer with ADHD not to play that fill?! So, what did I do when we got to the fill? I played the fuck out of it!” The crowd laughed and continued listening eagerly. “Afterwards, he came over to me, put his hands firmly on my shoulders, and asked, “Did I tell you to play that?” “No,” I said. “So then why did you play it?” “Because I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance to do that.” Phil went quiet and his demeanour changed as he thought for a moment before concluding in accepted defeat, “Fair enough.””
Before Black Country Woman, Jason tells us the history of the song’s title. ‘The Black Country in England is a rough area, and so are their women. Half of Led Zeppelin, Robert and dad, were from the Black Country and I even married a Black Country Woman myself.” He adds that some other fabulous groups came out of the area such as Judas Priest, and he gives a special shoutout to “Geezer, Tony, Bill, Ozzy: Black Sabbath!” which causes the audience to erupt with cheers for the beloved band and their late front man, Ozzy Osbourne.
Giving more anecdotes before the next song, Jason teases, “I think Neil Young would do a great cover of this song.” As soon as they launch into Down by the Seaside, it’s immediately recognised how fitting this indeed would be for Young to cover – it would have been perfect for his album On the Beach which coincidentally came out around the same time as Physical Graffiti.
That concludes the acoustic segment of the show and they return to their respective places on the stage behind their powerfully loud electrified instruments.
The song to resume the intensity of the night is Night Flight, for which Mr. Jimmy breaks out the famous double-neck Gibson. It is pre-empted with Jason telling us that it was originally recorded for “Led Zeppelin IV” and contains something special. “That drum fill in there is the “Stairway” drum fill.” And after the song is over, he continues, “It was obviously dad’s new favourite fill he’d come up with at the time!”
What happens next is unexpectedly emotional. “The last time I saw my dad play the drums live was at Knebworth in ’79. When they played this song then, it should have actually been called Eleven Years Gone,” Jason sombrely shares. “It’s been 46 years since dad’s been gone. Can we show him some love?”
He ignites his phone torch, holds it towards the sky and begins waving it in time with the guitar intro to Ten Years Gone as a sea of phone torches held up high follows lead. I think it was the highlight of the night for most of us there, a unique moment in which we were able to share in Jason’s grief for the untimely loss of the legendary John Bonham. “You can also think about any loved ones you’ve lost.”
The entire song is magnificently performed, surreal with the phone torches lighting up the venue as if a thousand angels are floating above our heads. A real pièce de resistance.
To take us out of the bitter-sweetness is the high-driven banger, Trampled Underfoot. The band is so tight you could believe they are miming to a backing track! The effects on the keys and guitar are superb- both Alex and Mr. Jimmy’s solos complement each other perfectly. Dylan is especially good on here as it’s one of the more difficult-to-sing songs due to the higher registers and vocal-frying Robert Plant saturated the original track with. The energy now at a peak, we arrive to the final track to complete the Physical Graffiti album; the most popular from the record and also one of the most popular in Zeppelin’s entire catalogue, the spellbinding, otherworldly, Eastern influenced, Kashmir.
From the first downbeat by Bonham, the crowd goes wild and know they’re in for a treat- we have been spoiled rotten thus far; there’s no way we would be let down now! The performance is heavy, primal and dirty as hell. We don’t expect anything less yet are still amazed by this masterpiece. Dylan holds the mic out to let the crowd sing the iconic extended Robert Plant howls and no one is shy to give it their all.
Jason then admits that the next song isn’t one they perform often, that it’s a gift for his Australian fans. Good Times Bad Times is our surprise. The first and only time Led Zeppelin ever performed it was at the momentous 2007 reunion gig where Jason sat in for his dad. Again, this is special, and about as close as you can get to the real deal. The isolated bass sections are crisp and sound identical to the record.
Then, the long-awaited moment comes where one of the most instantly recognisable guitar riffs of all time blares over the speakers. Whole Lotta Love takes off like a bullet train, with the entire venue singing along. The dancing is now out of control and people are getting drinks spilled all over them – not that we really care by this point! After the applause dies down, Jason is honest with us: “It’s now time for an encore, but if I go offstage and sit down, at my age, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get up again or if I’ll put my back out.” He compromises by thanking us all for being a part of this, for allowing him to honour and continue his dad’s and Led Zeppelin’s legacy, and the band performs the last song of the night, Rock and Roll.
The classic Bonham heavy-hitting intro gets people jumping around and headbanging again as they powerhouse their way through the song. It’s the epitome of why people go out to these shows; to have a good time, not a “lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time”. The song finishes and the band looks out upon us beaming smiles of appreciation, waving their goodbyes, and throwing their picks out to the nosebleed section. People find their way out of the venue chatting loudly amongst themselves about how fucking great it was! I myself travelled over 1,700kms to get there and some others I bumped into said they flew all the way from Darwin just to experience it! The news is in: nearly 60 years since Led Zeppelin began, the fanbase is as strong and devoted as ever.
The shows on this tour are as much true to the original recordings as they are kept fresh with thrown in surprises; unexpected drum fills and improvisation of guitar, bass and keys help take the songs to new heights without detracting from the essence of what makes those songs stand the test of time. The whole show is kept genuine and intimate with Jason segueing one song to another through telling us historical facts about the music, funny personal stories about his dad, or whipping out his phone to video the audience ‘to prove to his grandkids that this many people come out to see him.’ It connects us on a deeper level to the music and the people who made it, reminding us that we’re all human and capable of such greatness.
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening isn’t only a must for any die-hard Zeppelin fan or lovers of classic rock, it’s for anyone who wants to have a care-free night of music and laughter.
Tickets via Metropolis Touring
Tuesday 14th – Wellington, New Zealand – The Opera House
Wednesday 15th – Auckland, New Zealand – Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre
Friday 17th – Brisbane, Australia – Fortitude Music Hall
Sunday 19th – Newcastle, Australia – Civic Theatre
Tuesday 21st – Sydney, Australia – Sydney Opera House
Thursday 23rd – Adelaide, Australia – Thebarton Theatre
Saturday 25th – Melbourne, Australia – Palais Theatre
