's Led Zeppelin Experience doesn't set out to convert anyone to the cult of Led Zeppelin, but they certainly leave a crowd rabidly ready to renew their membership.
Initially, with doors only opening at 8, the prompt 9pm start time seemed to throw a few people off. Following a heartwarming video and voice-over intro about the early years of John Bonham (Jason's father) that ended with Jason saying "this is my story", the band rocketed into Zeppelin's opening standard, Rock n Roll.
But either the crowd wasn't ready for the wall of sound, or they weren't drunk enough.
Tentative head nods to the next two songs (Celebration Day and Your Time Is Gonna Come) were all the audience seemed willing to give into, and the band seemed equally imprisoned by the music following the LP experience note by pitch-perfect note.
Jason would pause every few songs to speak directly to the audience about how unassuming it was growing up a child of Led Zeppelin, joking at one point, "He was just dad It wasn't like he was in the Beatles!" but then cheekily alluding to his dad's Seattle shenanigans involving . And of the countless Led Zeppelin cover bands around the world, that is what makes this one special and superior.
If the audience was shy at first, finally something shifted. John Bonham is widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers of all time. More than 30 years after his sudden death at the age of 32, Bonham still garners praise recently taking first place in Rolling Stone's 2011 reader's pick of Best Drummer of All Time. And for the first half of the show, it was a tribute to his greatness.
Then came Moby Dick.
There was only ever one drum kit in the Bonham household, and Jason revealed to the crowd that he had never had the chance to actually play side by side with his father before he died. But thanks to the wonders of technology, John Bonham's image appeared on screen behind Bonzo Jr., and the virtual drum duel began.
It was eerie (considering the father on screen looks so young and never got close to the age his 46-year-old son is now) and it was emotional. It was ground-shaking. It was lean forward, take-your-ear plugs-out-and-rub-your-eyes amazing. It was so. Fricken. Cool. And cut to intermission. Wow.
The mixed bag crowd was wired now. Women aged 20 to 75 were trading first names and special cigarettes in the bathroom while security monitored activity in the men's (which had a line stretching out the door!). Everyone peered eagerly as the clock next to the stage counted down to act two.
And the second half was scorching. The original Zeppelin took sweeping liberties with its live delivery and JBLZE played with that in mind. Jason's beaming grin was coming quick and often between fills now. And the range of lead singer James Dylan (a guy Jason "found on the internet") was positively unleashed as the band, anchored by veteran guitarist Tony Catania, ripped off renditions of Since I've Been Loving You and When The Levee Breaks.
This was a crowd that could sing along with even the most obscure set list. And while the music had been with us the whole time, now the "experience" part was coming alive.
Rare, private footage kept reminding us that this isn't just any Led Zeppelin tribute, but Jason Bonham's: him as a kid, doing a goofy dance while John and his wife, Pat, look on, smoking and laughing, had the audience shaking their heads at the surrealism.
And after two and a half hours, a sweating smiling band stepped back. Thanking the crowd profusely for the love, Jason, visibly moved, shouted into the mic, "The more noise you make, the longer we play," before making an encore exit, and coming back quickly to satisfy with "Whole Lotta Love."
A cover band they may be, but doesn't set out to overshadow the music, or the personalities of the band they pay homage to. They also don't attempt to look like '70s rock gods. It's just an honest sum of its parts: the son of a famous drummer, the too-soon end to one of the greatest bands of all time, and some of the most timeless music ever written for the live stage.
Played well and played true (with a little spin thrown in), what Jason Bonham has done for fans, and for his father's legacy, is priceless. If John Bonham were still alive, he'd still be playing music for us, but as long as we keep asking for it, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience will deliver.
