The pilot of the airship was Jason Bonham, son of the band’s legendary drummer John Bonham and who replaced him on the drummer’s stool during the last three Led Zep shows.
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening is not just about nostalgia, it is simply the best way to appreciate the work of this legendary rock group. While waiting for Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who are all aged between 75 and 80, to perhaps decide to attempt one last tour, which would undoubtedly be among the most lucrative in history, or at all minus one last show.
As soon as the group begins, the tone is set: Bonham sits behind his drums where the bass drum is decorated with the face of his late father along with the album cover Houses of the Holy background.
Singer Dylan James and guitarist Jimmy Sakurai invoke Robert Plant and Jimmy Page very well. (Caroline Grégoire/The Sun)
Jimmy like Jimmy
The group immediately launches into the interpretation ofImmigrant Song, just to immediately bring the audience into the picture. We immediately see that the talent of Japanese guitarist Jimmy Sakurai is undeniable. He plays each piece to perfection and impresses throughout the show with his mastery of every detail of the notes originally interpreted by Page.
As for the singer Dylan James, he invokes an excellent Robert Plant, at least in terms of his high-pitched voice because his shaved head is still far from the blonde and curly mop of the Zeppelin singer. However, we are not at all in a copy or an imitation here, but rather in a unique experience which allows the spectator to rediscover the sound of this legendary group in its best years.
“I originally thought this show was about the relationship between me and my dad, but it’s really about the relationship between you and the music of Led Zeppelin”
— Jason Bonham
“I’m going to take you on a journey to a time when many of you had more hair, back in the days of eight-track tapes,” Bonham promised after completing Good Times, Bad Times.
Selected pieces
The show, lasting almost 2 hours 30 minutes, constitutes a series of pieces carefully chosen, mainly from Zeppelin’s first six albums. And don’t think the group took it easy. Of course you have to play Kashmir, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love And Rock ‘N Rollperformed in succession to conclude the show.
However, Black Dog And Heartbreaker are not included in the program, which still flows wonderfully well. A duo of acoustic pieces with Going to California And Hey, Hey, What Can I dothe B side of the singles Immigrant Songshows another side of Led Zeppelin than the big rock that we know well.
Anecdotes
The talkative and charismatic drummer also takes the time to explain how certain pieces were constructed or to tell anecdotes that occurred in the history of Led Zeppelin or between him and his father. We learn, for example, that it was his grandmother, Joan Bonham, who helped get his father John to play drumsticks by taking him to jazz clubs and insisting that the band’s leader let him play. install behind the battery.
Jason also recounts this episode where he had just bought a record of The Police and told his father that he was no better than Stewart Copeland. Far from being discouraged, John took him to see a Police show and even invited him backstage to meet Sting! “I saw Sting again for the first time two years ago and he told me I hadn’t changed!” laughs Jason.
As for the spectators, they very much reciprocated the love that the drummer and his acolytes gave them, rising to give Sakurai a standing ovation after his masterful rendition of Since I’ve Been Loving You or happily sharing the microphone with James on the essential Stairway to Heaven.
Jager Henry Bonham, Jason’s son, was responsible for opening for his father with his quartet. (Caroline Grégoire/The Sun)
Father and son
It’s definitely the week of father-son combos in Quebec because after Justin Morissette who opened for his father Louis’ comedy show on Tuesday, it was the turn of Jager Henry, yes yes, Jager Henry Bonham as in Jason’s son and John’s grandson, who was Jason’s opening act with his quartet.
In a completely different register, the young Bonham, who is a singer and not a drummer, performed some of his compositions which are more between pop punk, hardcore and emo than in the hard rock favored by his father and his grandfather.
Even though Jager Henry’s musical offering seemed more suited to an audience of millennials than Jason Bonham’s audience, which had a majority of baby boomers, the crowd responded very well, singing along and giving him very sincere applause. . Friendly, the young man with a very good voice knew that he was playing in a different register and had fun with it.
“I know it’s not to see me that you came here,” he indicated at the start of his performance before saying “Come see me after the show, but don’t punch me in the face.” wow… it’s already happened!” at the end of his time on stage. The audience appreciated his honesty and allowed themselves to be drawn into his world, with Jason Bonham saying he was moved by the reception his son received when he arrived on stage.
