First, some news from before the show. I did not pay the $166 price for the official ticketed meet & greet with Jason, but I met (and greeted!) him nevertheless - outside the venue on his way in from his tour bus. A few other guys were there with their Led Zeppelin LPs, a CD booklet from the In The Name of My Father - The Zepset disc, drumheads, etc. In retrospect, I probably should have brought the Third Eye O2 BluRay cover, but what I did bring was the CD booklet from the Black Country Communion album. This precipitated a conversation with Jason's assistant (spiky-blond-haired gentleman named Burly/Burley/or perhaps Buehrle, like the White Sox pitcher...).
Anyway, Jason and his assistant were both very pleased that I had brought this to get signed and made various remarks like, "oh - see this guy is up to date - he's got the current stuff..." When his assistant asked if I liked it, I replied in the affirmative. It really has grown on me quite a bit, and I definitely have no issues with Jason's drumming on it, so I was being honest. Then Buehrle told me that BCC will be doing another album and will be doing it very soon - either going into the studio again in the new year or actually coming out with the new album in the early part of next year - I wasn't clear on which, but it's more likely that they'll be going back into the studio in January. Jason confirmed this when I got to speak with him very briefly one-on-one. There were only four other guys there, but they kept asking him what the show was going to be like, which I found to be a waste of everyone's time since they'd find out for themselves in another three hours or so... oh well. Regarding BCC, it sounds like the band wants to have two albums' worth of material under their belt before they do a full-scale tour.
One anecdote from Jason regarding the rehearsals for the Ertegun tribute: apparently Jason was asking so many questions about Led Zeppelin that Jimmy Page compared him to a journalist and politely asked him to please shut up! Other than that, I didn't learn very much. Most of what he talked with the other fans about was the emotional nature of doing the show and how he integrated the various film clips. I was going to ask about those five or six songs that he had worked on with Page and Jones in 2008 or at least talk with him a little more about Black Country Communion, but it was obvious that he was being ushered into the venue. Plus, I imagine it's probably not good business strategy to essentially give away for free what you're asking other people to pay a good bit of money for (the meet & greet).
All in all, it was a great bonus to the whole trip. A couple hours later, I was inside the venue and looking for the restroom when I saw the 'official' meet and greet area curtained off, with Jason at a table signing drum heads and signing pictures for a fairly sizable group of people in a pre-gig reception. It looked a lot less cool than the kind of interaction I had outside the venue.
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Review/Analysis
...As for evaluating the actual performance, I'll qualify my remarks by disclosing the fact that I was in the front row and acknowledging that probably affected my impressions. I bought a ticket a week or so ago but decided to see what was available on the day of the show and ended up upgrading (not knowing it would be *that* much of an upgrade at the time). Unfortunately I forgot my earplugs and it was pretty damn loud sitting directly in front of the guitar amps. My right ear still hurts. Anyway - what I'm saying is that based on my positioning and the volume, I was not able to be as critical as I might have been if I was further away or could hear better and discern individual notes better without being blasted by a wall of sound (which is how it felt much of the time).
It sounded like lead vocalist James Dylan of Virtual Zeppelin did a fantastic job all night. This is not to say he was an auditory dead-ringer for Plant the whole night, but he sang his ass off. I've read some concerns about his ability to get through the entire tour singing this way because no one knows if his voice has been tested like this before, but I have to say that I was very impressed with his power and range. His best moments came during Since I've Been Loving You and Kashmir. Having seen each of the ex-Zeppeliners in concert at solo shows and then at the O2, there's always at least one or two goosebump-inducing moments. I wasn't sure I'd have that at this concert, but SIBLY provided a couple. Dylan's vocals/phrasing during Since I've Been Loving You were so close to what you hear from Plant on the third album that they defied belief. Incredible. This didn't happen with every song, but he's really got that one down. Similarly, Kashmir owed everything to Plant's delivery at the O2 and it was magnificent. I think Dylan's had a pretty fair amount of training and I bet he'll be fine through the end of the tour.
Lead guitarist Tony Catania was not perfect, but he was very good. He has studied Page's technique pretty closely and showed great enthusiasm for the music all night long. There were some missed notes, and sticky-fingered flubs at various times and the tone wasn't always right, but overall he's very competent and capable. Catania's playing was most impressive on Dazed and Confused, The Lemon Song, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, and Black Dog. He had a bit of trouble with Over The Hills and Far Away and some interesting choices in Stairway, but I didn't have any serious problems with his playing. He was infinitely better than whomever played Jimmy's parts in the "Led Zeppelin 2" tribute band.
I didn't pay close attention to bassist Michael Devin or keyboardist/lap steel/guitar player Stephen LeBlanc except during select moments during the show - they were on the other side of the stage from where I was - but they didn't hit any clunkers that made me whip my head over to them to cringe or drop my jaw in awe. Devin played well when I really noticed him during The Lemon Song and during Good Times Bad Times, so I think he was probably fine. I couldn't hear much of what LeBlanc did except Your Time Is Gonna Come, which was fine. When he was adding accents on acoustic and lap steel, it wasn't very audible to me.
To Jason's drumming - he did not disappoint. He has his own style still powerful, but more straight ahead with fewer fills than his dad, and when he does add fills, they're more labored, as in Kashmir for example. However, as weird as it is, one has to realize that he is now older than his father ever got to be, so who knows how quick even John Henry Bonham would have been in his early-mid 40s?
First of all, if you are a complete purist, you will probably find a ton of faults with the show. Obviously with a bald, bearded lead singer, it's not a visual tribute a la Led Zepagain, and it's not completely a Get The Led Out kind of thing with the focus on all the right gear and getting the songs note-perfect. JBLZE has five members, and while there are the requisite Les Paul, Gibson Double Neck, and Danelectro axes, despite the fact that I'm not a gear-head, I made plenty of mental notes during the show where I was easily able to discern that something was 'off' or not quite right. That being said, this show that Jason is doing is definitely not designed for the folks who might be bothered by such things. This audience just wanted to hear some Led Zeppelin music and were thrilled to have it presented by someone with a genetic link to the real thing, and weren't deterred by anything like Jason not having a tambourine on his hi-hat.
You could tell that Jason got emotional during several points in the show. This was - I think - the eleventh show of 37 or so on the tour, so I wonder if those moments can possibly have the same import to him now as they did the first few shows, and whether by the end of the tour he'll be very affected at all.
Photos:
http://tinyurl.com/JBLZEMerrilIN
Set 1
Rock and Roll>
Celebration Day
I Can't Quit You Babe
*Home Movies-Jason Talks*
Your Time is Gonna Come
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
*Jason Talks - similar introduction to what Robert used for this song at O2...*
Dazed and Confused
What Is and What Should Never Be
The Lemon Song
*Jason speaks of emotional effect of next song*
Thank You
Moby Dick - *Jason drums along with footage of JHB at RAH '70 and MSG '73*
Set Break - 20 Minutes
Set 2
*Home Movies - footage of Jason, Pat and John... looks like it's an
extended/full cut of what was edited down for TSRTS film*
Good Times Bad Times
Since I've Been Loving You
Black Dog
When The Levee Breaks - *Jason drums with original drum backing track*
*Jason speaks, takes a Red Bull break...*
The Ocean
Over The Hills and Far Away
I'm Gonna Crawl
*slight break - footage of Jason arriving at O2, voice-over comments
about the gig*
Stairway To Heaven
Kashmir
*Encore Break*
Whole Lotta Love
Twenty songs played over the course of roughly three hours and five minutes, including a twenty-minute set break in the middle, one minor break before Stairway and Kashmir, and then a final encore break before WLL. Probably a solid 2.5 hours of actual Zeppelin songs.
Moby Dick was pretty well done with the video and audio accompaniment from John Bonham from Royal Albert Hall and TSRTS footage from the Garden. I didn't feel that it was too long, but I did feel like it was a little odd to watch Jason watching his monitor and trying to mirror his deceased father's motions. Beyond any psychological analysis, it just invited direct comparison between the two drummers and did not flatter the one who is still with us.
WTLB uses the original JHB drum track from the fourth album to augment Jason's work - this probably had just as much to do with the difficulty of replicating that sound on stage as it did with any sort of tribute. It was pretty cool to see Catania play slide on what I'm pretty sure was a Fender XII (it resembled the guitar that Page played at Jeff Beck's R&R HoF on Bolero/Immigrant Song). Meanwhile LeBlanc looked to be wailing away on his lap steel, but again - it was so loud that I couldn't discern how much he was really contributing.
I'm Gonna Crawl was a real highlight since I've never seen anyone play it live before. Dylan and Catania both acquitted themselves brilliantly - the keyboards also sounded good. I was a little surprised and disappointed that nothing from Presence turned up in the set, but hearing I'm Gonna Crawl partially made up for that oversight.
After IGC, the band left the stage and some footage of the O2 appeared on the screens (footage of the venue itself, not the concert), video of Jason arriving at the arena and sitting by himself in the otherwise empty seats. His voiceover during this talks about how he was handling the enormity of the event in the weeks and days leading up to the show and also says something like "the internet can not be your friend" - talking about negative things he read about himself being named as the drummer for the show and doubting himself... I'm pretty sure he should have left that stuff out. Not that he shouldn't talk about the doubts he had, but to put it in the voiceover and make it a regular part of the show seems like an odd decision. It has the effect of demoting him and I couldn't help but think back to the O2 when the guys all embraced and took their bow, but then Jason bowed to the other three in an "I'm not worthy" gesture. I'm probably reading into things too much, but I don't think Page, Plant, or Jones thought that was necessary or appropriate - it set Jason apart at the very moment that he should have stood with them as an equal.
The drum stool remained empty for the beginning of Stairway and Catania used a standing acoustic guitar to pick the introduction before using the double neck. Dylan had an acoustic strapped around him and played it during Catania's electric solo, which was a little weird, but I had no complaints about the vocal climax and coda, so I didn't stress about it too much. The break in Whole Lotta Love was vaguely 1975-ish, but different. The theremin section was brief.
Parting words... I feel like almost every Zeppelin fan would enjoy the show that Jason is putting on. As I said, I admit that I was probably casting a less critical eye and ear toward things than I otherwise might have, due to my proximity to the stage, it was hard not to get caught up in the moment. There are legitimate questions to be asked about whether Jason should be doing something like this in exactly this way (billing it as a "Led Zeppelin Experience" in lights), but if you approach it as a sort of extra-special tribute band, it's worth the price of admission - you'll most likely have a good time. As long as Jason doesn't make a habit of touring with Led Zeppelin as part of his billing, I don't think there is much wrong with this. There's no reason that he can't go on the road in the future with a band of his choice and play Zeppelin songs, but they shouldn't comprise those entire future sets. I was glad to hear that Black Country Communion will be extended - not because it's the greatest band in the world, but because I think it's healthy for Jason to have his own thing going that is not tied so closely to the identity of his father. This whole tour is probably a bit of a cathartic experience and he will probably mentally benefit from it.
The Star Plaza Theater's capacity is 3400 according to a sign outside the box office. I'd put the show's attendance at roughly 1800-2000. The floor was almost entirely full, but fans in the mezzanine/balcony were few and far between. I can only assume that booking a small theater in Chicago was a lot more expensive and that's why they booked this place in NW Indiana (it was about an hour's drive for me from the city).
