Set-List: Zooma / Leafy Meadow / Smile of Your Shodow / That’s The Way / Steal Away / When The Levee Breaks / B Fingers / Freedom Song / Hoediddle / Tidal
Encore: Black Dog

Reports
JPJ and company were punctual and in fine musical and physical form. Their opening set for Crimson started promptly and went for exactly 1 hour, including the singular encore. For those concerned about appearances, Jonesy wore short hair and (same as elsewhere?) a purple silky shirt with a very small check pattern and black jeans (no adornments other than his wedding ring); Nick was in a black vest and kilt (pleated in the back) with white socks and a tiny diamond(?) stud on the left side of his nose; and Terl had on a dark tee shirt and jeans. Jonesy utilized 8- and 10-string basses (don’t remember if a 12-string was used), his bass lap steel and a couple custom minis (mandolin, ukeleles) with Marshall stacks for amps. No keyboards. Nick had his Chapman Stick and Terl his Jalapeno drumkit.
Jonesy talked much more to the audience than previously in 1999 (he seems quite shy on stage until he’s really into the musical delivery). The following I can relate with accuracy and confidence:
The set opened with “Zooma,” followed by the new “Leafy Meadow” and then “The Smile of Your Shadow.” Next was a triple Zeppelin set of “That’s The Way” with Jonesy on mandolin and (very adequate!) vocals, followed by an instrumental “Since I’ve Been Loving You” morphing from mandolin to bass lap steel, and concluding with the rich, instrumental “When the Levee Breaks” on bass lap steel. “That’s The Way” was performed in an “acoustic Zeppelin” format, with Terl joining on hand drum at the front of the stage.
After an introduction of the band and custom-guitar-maker Hugh Manson, JPJ rolled into “B. Fingers.” Then a traditional ukelele was brought out for the cute and amusing, new, quiet, Celtic-like vocalized ditty “Freedom Song.” Moving up to a slightly bigger instrument (a 4-string, electric ukelele?), Jonesy launched into the very likable “Hoediddle” from the new CD, during which he ran various riffs thru a Mac laptop so that they looped back with variations while he continued to add to the mix (he did this sort of thing with his triple-neck back in ’99). From his facial expressions, I’m not sure it was going quite as intended, but it sounded good to me. About 2 minutes into the song, Terl and Nick joined in. I actually liked this number better than the heaviest tunes from Zooma. The final entry was “Tidal,” followed shortly thereafter by the great “Black Dog” encore. I tried about 40 minutes of Crimson afterward before leaving – certainly unusual stylings, but they were busting my eardrums. Sandy &ltItsOneLouder@aol.com>

John Paul Jones played a one-hour set of songs from Zooma, older Zeppelin songs and some new music from an upcoming CD. My friend Mr. B had two front row seats and told me if I made the journey down to Denver from South Central Alaska I was invited to the show with him. So of course I made it down and got to see John Paul Jones and his two-man orchestra performed what turned into a very emotional show for me.
When John Paul Jones sung the song “That’s The Way” and then played what sounded to me like an instrumental version of “Since I’ve Been Loving You” brought a tear to my eye. Hearing him play and watching him boogie was such a joy. He still has it and can get down. He really looked like he was enjoying himself. I know I enjoyed every minute of it. His two-man orchestra sounded great and jammed with Jones in rocking harmony with exuberance.
The pleasure of meeting him after the show was such a thrill. Mr. B and myself were the only fans waiting at his tour bus. In hopes of a glimpse and maybe an autograph from the man, not only did we get a glimpse but also we had the pleasure of a short chat. We both got to thank him for the memories and great music he has done tonight and throughout his career. He is a very pleasant man; he in turned thanks us for being fans and was glad we enjoyed listening to him. Mr. B. mentioned Johns singing and John said jokingly that the singing part had him a little scared but, we encouraged him by letting him know he did great. When we mentioned that he was one of the gods of rock-n-roll, Jones looked up into the sky and then back down at us and said he was just a man like us. Right then I realized how down to earth this man is and what a great sense of humor he has. He was very impressed to hear that I had come all the way from Alaska just to watch his show.
We then asked for Autographs and if we could take a picture with him. He was pleased to do both. He autographed the back of a bootleg CD for me. It has a picture of Jones playing his three-neck guitar. He looked at it, smiled and said, “that’s me”. I responded with in our younger days. He gave a light chuckle as he singed. He asked me to be careful and don’t let it smear until it dries. I also would like to thank Mr. B. For inviting me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of this experience. This is the one concert that will be a lifetime memory for myself.
Cliff Umstead