Jason Bonham Experience: State Theater Minneapolis

October 19th 2010

It was a clear, crisp Tuesday evening in Minneapolis, for the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience at the historic State Theater.  The compact very dedicated crowd were paying their respects to John and Jason.  From the opening number of Good Times Bad Times through the encore of Whole Lotta Love (with Theremin) the guys did not disappoint.  The music often accompanied film clips of John Bonham as a youth, as well as family clips of John, Jason and Wife/Mother Pat.  Jason starts the show narrating about John to the images of the factories and surroundings he had grown accustom as a young man.  I attempted to write down the numbers as they were played, but in a rush to my feet for a standing ovation, the pen slipped away, Jason made it very clear that this was a tribute to his Dad and that he and the band members were all fans of Led Zeppelin’s music, as were we.  On one occasion Jason fought back tears when the applause wouldn’t stop as he spoke about his Dad.

The music was fantastic; I imagine John would have been very proud of Jason’s abilities, he played splendidly and his choice of musicians to help him make his statement.  Tony Cantania was fantastic, hitting every break and guitar solo.  Dazed & Confused was dazzling, the violin bow was present for the required sound on the song, but Tony did not over do it, by trying to emulate Jimmy’s moves.  Jason dedicated “Thank-you”, to his fans and to his father John; this was a very emotional, bringing many of us to tears.   Michael Devin on bass guitar was mesmerizing along with Stephen LeBlanc on keyboards and rhythm guitar, did Jonsey proud.  James Dylan was like the cherry on top, with all his heart he belted out one number after another and by the end of the almost three hour show his voice had become a bit raspy, we didn’t care, we were on the road to Kashmir.  The set list was as follows:

Good Times Bad Times

Celebration Day

Rock-n-Roll

I Can’t Quit You

Black Dog

Since I’ve Been Loving You

Your Time Is Gonna Come

The Ocean

When The Levee Breaks

Daze and Confused

Over The Hills And Far Away

Moby Dick

Thank-you

The Lemon Song

I’m Gonna Crawl

Stairway To Heaven

Kashmir

Whole Lotta Love

Kathy Urich –  October 20TH 2010