Monday, August 16, 2010

30-ish tour dates announced for Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience; drummer seeks opportunity for Zep members to help him pay tribute to John Bonham

Jason Bonham plays a custom drum kit during the Led
Zeppelin reunion concert in London on Dec. 10, 2007.
Photo by Ross Halfin; used with permission of MSO.
The tour promoted as Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience will appear for a limited run of about 30 shows in North America this fall, according to the concert itinerary announced this morning. The significance of the number 30 is that this fall marks 30 years since Bonham lost his father, and Led Zeppelin its drummer.

He says his tour is a tribute to John Bonham. What's more, he said last week he hopes the surviving members of Led Zeppelin might join him in his cause of paying tribute to his father. They'll have about 34 about 30 chances to do so.

Some details about the concert, such as the intended set list and of course what musicians are to be joining Bonham onstage, remain to be seen. The drummer insists the musicians won't be revealed before the first concert so as to shield the group from prejudice.

And of course, there's also the whole issue of whether live audiences might be seeing any special guest appearances from the likes of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones or Robert Plant. In his interviews last week, Bonham said it's his wish that they would.

The span of these concerts overlaps Plant's European tour with the Band of Joy, so while that particular singer -- who has given his blessing to the tour -- is unavailable for most of the dates, the timing may be ideal for the other two Led Zeppelin members in question.

Jones's touring project with Them Crooked Vultures has ended just this month, and he's already shown no interest in gathering any moss. Granted, the last time he was planning a touring act with Jason Bonham, he said he hoped it wouldn't become a Led Zeppelin tribute band. But keep in mind that this is a limited-time concert tour, Jones is under no obligation, and he speaks fondly of playing the music with the young Bonham, who's now 44. For Jones, it would be just like the last time he played out live with Dave Grohl before they formed Them Crooked Vultures, when they performed two Led Zeppelin numbers at Wembley Stadium with Taylor Hawkins and -- wait a minute, who was on guitar? Oh yeah, Jimmy Page.

Page has thus far kept his 2009 promise to "be seen" more often in concert settings by going to numerous other people's concerts rather than appearing onstage, but the other part of his promise -- published one year ago on Aug. 13 -- was to be "doing some playing." If he's been doing some playing, it hasn't been public. And now that he's launching his own official website at www.jimmypage.com and an official Facebook page to go with it, he's bound to have some news he's ready to unleash. Some concert appearances, even as a guest of Jason Bonham's, may be a good way to kick off his own return to live activity.

This represents an honest assessment of what could happen. What you won't see on Lemon Squeezings is bullheaded know-it-all prognostication. If you want that, go to Prefixmag, where the commentator insists he's sure the Zeppelin members have better things to do with their time than sit in with Jason Bonham.

The complete listing of Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience tour dates follows after the break.



First Canadian segment
Shows 1-7
  • Oct. 8: Dawson Creek, B.C. - Encana Events Center
  • Oct. 9: Prince George, B.C. - CN Centre
  • Oct. 12: Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee
  • Oct. 13: Red Deer, AB - Enmax Centre
  • Oct. 14: Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee
  • Oct. 16: Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
  • Oct. 17: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
First U.S. segment
Shows 8-10
  • Oct. 19: Minneapolis, Minn. - State Theatre
  • Oct. 20: Milwaukee, Wis. - Riverside Theatre
  • Oct. 21: Merrilville, Ind. - Star Plaza
Second Canadian segment
Shows 11-15
  • Oct. 23: Montral, QUE - Metropolis
  • Oct. 25: Quebec City, QUE - Grand Theatre
  • Oct. 27: Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Place/Great Hall
  • Oct. 28: Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square
  • Oct. 29: Toronto, ON - Sony Centre
Second U.S. segment
Shows 16-33 Shows 16-30 (Three additional dates during this segment were included on the original itinerary but have been removed)
  • Oct. 30: Rochester, N.Y. - Auditorium Theater
  • Nov. 2: Boston, Mass. - The Orpheum
  • Nov. 3: Red Bank, N.J. - Count Basie Theater
  • Nov. 4: Englewood, N.J. - Bergen PAC
  • Nov. 6: Philadelphia, Pa. - Merriam Theater
  • Nov. 8: New York, N.Y. - Nokia Theatre
  • Nov. 13: Jacksonville, Fla. - Florida Theater
  • Nov. 14: Clearwater, Fla. - Ruth Eckerd Hall
  • Nov. 16: Houston, Texas - Verizon Theatre
  • Nov. 17: Tulsa, Okla. - Spirit Bank Event Center
  • Nov. 18: Dallas, Texas - Fairpark Music Hall
  • Nov. 21: Riverside, Calif. - Fox PAC
  • Nov. 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - Pantages Theater
  • Nov. 26: Portland, Ore. - Schnitzer Concert Hall
  • Nov. 27: Seattle, Wash. - WaMu Theater
Final Canadian date
Show 34 Show 31
  • Nov. 29: Vancouver, BC - The Centre PAC

7 comments:

  1. The dates as listed Monday morning on JBLZE.com were as follows:

    First Canadian segment (Shows 1-7)
    Oct. 8: Dawson Creek, B.C. - Encana Events Center
    Oct. 9: Prince George, B.C. - CN Centre
    Oct. 12: Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee
    Oct. 13: Red Deer, AB - Enmax Centre
    Oct. 14: Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee
    Oct. 16: Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
    Oct. 17: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre

    First U.S. segment (Shows 8-10)
    Oct. 19: Minneapolis, Minn. - State Theatre
    Oct. 20: Milwaukee, Wis. - Riverside Theatre
    Oct. 21: Merrilville, Ind. - Star Plaza

    Second Canadian segment (Shows 11-15)
    Oct. 23: Montral, QUE - Metropolis
    Oct. 25: Quebec City, QUE - Grand Theatre
    Oct. 27: Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Place/Great Hall
    Oct. 28: Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square
    Oct. 29: Toronto, ON - Sony Centre

    Second U.S. segment (Shows 16-33)
    Oct. 30: Rochester, N.Y. - Auditorium Theater
    Nov. 2: Boston, Mass. - The Orpheum
    Nov. 3: Red Bank, N.J. - Count Basie Theater
    Nov. 4: Englewood, N.J. - Bergen PAC
    Nov. 6: Philadelphia, Pa. - Merriam Theatre
    Nov. 8: New York, N.Y. - Nokia Theater
    Nov. 10: Atlanta, Ga. - Buckethead
    Nov. 13: Jacksonville, Fla. - Florida Theater
    Nov. 14: Melbourne, Fla. - King Center
    Nov. 16: Houston, Texas - Verizon Theatre
    Nov. 17: Tulsa, Okla. - Spirit Bank Centre
    Nov. 18: Dallas, Texas - Fairpark Music Hall
    Nov. 20: Las Vegas, Nev. - The Joint
    Nov. 21: Riverside, Calif. - Fox PAC
    Nov. 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - Pantages Theater
    Nov. 24: San Francisco, Calif. - Regency Ballroom
    Nov. 26: Portland, Ore. - Schnitzer Concert Hall
    Nov. 27: Seattle, Wash. - WaMu Theater

    Final Canadian date (Show 34)
    Nov. 29: Vancouver, BC - The Centre PAC

    ReplyDelete
  2. Later in the day, nine of the above dates were removed from JBLZE.com. A third set of dates is contained in an official press release, and the publicist swears that the dates in the press release are correct.

    First Canadian segment (Shows 1-7)
    Oct. 8: Dawson Creek, B.C. - Encana Events Center
    Oct. 9: Prince George, B.C. - CN Centre
    Oct. 12: Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee
    Oct. 13: Red Deer, AB - Enmax Centre
    Oct. 14: Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee
    Oct. 16: Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
    Oct. 17: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre

    First U.S. segment (Shows 8-10)
    Oct. 19: Minneapolis, Minn. - State Theatre
    Oct. 20: Milwaukee, Wis. - Riverside Theatre
    Oct. 21: Merrilville, Ind. - Star Plaza

    Second Canadian segment (Shows 11-15)
    Oct. 23: Montral, QUE - Metropolis
    Oct. 25: Quebec City, QUE - Grand Theatre
    Oct. 27: Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Place/Great Hall
    Oct. 28: Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square
    Oct. 29: Toronto, ON - Sony Centre

    Second U.S. segment (Shows 16-28)
    Oct. 30: Rochester, N.Y. - Auditorium Theater
    Nov. 2: Boston, Mass. - The Orpheum
    Nov. 3: Red Bank, N.J. - Count Basie Theater
    Nov. 4: Englewood, N.J. - Bergen PAC
    Nov. 6: Philadelphia, Pa. - Merriam Theatre
    Nov. 8: New York, N.Y. - Nokia Theater
    Nov. 13: Jacksonville, Fla. - Florida Theater
    Nov. 14: Melbourne, Fla. - King Center
    Nov. 16: Houston, Texas - Verizon Theatre
    Nov. 21: Riverside, Calif. - Fox PAC
    Nov. 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - Pantages Theater
    Nov. 26: Portland, Ore. - Schnitzer Concert Hall
    Nov. 27: Seattle, Wash. - WaMu Theater

    Final Canadian date (Show 29)
    Nov. 29: Vancouver, BC - The Centre PAC

    So, to fans in Dawson Creek, B.C. (Canada); New York, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, Wash.: The publicist says you'll get your shows, even though they've been removed for some reason from the listing at JBLZE.com.

    However, to fans in Atlanta, Ga.; Tulsa, Okla.; Dallas, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; and San Francisco, Calif.: Your shows, while listed earlier, are currently unconfirmed. Stay tuned for more information as it reaches Lemon Squeezings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've just removed the shows in Atlanta, Ga.; Tulsa, Okla.; Dallas, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; and San Francisco, Calif. from the itinerary posted above at the publicist's request. She said having those dates appear, even with my notation that those shows were unconfirmed, could hinder booking further dates.

    Further dates... aside from these 29 shows.

    I've also received a press release describing all of the above as the first leg of tour dates.

    This 30-show limited run seems a little more expansive than 30 shows.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The four shows in Dawson Creek, New York, Portland and Seattle have been restored to the itinerary listing at JBLZE.com.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Some further itinerary changes arrived by e-mail to me last night.

    1.) The location of the Nov. 14 show has been changed from the King Center in Melbourne, Fla., to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Fla., where Robert Plant played in July.

    2.) The Nov. 17 show at the Spirit Bank Event Center in Tulsa, Okla., has been restored to the itinerary.

    3.) The same is true of the Nov. 18 show at the Fairpark Music Hall in Dallas, Texas.

    Both the Tulsa and Dallas shows appeared briefly on JBLZE.com on the morning of Monday, Aug. 16, but a publicist subsequently disavowed them.

    This brings the total number of shows currently announced back up from 29 to 31, and the publicist again says this is the tour's first leg only: "More dates will be announced in the coming weeks."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Picked up my ticket for the Oct 12 show today. Was a little surprised to read that Bonham was coming here, thanks for the heads up. Don't get enough events here I would want to see. Nice site, keep up the good work.

    PS. Jimmy, just in case you read this blog, as far as Led Zeppelin goes You haven't been here since 1969 (May, 9th & July 29th), a guest appearance would be greatly appreciated. And you did say you would be playing more;)
    Haven't forgot about you either Jonesy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm surprised there are not more comments on here about the 3 shows played so far. I was to the 2nd show, in Prince George BC. It was phenominal! 3 hours of hard hitting, breast-bone thundering Led Zeppelin. You guys are all simply amazing musicians!! I thank you all (especially Jason of course) for venturing to do this tribute to John and Led Zeppelin...thanks for letting us in Jason...thanks for coming to our kinda small town...thanks for not giving a rat's a-- about the nay sayers and giving us a show that was full of love and heart and soul. At one point about half way through, I was lost in the thought that this show was so amazing and I was amazed to think what a Zeppelin show back in the 70's would have been like. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a die hard Neil Young fan....he is my hero...has been since I was 17...I'm now 45. When people ask me how the JBLZE was, I put it to them this way..."If I had the chance to see Neil Young play his Greendale show again (which was something I hold as one my greatest experinces in life thus far), or see JBLZE again...I would choose JBLZE." This shocks even me...haha!!! I'm blown away...I'll reference your show in my mind many many times over the course of my life...Thank-You! Love...much love...Claude Squamp

    ReplyDelete

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