On the heels of a successful tour that brought multiple sell outs, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening/JBLZE is back with another round of dates to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Led Zeppelin classic, Physical Graffiti. The latest 22-city trek is billed as An Evening With JBLZE Celebrating 50 Years of Physical Graffiti.
The tour kicks off on August 1 in Omaha, NE and wraps August 31 in Vancouver, BC. Along the way, the tour will make stops in Denver, CO (August 8), Napa, CA (August 16), Bakersfield, CA (August 23) and Seattle, WA (August 30) to name a few markets.
Ahead of the tour, Jason Bonham spoke with Larry Mac of Arizona’s 96.1 KLPX about carrying the Zeppelin legacy, honouring his late father, John Bonham, and what fans can expect when JBLZE returns to Tucson on August 13. Listen below.
About the trek, Jason reveals, “Foolishly, I took on the challenge of where can you go and see the whole of Physical Graffiti played from start to finish, and plus others. It was one of those ideas that came about… obviously I didn’t talk to anybody else in the band, as I normally don’t, and threw it on everybody. And we’d played all of the songs at different times, but never all at the same time. So then it was, ‘Okay, how can we make a show of it? How can we make this work?’ So I always say, ‘Don’t think you’re gonna come to the show and see in the order of which you listen to it.’ Now that would be too easy for people to plan their toilet breaks or go to get a drink at the bar when they think, ‘Oh, yeah, this is not one of my favourites. I’m gonna go and get a drink now.’ So we leave it basically, and even on some occasions I’ve changed it on the band at the last minute. It took about five shows to get comfortable with a running order of the whole album. And then if after the hour and 45 minutes of that you are still not satisfied and you make enough noise, we might go back to the beginning or ‘I’ or ‘II’ or ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ and play some others.”
JBLZE has been performing all the songs from the Physical Graffiti album that fans have been clamouring to hear including classics such as “The Wanton Song” and “Kashmir” live alongside deeper cuts like “In The Light” and “Boogie With Stu.” The evening is also made up of other Led Zeppelin favorites including “Good Times Bad Times,” “Whole Lotta Love” and of course “Stairway To Heaven.”
Information on all tickets and performances can be found at jasonbonham.net.
At the time of the first tour announcement, Jason Bonham had this to say: “This is my favorite Led Zeppelin album of all time. Being able to celebrate it the way we are planning on this tour is something I am extremely excited about. I can’t wait for people to come out and see these shows and celebrate this extraordinary record with us. My goal is to play at least 50 shows to commemorate 50 years…And don’t worry there will be plenty of other songs that you also love played that night.”
JBLZE August Tour Dates:
August
1 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha
2 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
3 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
5 – Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
7 – Vail, CO – Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
8 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
10 – Park City, UT – Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater at Deer Valley Resort
12 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pepsi Amphitheater
13 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
15 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley Casino Resort
16 – Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions at Meritage Resort
17 – Redding, CA – Redding Civic Auditorium
19 – Monterey, CA – Golden State Theatre
21 – Anaheim, CA – Grove of Anaheim
22 – Alpine, CA – Viejas Casino & Resort
23 – Bakersfield, CA – Dignity Health Theater
25 – Salem, OR – Oregon State Fair
26 – Jacksonville, OR – Britt Music & Arts Festival
27 – Boise, ID – Morrison Center for the Performing Arts
29 – Spokane, WA – Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox
30 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
31 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre
About Jason Bonham:
Jason Bonham always finds himself at home behind the drumkit. From this spot, he has anchored the tempo for a myriad of the most legendary artists of all-time. It’s the place where he initially realized his destiny as a kid. It’s a tried-and-true safe harbor for the expression of his purest emotions. It’s a direct conduit to his late father and Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Following stints with Airrace and Virginia Wolf, he handled drums on Jimmy Page’s gold-certified Outrider. During 1988, he notably accompanied Page, John Paul Jones, and Robert Plant behind the kit for Led Zeppelin at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration Concert. Beyond helming solo projects such as Bonham and The Jason Bonham Band, he appeared in Rock Star with Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Anniston. Plus, he lent his talents to Foreigner, Little Steven, Joe Bonamassa, and Paul Rodgers. He held down the drums for Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert—which set the Guinness World Record® for “Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert.” The evening spawned the Celebration Day concert film and multiplatinum album, debuting Top 10 on the Billboard 200, selling three million-plus copies, and garnering a GRAMMY®. Other notable projects have included Black Country Communion (Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, and Derek Sherinian) and California Breed (Hughes and producer and guitarist Andrew Watt). He joined Sammy Hagar and the Circle with Van Halen’s Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson. In 2010, he introduced Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening (JBLZE), packing venues coast-to-coast and supporting everyone from Heart to Kid Rock. A spectacle of top-flight musicianship, arresting visuals, mind-blowing lighting, and emotionally charged storytelling, Rolling Stone hailed its “set of Led Zep gems that were strikingly faithful to the originals,” while Billy Joel personally handpicked JBLZE to open a handful of dates. Ultimately, Jason remains forever at home on the drums.
