Jason Bonham: Heartless?

It appears when Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience takes to the stage in Florida on June 17, it will be without a key member: Keyboard/lap steel/guitar/mandolin player Stephen LeBlanc has been told the tour can't afford a keyboard player.



Jason's Led Zeppelin Experience (JBLZE)  will be touring in a supporting role for Heart beginning June 17th, and continuing August 30th in Portland. The show will consist of JBLZE opening the show, and then joining Heart onstage for a 30-minute encore set of Led Zeppelin songs as a finale.

The practical effect of what the LeBlanc snub means is that JBLZE will play rockers such as Rock and Roll, Black Dog, The Immigrant Song and Whole Lotta Love to open. Any keyboard songs, such as Kashmir, Since i've Been Loving You and Stairway to Heaven will happen in the encore when Heart's keyboard player, Debbie Shair, will be onstage with the band. Likely any acoustic songs will also happen then, when LeBlanc's mandolin can be filled by guitarist Tony Catania while Heart's Nancy Wilson and Craig Bartock take the guitar parts (speaking of the latter, thinking it through, does anyone else expect a Battle of Evermore/Stairway to Heaven finale?).

It's a sad day for Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience to see LeBlanc, in his own words, "thrown off the bus."

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Update: Elly LeBlanc weighs in:

This is NOT JBLZE without Stephen LeBlanc...it's a reprehensible decision...and after three years of contribution...Jason or whoever made this decision is a fucking idiot... Stephen didn't do anything other than his best to make what is essentially a fucking tribute band, (albeit probably the best Zep tribute band out there, with Stephen in it) better. Yes it does hurt... it always hurts when people are treated unethically and led to believe they are part of the band, particularly after three years of hard work.

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Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience to tour with Heart

There has been no official announcement of a tour as of yet, but tickets are available for Heart with special guests Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience on August 22nd at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are currently only available to "Premiere Marquee Club members," of the Greek.

Listed as the Heartbreaker Tour, I hear the Jason and the LZE could be doing upwards of 40 dates alongside Heart this summer. That should cover most of North America.

There will be more details to follow as dates are announced.

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Update:

DATE		CITY / STATE		VENUE	TICKETS
6/17		West Palm Beach, FL		Cruzan Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
6/18		Tampa, FL		Live Nation Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
6/20		Atlanta, GA		Chastain Park Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
6/21		Charlotte, NC		Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
6/22		Raleigh, NC		Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion	Buy Tickets
6/24		Virginia Beach, VA		Farm Bureau Live	Buy Tickets
6/25		Washington, DC		Jiffy Lube Live	Buy Tickets
6/27		Wantagh, NY		Nikon at Jones Beach Theater	Buy Tickets
6/28		Boston, MA		Comcast Center – Mansfield MA	Buy Tickets
6/29		Bethel, NY		Center for the Arts	Buy Tickets
7/2		Holmdel, NJ		PNC Bank Arts Center	Buy Tickets
7/3		Philadelphia, PA		Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden	Buy Tickets
7/4		Uncasville, CT		Mohegan Sun Arena	Buy Tickets
7/19		Detroit, MI		DTE Energy Music Theater	Buy Tickets
7/21		Pittsburgh, PA		First Niagara Pavilion - Burgettstown	Buy Tickets
7/22		Cleveland, OH		Blossom Music Center	Buy Tickets
7/23		Toronto, ON		Molson Canadian Ampitheatre	Buy Tickets
7/27		Cincinnati, OH		Riverbend Music Center	Buy Tickets
7/29		Chicago, IL		Ravinia Festival	Buy Tickets
7/30		Indianapolis, IN		Klipsch Music Center	Buy Tickets
8/1		West Allis, WI		Wisconsin State Fair	Buy Tickets
8/14		Houston, TX		Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	Buy Tickets
8/15		Dallas, TX		Gexa Energy Pavilion	Buy Tickets
8/17		St. Louis, MO		Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
8/18		Kansas City, MO		Starlight Theater	TBA
8/20		Denver, CO		Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater	Buy Tickets
8/22		Los Angeles, CA		Greek Theater	TBA
8/23		Los Angeles, CA		Greek Theater	TBA
8/24		Indio, CA		Fantasy Springs Resort Casino	TBA
8/26		San Diego, CA		Open Air Theater	Buy Tickets
8/28		San Francisco, CA		America’s Cup Pavilion	Buy Tickets
8/30		Portland, OR		Sleep Country Amphitheater	TBA

Heart's Stairway to Heaven on iTunes

iTunes music this morning released Heart's version of Stairway to Heaven as performed by the band, with Jason Bonham and backed up by 2 choirs, on Dec 3rd at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala. It was broadcast on boxing day, Dec 26th.

You can get the file for 99-cents on iTunes.

It appears at this time that no other songs from that night have been released.

While you are there, don't forget to subscribe to the Ramble On Radio podcast.

In 2004, Heart re-released their 1977 album, Little Queen on CD. The release had, as a bonus track, a live version of the iconic Led Zeppelin song, recorded in 1976.

Here's heart at the Kenendy Center Honors, performing Stairway to Heaven

Kennedy Center Honors

Last night, Dec 26th, the world finally saw the broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors Gala. The Gala honoured all five honourees: Dustin Hoffman, Natalia Makarova, Buddy Guy, David Letterman and Led Zeppelin. All honorees had an eminent person/a Jack Black/Tina Fey provide an introduction, plus a short video of their work and then a performance of their art.

In Led Zeppelin's case, at the top of the bill, performance by the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Heart provided the moments. Jack Black gave an introduction in the standard Jack Black style, that is to say, just a tad over the top: he really is a perpetual 14-year old and a more mature perspective of the band would have been nice.

The footage shown was edited for time, as early reports had Foo Fighters doing 2 songs, as did Kid Rock. As it was, the Foo Fighter's performed Rock and Roll, with Dave Grohl taking the drum stool and drummer Taylor Hawkins picking up the vocal duties. This is the second time the Foo's have performed this song with this makeup. Their performance of Black Dog, with Hawkins back behind the kit and Grohl singing, didn't make the broadcast.

Kid Rock's performance has the LedZeposphere buzzing this morning, wondering why he was chosen for this honour. Like him or hate him, however, Kid Rock has always paid homage to the rock and rollers who have come before him, and Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love gets a nod on his album Live Trucker when it bridges the songs Somebody's Gotta Feel This and Fists of Rage (go to the 3 minute mark on the linked video). Early reports had it that Kid Rock performed Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and What is and What Should Never Be, however the broadcast had him playing Ramble On.

Lenny Kravitz then performed Whole Lotta Love, while President Barack Obama sang along in the choruses (no word on him belting "woman, you need it..." to Michelle). Kravitz was followed by Jason Bonham appearing behind the drum kit to the obvious surprise and delight of the band themselves. He was then joined onstage by the Wilson sister, Ann and Nancy, of Heart, to perform an abridged version of Stairway to Heaven. As the song progressed, the artists were joined onstage by a small choir and a chamber orchestra, and then by a larger choir, all wearing bowler hats in homage to John Bonham. By the end the band members all seemed moved, with Robert Plant appearing to be moved to tears.

Here is Heart, with Jason Bonham and others, performing Stairway to Heaven.

Heart Zeppish

Heart is releasing a box set of demos and live versions of their materials over the course of their career. Included in the box set, Strange Euphoria, will be a 5 song bonus disc of Led Zeppelin material.

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have been very upfront about the Zeppelin influence in their music, and have covered a number of Zeppelin songs during their live sets through the years.



The "Zeppish" disc will include Going to California, Battle Of Evermore, What Is And What Should Never Be, Immigrant Song, Misty Mountain Hop.

Heart's Strange Euphoria will be available June 5th.