Bassist Dorian Heartsong and drummer Jason Bonham perform with Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – A very special live music experience was delivered to fans in the Ohio Valley by way of a royal bloodline in rock ‘n’ roll as Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening celebrated the 50th anniversary of the classic album “Physical Graffiti.”

The mid-week concert on Wednesday, May 7, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling drew all ages of classic rock fans from throughout the tri-state region to hear what Jason Bonham – the son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham – and his band had to offer.

Released in February of 1975, “Physical Graffiti” was Zeppelin’s sixth studio album. The double-album by the foursome that had already established themselves of one of the most iconic bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll featured an eclectic mix of hard rockers and an array of style-bending blues, folk, funk and mystically psychedelic jams that highlighted the seasoned band’s creative depth.

Many considered “Physical Graffiti” as the “high watermark” in Led Zeppelin’s storied songwriting history, highlighted by popular classic cuts like “Kashmir,” “In My Time of Dying” and “Trampled Under Foot,” the album also featured several deep cuts that never saw the light of day on stage during Led Zeppelin’s live performances.

In fact despite its many popular tracks, “Physical Graffiti” contains more songs that Zeppelin never performed live than any other album by the band. During their time together, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham by all accounts never unleashed six of the 15 songs from the album live on stage.

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening performs on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Jason Bonham made note of this factoid during Wednesday night’s show and indicated that was a reason why celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Physical Graffiti” by playing the album live in its entirety was such a special privilege.

“Every time we play it, I feel blessed that we’re allowed to play and represent such an iconic album that’s 50 years old,” Jason Bonham told the Wheeling crowd. “There’s so many amazing songs. But if you think you’re going to get them in the order of the album – no you’re not!”

The band – known by the abbreviation of JBLZE (Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening) – performed each song from “Physical Graffiti” straight out of the gate, but delivered them in a random order that created different ebbs and flows in mood during the show.

Between every three or four songs, Jason Bonham stood up behind the drum kit and addressed the crowd.

“We are fans just like you, so tonight is all about sharing our love for the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, Led Zeppelin, and to say ‘thank you’ to my old man for putting a drum kit in front of me when I could hardly walk,” Jason Bonham said. “He handed me down a profession that I had no idea I’d still be doing – playing drums – when I was almost 60 years old.”

Jason Bonham addresses the crowd at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, during a performance by Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Now 58 years of age, Jason Bonham has forged a notable career in rock and roll over the years, playing with everyone from Foreigner to Sammy Hagar to even the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. He was only 14 when his father died at the young age of 32, a tragedy that brought an end to Led Zeppelin in 1980. While other bands may have sought a replacement to carry on, John Bonham’s integral contributions to Led Zeppelin, its sound and their songs obviously made his big shoes impossible to fill.

To this day, few people can put up a legitimate argument against John Bonham’s solid and consistent position at the very top of pretty much everyone’s list of the greatest rock drummers of all time. In fact, he anchors the top position on most lists of the greatest drummers of all time from any genre of music, period. He didn’t just hold the beat like a metronome, he brought his drumming to the forefront of Led Zeppelin’s songs, asserting a percussive voice as a key part of the bands sound – acting as a pillar that carried as much weight and was as equally important as the guitar and vocals.

Jason Bonham honored his father in many ways. He emulates his dad’s hard-hitting and soulful drumming style. Jason Bonham also displayed a black-and-white image of his father’s face on the front of his kick drum. At least that’s what it appeared to be. Actually, if you caught the image out of the corner of your eye, it almost looked more like a mugshot of Charles Manson, oddly, than it did of John Bonham! It was difficult to shake that thought out of mind as that face was front and center during the whole show, but JBLZE’s talent and musical prowess helped keep everyone’s focus on their tight musicianship.

The band kicked off with “Custard Pie” and followed through with “The Rover,” then mixed the track listing up with the great rocker “The Wanton Song” and what was essentially the title track of the previous album, “Houses of the Holy,” which strangely enough was held for release on “Physical Graffiti” because it apparently fit better with that assortment of songs, Jason Bonham explained.

Guitarist Akio “Mr. Jimmy” Sakurai performs with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

The JBLZE band consisted of an all-pro cast of characters – none of which resembled the guys from Led Zeppelin … with the exception of the guitarist. Aiko “Mr. Jimmy” Sakurai is a Japanese guitar slinger who also fronts his own tribute band – Mr. Jimmy Led Zeppelin Revival. He came with all of the iconic Jimmy Page-style guitars, looks strikingly like Jimmy Page, plays like Jimmy Page, and even moves and displays mannerisms like a young Jimmy Page.

As for the rest of the group, this tribute band’s efforts were more about reliving the music than they were about reviving the image. Bassist Dorian Heartstrong actually looked the most like Robert Plant, strangely enought. Vocalist James Dylan looked a lot like Chris Daughtry, and Alex Howland – the Swiss army knife, multi-instrumentalist on keyboards, backing guitars and mandolin – looked like a guy off the street that they picked up because of his multifaceted skills. But they all sounded great.

“In the Light,” one of the tracks that Zeppelin had apparently never performed live, was particularly magical, with Howland on the spacey synthesizer and backing vocals. Dylan masterfully handled the challenging vocal range of Robert Plant’s heyday and also provided backing guitar duties on occasion for certain songs.

Jason Bonham noted that Dylan was also the band’s resident visual artist, crediting him for creating the group’s JBLZE logo and the image they used as a backdrop on stage – the twin tenement buildings from the “Physical Graffiti” album cover surrounded by circling zeppelins.

During “Boogie With Stu,” Jason Bonham came out front with an electronic drum to pound out the driving beat. Group members also sat in front of the drum kit during the acoustic interlude “Bron-Yr-Aur.”

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening performs on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

For the most part, JBLZE played the songs straight. Live performances of Led Zeppelin back in the day were much different – as the band was known for being explosive, experimental and even improvisational at times when performing live. Zeppelin stretched out on stage and played the songs in a different and oftentimes more raw and aggressive manner than the studio versions. Aside from Jason Bonham occasionally spicing things up and playing extra drum fills, JBLZE stayed very close to the familiar album versions of each song when they performed them live.

One very satisfying aspect of the JBLZE experience was the fact that Jason Bonham smacks the drums hard – just like his dad – and each one of the drums was clearly mic’d up and turned up loud in the mix – as it should be.

It’s easy to think of Jason Bonham as the “young” Bonham from the father-son perspective. However, Jason Bonham indicated that he is a grandfather today; he actually has lived through more than two and a half decades of an adult life that his father never got to experience.

At one point during the show, Jason Bonham almost became emotional when talking about the buzz surrounding the new documentary “Becoming Led Zeppelin.” The 2025 Neflix doc focuses on the formation of the band and contains very rare, never-before-seen footage of the band and its members. Jason Bonham said he knew there were going to be segments in which he got to hear his father speaking in videos he had never seen or heard before, and he braced himself for the moment.

“I cried like a baby when I heard dad talk,” he said.

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening performs on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Toward the end of the main set, Jason Bonham really jazzed up the drumming on “Trampled Under Foot.” The group ended the set and completed the album with the epic “Kashmir.”

One awkward dynamic of having a high-energy hard rock show in an historic theater like the Capitol with seats all the way to the front is that pretty much everyone through the bulk of the show remained seated. By the time the encores hit, however, nearly everyone in the audience was on their feet.

Encores for the show gave a few nuggets from beyond the “Physical Graffiti” album, as the band closed with “Good Times Bad Times,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Stairway to Heaven” and “Rock and Roll.”

It was a fitting tribute to an iconic band and a legendary man whose son carries the musical torch with pride and a great deal of respect. It truly was a great night of music in Wheeling.

Guitarist Akio “Mr. Jimmy” Sakurai, vocalist James Dylan and drummer Jason Bonham, from left, perform with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening performs on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Drummer Jason Bonham and vocalist James Dylan, from left, performs with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Drummer Jason Bonham performs with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, W.Va. (Photo by Eric Ayres)