Jason Bonham playing with Led Zeppelin Experience
Have you ever been re-experienced? The original bands are no longer going concerns, but the music of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and other classic-rock heroes is evergreen, with younger generations discovering music known well by parents and grandparents. And so, serving nostalgia and new crowds alike, touring road shows Experience Hendrix, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience and Classic Albums Live do big business.
This week, Toronto audiences applaud the arrival of those three rock 'n' roll revues: Hendrix and Zeppelin at the Sony Centre on Oct. 28 and 29, respectively; Classic Albums Live's replication of the Beatles' The White Album at Massey Hall on Oct. 29. All to answer the question, why don't we do it on the road?
Led Zeppelin Experience
The Show: Basically a whole lotta Zeppelin, with hard-rock blues ( Dazed and Confused, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, and an encore of Stairway to Heaven included) accompanied by dazzling lighting and effects.
The History: Bonham, who drummed for the one-off Zeppelin reunion in 2007, leads a North American tour on the 30th anniversary of his father's death.
The Twist: In a segment Natalie Cole could appreciate, the son-who-remains-the-same duets with his late father John (Bonzo) Bonham on a whale of an instrumental, Moby Dick.
The Skinny: Dancing Days are here again.
The Tour: Hamilton, Oct. 27; Kitchener, Ont., Oct. 28; Toronto, Oct. 29; Vancouver, Nov. 29.
Experience Hendrix
The Show: Classic tunes from the gaudy catalogue of the I Don't Live Today singer, performed by such contemporary guitar slingers as Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Susan Tedeschi as well as Ernie Isley and Hendrix friend and bassist Billy Cox. The staging is minimal, with no videos of Hendrix himself.
History: Authorized by Experience Hendrix L.L.C. - the company created by the late guitarist's father - the show was conceived in 1995. Premiered at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival, it has toured in 2004, 2007 and now again.
The Twist: Given that the inventive Hendrix himself never played a song the same way once (let alone twice), no attempts at duplication are made. Thus, the bill includes sacred steel guitarists Robert Randolph and the Campbell Brothers, who spin at strings in their own interpretive ways.
The Skinny: Voodoo chile, slight return.
The Tour: Toronto, Oct. 28; Quebec City, Oct. 29; Montreal, Oct. 30.
Classic Albums Live
The Show: Just as it says on the tin, the troupe meticulously recreates memorable LPs, everything from Michael Jackson's Thriller to Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. The mimicry extends only to the music - no attempts at costuming or visual effects are made.
The History: Founded in 2003 by Craig Martin, a large stable of musicians and singers are practised in a number of well known rock albums. The outfit thrives: As one team is Getting in Tune with Who's Next in Halifax, another squad thrills Michael Jackson fans in another city.
The Twist: The goal is to meticulously duplicate the targeted albums, sound effects and all, with no tape-sampling employed. Thus, for The White Album's avant-garde Revolution 9, a string section plays backward notes.
The Skinny: These note-for-notes are for you.
The Tour: Thriller in Sherbrooke, Que., Oct. 27; The Last Waltz in St. Catharines, Ont., Oct. 28; The White Album at Massey Hall, Oct. 29; Thriller in Richmond Hill, Ont., Oct. 29; The Last Waltz in Oakville, Ont., Oct. 30; Thriller in Richmond Hill, Oct. 30; Thriller in Belleville, Ont., Oct. 31.