By John Mattar
Photo by Paul GroleauExcerpted from Proximity #36
John Paul jones and his bandmates opened the 'Zooma' tour in the United States in convincing fashion at Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton, MA. The show began with "Zooma," "Goose," "Grind" and "Smile Of Your Shadow." The capacity crowd went berserk from the opening moments of the show, giving a rousing response to every single number. Jones seemed a bit overwhelmed by the ecstatic crowd reaction-maybe he was playing modest but it appeared genuine. I was pleased to see that most of the audience had heard the Zooma CD and were familiar with the material. The folks I talked to before the show were Jones fans, not casual Zeppelin fans-people who talked about the Diamanda Galas CD and tour and about the Scream For Help soundtrack.
Jones' new material accomplishes the amazing feat of being both cerebral and visceral at the same time. It is challenging, progressive music and the fans loved it. "Goose," "Nosumi Blues" and "B. Fingers" in particular were very well received. Jones moved from various custom bass guitars to bass lap steel to keyboards, sometimes within the same piece (all the guitars were custom made by British luthiers Andy and Hugh Manson, the latter of whom was on the tour as guitar tech). The steel was set up high and he played it standing up. The bass lines were nimble yet ferocious, as were the slide guitar stylings. Jones seemed to gain confidence as the show progressed, as he began to smile more and move to the sounds.
"The Smile Of Your Shadow" was the only track that was not realized completely successfully although a valiant effort was made on this complex and subtle piece.
They played every track from "Zooma," and Zeppelin did not appear until late in the first set when Jones announced that "long ago in the mists of time when dinosaurs roamed the earth there was a song called, well, I think you'll remember it." Remember indeed. We were treated to a stunning version of "No Quarter" that brought the house down. (For a humorous Zep reference, Jones stepped to the mic at one point between songs to say, "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum!!") The second set opened with an extended jam on "Bass 'n' Drums," Jones playing four string bass with remarkable musicality, passion, and verve. This was truly special, one of my favorite moments of the evening. People stood in astonishment at the amazing fretwork that unfolded before them.
Also in the second set were a blistering and spine tingling "Levee Breaks" (Jones on steel) and something called "Jump Blues" on the setlist, a rollicking swing blues number with Jones playing pedal steel and then organ. "Snake Eyes" was wonderfully realized in all its complexity and glory, Jones playing the organ, steel and all the orchestral parts on keyboards. "Tidal" closed out the second set and the crowd went into a thundering chant of "John Paul Jones! John Paul Jones!"
The first encore was something very special-"Trampled Underfoot," a mind-bending rendition to say the least. Jones jammed on the keys like there was no tomorrow-he played his heart out and was clearly having a great time. The crowd was in near hysterics at this point and the band came back to blow the roof off the place with "Black Dog." Jones played the vocal lines on slide guitar and also got down and dirty on the main riff. He Loved it. We all loved it. It was a moving moment, a fitting conclusion to what may very well be the best concert I have every had the good fortune to attend.
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