Pop Music Reviews : Bonham: Leaden Takes on the Zeppelin Format

The best that can be said for Bonham, which headlined Tuesday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, is that it is probably more entitled to rip off Led Zeppelin than the rest of the metal kids who are ripping off Led Zeppelin.

Jason Bonham, who anchors the band, assiduously preserves the heavy yet dynamic drumming style handed down by his father, John Bonham, whose death in 1980 spelled the end of Led Zeppelin. The young Bonham, in his early 20s, has surrounded himself with a band that might better be dubbed Led Zeppelin Too.

Guitarist Ian Hatton turned in a yeomanly if nondescript turn in the Jimmy Page role. Ditto for fellow Englishman John Smithson doing the John Paul Jones bass-and-keyboards routine. But yowl as he might in blatant imitation, Canadian singer Daniel MacMaster had neither the pipes nor the presence of Robert Plant.

In addition to leaden new takes on the old Zep format drawn from Bonham’s debut album, “The Disregard of Timekeeping,” the 1 1/2-hour show included club-band versions of the Zep hits “Rock and Roll” and “Black Dog.” Having mastered his stylistic legacy, Bonham would serve it far better by trying to extend it in new directions. He doesn’t have to re-create his father’s band to be his father’s son. The group plays at the Palace tonight.