John Paul Jones is touring in support of "Zooma" an adventurous instrumental rock record released on the independent Discipline Global Mobile label. He received a huge ovation from the crowd of 300 upon his arrival on stage.

Performing as a trio with a drummer and stick-guitar player, John Paul Jones ripped into the title track of his new record wielding a monster 12-string bass with a monster sound. Jones played an array of customized basses including a bass mandolin and a lap steel bass.

It was on the latter instrument where he turned in his most electrifying performances, roaring through "Goose" and shredding the song with a washed-out techno-industrial edge.

The audience was made up largely of Zeppelin devotees and a large contingent of area musicians. If there had been a fire in the room, the local music scene would take years to recover.

After solidifying his legacy as a writer of great riffs with album cuts like "Grind" and "The Smile of Your Shadow," Jones delivered what Zep-heads were hoping for when they laid down the cash for the $25 ticket.

"When the earth was formed and the dinosaurs roamed the landscape...," said Jones, introducing his first Led Zeppelin song of the evening, "No Quarter." Jones moved to the keyboards for the fired-up instrumental version.

What would all of this have sounded-like with a top-flight vocalist? Jones' new material is solid, blues-based rock that deserves the attention of a writer-singer. But for touring purposes, adding a vocalist to recreate Zeppelin tunes would only bring criticism and comparisons. Jones' instrumental versions of that catalog certainly weren't lacking in spirit or drive.

"Snake Eyes," opened with a sinister groove and morphed into a symphonic close, with Jones at the keyboards mimicking a full orchestra. He took a 20-minute break and returned with "Bass n' Drum" and an incredible workout number "B. Fingers."

The second set highlight was undoubtedly Jones' lap steel version of "Where The Levee Breaks," with the musician intimating a wailing, soaring guitar solo. Who needs Jimmy Page?

He closed the set with the song that closes the record, "Tidal," and returned for two encores which included the house favorite "Trampled Underfoot."