We're pretty sure we were getting a second-hand high from your parents Saturday night during the Jethro Tull concert at the Greek Theatre.
The audience was an eclectic mix of middle-aged fans, married couples, thirty-somethings and a few awesome dads who brought their sons to the show.
The tranquil, yet packed, Greek Theatre proved to be the perfect, whimsical setting for Tull to perform their Aqualung album in its entirety. We didn't have far to walk, but could only imagine how trippy Ian Anderson's swirly flute solos would sound during a moonlit hike through the foothills of Griffith Park. (Don't bother trying it with your iPod because it won't sound the same--and if a mountain lion or coyote doesn't eat you, one of the feral gold fish living in Griffith Park will).
This year marked the album Aqualung's 40th anniversary and Tull proved that quality songs from the '70s still stand their ground. Despite the album's age, societal issues found in the lyrics, like the plight of the homeless and discontent with organized religion, still resonate today.
The audience did as much rocking as could be done while seated, but once Tull started performing "Cross-Eyed Mary", nearly everyone was on their feet. Most of the audience sang along with the instrumental parts as well as the lyrical parts of the songs, which was entertaining.
We couldn't help but chuckle when we overheard this snippet of conversation while Jethro Tull performed "My God": "Keith Richards could never write a riff this good!" "Ozzie wishes!"
Jethro Tull kicked off their second set with their classic, and unarguably most popular, song "Aqualung". Once folks heard the infamous opening chords, they scurried back to their seats, trying not to spill their fresh cups of beer. A prism projection of the "dribbly-nosed voyeur" appeared behind the band and the ending of the song was met with a standing ovation.
Thanks to Rock Band 2, the ten-year-old seated next to us was able to identify "Hymn 43" and proceeded to rock out with his dad.
Anderson is still the same wide-eyed piper his diehard fans recall, often creeping across the stage and standing on one foot. The album Aqualung, which is revered as "one the greatest concept albums ever made", proved itself a timeless piece of musical histor, yet again.
Tull came back onstage for two encore songs, ending with "Locomotive Breath", a song both heavy on bass and guitar, featuring an extended guitar solo.
Joined: Aug 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 4,632 Location: By Scotch Corner
Re: Aqualung 40th Anniversary USA Tour « Reply #61 on Jun 14, 2011, 8:35am »
Glad you had a great time. Here's a review from the show:
We Saw Your Parents Getting Lit at the Jethro Tull Concert By Jena Ardell, Mon., Jun. 13 2011 at 11:47 AM Categories: Last Night, Live in L.A.
We're pretty sure we were getting a second-hand high from your parents Saturday night during the Jethro Tull concert at the Greek Theatre.
The audience was an eclectic mix of middle-aged fans, married couples, thirty-somethings and a few awesome dads who brought their sons to the show.
The tranquil, yet packed, Greek Theatre proved to be the perfect, whimsical setting for Tull to perform their Aqualung album in its entirety. We didn't have far to walk, but could only imagine how trippy Ian Anderson's swirly flute solos would sound during a moonlit hike through the foothills of Griffith Park. (Don't bother trying it with your iPod because it won't sound the same--and if a mountain lion or coyote doesn't eat you, one of the feral gold fish living in Griffith Park will).
This year marked the album Aqualung's 40th anniversary and Tull proved that quality songs from the '70s still stand their ground. Despite the album's age, societal issues found in the lyrics, like the plight of the homeless and discontent with organized religion, still resonate today.
The audience did as much rocking as could be done while seated, but once Tull started performing "Cross-Eyed Mary", nearly everyone was on their feet. Most of the audience sang along with the instrumental parts as well as the lyrical parts of the songs, which was entertaining.
We couldn't help but chuckle when we overheard this snippet of conversation while Jethro Tull performed "My God": "Keith Richards could never write a riff this good!" "Ozzie wishes!"
Jethro Tull kicked off their second set with their classic, and unarguably most popular, song "Aqualung". Once folks heard the infamous opening chords, they scurried back to their seats, trying not to spill their fresh cups of beer. A prism projection of the "dribbly-nosed voyeur" appeared behind the band and the ending of the song was met with a standing ovation.
Thanks to Rock Band 2, the ten-year-old seated next to us was able to identify "Hymn 43" and proceeded to rock out with his dad.
Anderson is still the same wide-eyed piper his diehard fans recall, often creeping across the stage and standing on one foot. The album Aqualung, which is revered as "one the greatest concept albums ever made", proved itself a timeless piece of musical histor, yet again.
Tull came back onstage for two encore songs, ending with "Locomotive Breath", a song both heavy on bass and guitar, featuring an extended guitar solo.
The recording studio acoustics were “pretty horrible” and “things sounded bad, and it wasn’t a good experience.”
To talk to Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull’s flutist-singer, you’d think he was referring to the band’s early demo recordings. But he’s actually talking about the 1971 album “Aqualung,” considered by many critics one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever.
“We were all a bit uncomfortable, and it wasn’t an easy ride,” he says of Tull’s recording in London’s Basing Street, or Island, Studios (where another band, Led Zeppelin, was initially recording its fourth album, featuring “Stairway to Heaven”).
“We didn’t really know what we got until we took the finished results to master them in another studio,” Anderson says of “Aqualung” during a phone interview.
What they got, however, was a future staple of classic rock radio, the most famous cuts of which include the title song as well as “Locomotive Breath.”
Marking the 40th anniversary of the record’s release, Tull – including longtime guitarist Martin Barre – will perform “Aqualung” this Friday at McMenamins Edgefield.
“On this particular tour, it’s pretty much as it was originally arranged and recorded,” he says, although Anderson adds “Hymn 43” will be played as “more of an Irish jig.”
Anderson says audience members shouldn’t expect an overly elaborate show, band members “miming” with “partly naked male dancers or female dancers” to recorded tracks, as some pop acts do these days.
“I really loathe and detest those kind of presentations,” he says, adding it would be impossible anyway.
“It’s unlikely because we’re really bad tailors,” he says with a chuckle. “Those guys need a lot of money to take their clothes off, I’m guessing.”
This week, venerable English rock legends Jethro Tull return to Eugene and Portland playing outdoors at both Cuthbert Amphitheatre on Thursday, June 16th and Edgefield on Friday, June 17th. They will play their classic 1971 album Aqualung in its entirety, in honor of its 40th anniversary. Bandleader Ian Anderson has been busy both with Tull and with his own solo performances, and the local appearances of the band are the first since the late nineties.
OMN was lucky enough to chat with Anderson earlier this month.
Do you remember the last time you were here in Portland?
Ian Anderson: I think I was there doing an orchestral concert, wasn’t I?
Right, that was last year. And the last time Jethro Tull was here?
I’d have to look it up to tell you. You know better than I do.
Jethro Tull was last in town in 1998 and now you’re going to be playing all of Aqualung live, is that right? Is it true that Tull has never played the entire album live?
No, they played it back in 2005 and 2006 in a few concerts both in the USA, mostly on the East Coast, and some dates in the UK. But it’s only been done in a few shows, and this is the first time in your part of the country that we have played all of the tracks together.
For this particular tour, were there songs that were harder to relearn than others?
Not really. We often play “Aqualung,” “Locomotive Breath,” and “My God” – those have been featured in Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson shows for forty years. They’ve been constant visitors to the set list. Some songs, like “Mother Goose” are quite frequently played, and some songs like “Hymn 43″ and “Slipstream” have hardly been played at all. “Wind Up” hasn’t been played for a long time either. They are okay songs, but the ones I enjoy the most are the classic three. They’ve been good songs to feature live and in my solo concerts with orchestras, string quartets and so on.
The word has already leaked out that the surround-sound mix for Aqualung is going to be coming out very shortly, in the next couple of months, right?
It’s scheduled for September release by EMI as a collector’s edition with all the remixes, the original masters, some bonus tracks, and some alternative recordings of a few songs that were uncovered from the original master tapes. So, it’s a big project. It’s three months in the making – we’re just finishing the artwork now, and we should be ready to release it in September.
Were you there to help supervise some of the remixing? Is this the first time you’ve met and worked with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree?
That’s correct.
So what do you think of his prowess of as an engineer? Have you heard the King Crimson remixes that he did?
No, I haven’t. Steven Wilson did a very good job – he’s a little younger than me, but he has an avid interest in some of the classic albums of that era. His approach is very sympathetic and very respectful to the original presentation. He’s given it a lot more sonic clarity and more authority. Now it sounds a lot punchier and a lot cleaner for the digital age.
The sound is an improvement from the rather muddy mixes which resulted from working in a studio that was very much an untried and untested room with terrible acoustics and equipment problems. It made it a bit of a nightmare to record the original album. So it’s good that Steven Wilson had a chance to revisit all that in a way that would fill me personally with some horror, to have to go into the studio and start work on something like that again, even with fresh ears or after all that time. Apart from which I’ve been on the road doing concerts a lot. So I wouldn’t find it very easy to fit it in time-wise anyway. But then he’s done a very good job.
Once the remix process started, were there any specific corrections that needed to be made before you settled on a final mix that you were happy with?
You have to remember that these tapes are very old tapes. When you are working with old tapes, chances are you’ll have a bit of a tradeoff. You can tidy things up, you can clean some things up with contemporary digital technology; however, it’s true to say that some of the oxide will have been lost from the tapes, from playing and just age. Some tapes are really too old and too fragile to work with safely. You have to bake them in an oven to try and get everything to glue to the backing of the tape again, and you have to try to keep the oxide intact long enough to give it a couple of passes to get some high-fidelity, professional-standard, digital copies made. In the case of Aqualung and indeed Thick as a Brick, I made one-to-one tape copies of those about fifteen years ago. So we actually have backup multi-track tape copies, as well as the original tapes.
Watch “Thick as a Brick” at Madison Square Garden in New York City in October 1978:
That is very good foresight on your part!
They were the only two I actually took the trouble to do, but it was definitely worth doing in terms of having some contemporary tape stock with those with the material copied one-to-one in the analog tradition. It was worth it. I’m pretty confident. Some of the very old tapes are actually in better condition than the tapes from the late seventies and early eighties, at which point tapes were becoming thinner and theoretically of better quality; they in fact were very fragile, and some of the worst tape stock is actually from the early eighties. That was a bad time for certain batches of tape. But going back into the late sixties and early seventies the tape was much thicker. Because of the thickness of the tape, there isn’t as much tape on a reel, so you didn’t have as much playing time per reel. That was kind of good because of the quality of the tape. It was more solid, more resilient, thicker tape, and the oxide stuck to it better. Then tapes got thinner in order to put more tape on a reel and get more playing time.
Stand Up was a wonderful record. The surround-sound mixes you got of the Carnegie Hall gig were excellent, and the fact that you were able to restore the entire gig and its running order is very wonderful. So thank you very much for doing that.
We were pleased with that one too.
I’ve got one question about the Stand Up reissue. The packaging is great and the miniaturization is really cool, but there’s no lyric sheet included! There wasn’t one there originally, but it would have been nice to have that.
It would have been nice to have had it, but luckily in this day and age all you have to do is to Google search, and they will then appear in alphabetical order. Sometimes the lyrics will have the odd mistake in, but I use those websites a lot. It goes a lot quicker and faster. If I have to relearn a song I haven’t sung in some time, and I need a quick lyrical cue, then I just pop online and print out something off the Internet, and then reword it if I have to, if they have made some mistakes. But it’s a quick and easy way of getting the lyrics in an editable form, so I use those sites all the time. I wouldn’t worry about that which is not on the album, they’re not on the original as you say, and when we’re trying to do these re-masters and re-presentations, it’s very much about trying to stay close to the original; true to the original design work and original concept of the album, both in terms of the artwork and packaging and in terms of the music.
By chance are you going to sing the original lyrics for “My God”?
Well, that song was actually performed live many months before it was recorded. The original lyrics, whilst it might be amusing to sing them, are not the lyrics that most people know. So I’m going to attempt to stick with the one that was the recorded version.
Watch “My God” live in 1970 from the DVD Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle Of Wight 1970:
How much did your first wife help you with the lyrics of the Aqualung album?
That’s a touchy subject that I really don’t want to get into. It was based on some material which she provided. It was one of the very rare attempts to have a joint effort in writing any music, let alone lyrics. I’m a loner. I like to work alone, but once in a while you try to do something with other people musically or, on this very rare occasion, sometimes lyrically. I think she remembers it a little differently to how I do.
How important was American FM radio in 1971 to get the album tracks played in America to set the tone for the popularity of the album?
It was incredibly important. It’s interesting to note, however, that Aqualung, was a fairly universal success story for Jethro Tull, putting the band on the map internationally, was successful in a lot of countries where there was no radio play at all. I think it was by word of mouth, by reputation and by approach of the fact that it was talked about. It had a place in the subculture of music, at least as far afield as the ex-USSR countries, the Latin American countries, and in some of the more Latin countries of Europe like Italy and Spain. In these places, Aqualung is a big album without getting any radio play. In fact in the UK it hardly got any radio play and we still don’t today.
So yeah, it was important in America, because that was the medium and that was the culture. But it certainly managed very well without radio exposure in other countries. I think Aqualung probably contains two or three songs that have had a lasting impact and are still played on radio today. I think that’s why the album over the years has become a benchmark of Jethro Tull’s singer/songwriter kind of music as well as its full rock features.
Was the band already headlining in the US when that album came out?
Jethro Tull was headlining in 1969 in some smaller venues. But in 1970 and 1971 we were able to venture into the larger theaters and by 1972 into larger venues, into sports arenas and so on.
When I was in Denver last night at Red Rocks Arena, I noted that Jethro Tull first played at Red Rocks in 1970 and again a year later in 1971. So we were the headline act at a venue associated with, I suppose, the good and the great of American and British rock music over the years. I guess we were doing okay back then just as we were last night, to have a lot of people sitting in a place that has played host to U2 and Bob Dylan and pretty much everyone who has ruled the planet and sold a few million records.
I think the importance of Aqualung as an album was that it wasn’t just about having a short-term or even big out-of-the-box success. It had the effect of consolidating our music up to that date, and it took us on just to that slightly higher level, not only in the USA, but in most of the major markets in the world. It really put Jethro Tull on the international map.
I think it’s important. Not that it’s important to people in America, because in the US, you don’t have the culture of thinking globally in the way that in Europe we tend to do. It’s rather like Formula One doesn’t really exist for Americans – though it’s the international popular form of motor racing, in the US it doesn’t exist at all. We have to accept that America is really quite a unique and totally different place with a totally different sort of culture and values regarding music and entertainment. We obviously want to cross over, but it’s its own world with its own identity. I think long ago, the British and a few European acts realized that America is a very special place to be successful and to perform in, but you can’t compare it to any other markets, partly because it has a huge tradition of rock radio which is really just not paralleled in any other country that I can think of.
Classic rock is a comfort blanket to a generation.
You’ve got that right!
As people say, it’s the soundtrack of our lives, and of course, that’s what it’s about. But sadly, it tends to be driven by advertising. Increasingly, as far as being representative of the different artists and their catalogs, it’s going to be just those few songs that get all the plays on their small playlists, and very rarely do radio stations and their jocks have their freedom to go a little deeper into the catalog.
Watch “Locomotive Breath” live in Chile from 2007:
Terry Ellis, your old manager at Chrysalis, was quoted in Prog Magazine as saying that Aqualung was his favorite Tull record because it struck a really good balance between acoustic and electric pieces. Would you like to comment?
It was at the point when I was feeling a little more confident to sit in the studio on my own and get some music onto tape without the other guys being around. So there are quite a few tracks that were recorded really around the vocal and guitar parts. I mean songs like “Wondering Aloud,” “Slipstream,” and “Mother Goose,” and “Cheap Day Return.” They are rather more like singer/songwriter kind of acoustic songs.
The other guys would be involved in overdubbing their contributions to the master track that I put down. That was the way of getting that kind of intimacy. I thought that everything revolved around the master vocal and master guitar part. I didn’t like to add my vocals on afterward. They were always one of the main ingredients.
One of the things that was interesting about “Wondering Aloud” was that I sang and played it twice, and I think it was the first of the two takes was the one that was declared to be the master, and we overdubbed string quartet, too, whereas take two has some piano playing as well, but no strings. It is interesting that there is just the two takes, both with the relative master vocal recorded live. We decided to include the version without string quartet, just as it was recorded live.
So are there any completely unreleased pieces that you are putting on the Aqualung reissue?
There was really nothing that has never been released. I’ve been all through the catalog in years gone by. If it had not been released, there were a few incomplete songs that were just doodles. Maybe there was just a demo put down, but they are not complete songs, just incomplete backing tracks. The men at EMI were kind of hankering after putting one of those incomplete ideas out just for the fans, and I said “No.” That’s a bit like getting out of bed in the morning and being photographed for a fashion magazine, bleary-eyed, in your underwear. It’s not for public consumption. It’s a private moment involving us all to the point where you go, “This doesn’t work.” Especially when these bits are not very well played, it doesn’t serve the reputations of the musicians when you are just fooling around in the studio with an idea that doesn’t go anywhere. I have to draw the line somewhere, and I’ve drawn it pretty firmly a long time ago with a few pieces of music that were incomplete and could be subsequently given some degree of completion. Like on the – I forget what it was called . . . it was an album I did back . . . it was Nightcap.
Oh, right, the bits and pieces record! Fans of A Passion Play were very happy to be able to hear the precursor of that.
Yeah, well, that’s it. There was some of that stuff that was sufficiently well played and sufficiently well formed, and even if there were songs that had not yet had lyrics written to them, there was a melody. Some melodic flute additions were made to the original backing tracks, just to give them something to make them worth listening to. But there are relatively few of those around, and they’ve all been released by now in one form or another.
Are you planning anything of a similar nature for the Thick as a Brick anniversary?
It’s a bit early to talk about that now. It will be a little while before I turn my attention to that one. You can ask me again in December or early January and I might be able to answer your question. At the moment I’ve got a little work to do between now and the end of October when we finish our tours this year.
You were recently quoted as saying that you listened to Roy Harper and that he was a bit of an influence on you. Which albums of Roy’s do you like?
Roy’s music was becoming very involved – he was also a little bit under the influence of people like me, and Jimmy Page and some of the Pink Floyd people, we had a kind of a mutual admiration society going on. We respected and enjoyed each others’ work and saw it as being a source of – if not a direct source, a sort of an inspirational source. Roy was very much infatuated with the idea of being in a rock and roll band, whereas some of the folks who were in rock and roll bands were interested in becoming lonesome troubadours who could get out and entertain with just an acoustic guitar and a pair of long trousers. You always like the idea of what other people do.
But Roy was getting a little bit more involved as a musician at that point, and though I think he did some great tunes at that point, it was his earlier work that appealed to me. A really good set of tunes appeared on Come Out Fighting Genghis Smith that came out in the summer of 1968. That was the first record that impacted upon me, although I knew something of Roy’s reputation, because he came from the same patch of northern England that I had come down to London from.
Are you planning to do any more recordings like Rupi’s Dance, recording and touring with that kind of material and approach?
The answer is probably yes, because I do lots of different kinds of concerts outside of the Jethro Tull framework. So when I’m not doing perhaps the more mainstream rock material, I might work with an acoustic lineup, a string quartet, an orchestra, special guests, whatever it might be. I tend to do a lot more specifically different things when I go out on tour most of the year, and relatively few concerts these days that are specific to Jethro Tull.
For example, this September I have a bunch of dates in the UK just as a trio, just me and two guys. That’s a way of stripping things down to a pretty basic and sometimes different way of doing the music, because without bass and drums, you have to think more about the way you convey the tune with a rather simpler arrangement.
As of October, it’s going to be a string quartet in the late year, which will be more acoustic oriented, but we’ll have some of the rock arrangements, albeit done in a slightly different – not hugely quiet, but I get to do a lot of different kinds of things, whether it is acoustic stuff or rock stuff. It’s part of what I do for fun. I get to dabble in a number of areas of music outside of the more rigid and rather, I suppose, anticipated format that comes with doing gigs with Jethro Tull, especially in America, where Jethro Tull tends to be more synonymous with a classic rock band. Those songs that perhaps have had the most impact on the widest cross-section of the American public, whereas elsewhere I guess Jethro Tull is probably thought of more as a folk-rock band rather than very simply a rock band.
Anyway, very nice to talk to you but I must move on.
Watch Ian Anderson’s solo work live with the Frankfurt Orchestra:
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Aqualung with Jethro Tull in Eugene at the Cuthbert Amphitheatre on Thursday, June 16th or in Portland at Edgefield on Friday, June 17th.
Ian Anderson backpedaled some 40 yards across the Mountain Winery stage on Tuesday night in Saratoga, piercing the warm evening air with his flute as Jethro Tull wound down its lengthy encore, "Locomotive Breath."
Tull's "Aqualung" 40th anniversary tour show, featuring most of the songs from the 1971 "Aqualung" album, was a rousing success. The capacity 2,500 spectators were captivated from the moving opening number, "Living in the Past," the title track from Tull's 1972 album.
The song was a curveball thrown by Tull, for it had opened with "Thick as a Brick," the 1972 concept album, for much of the tour. Anderson encouraged the throng to sing the song's last lyrics.
The Scottish-born Anderson showed early on that he could still balance himself standing on his right leg as he played his scintillating flute, even at the ripe age of 63. Guitarist Martin Barre, who first met Anderson back in 1968, owned the left side of the stage. At one point in the show, Anderson wished drummer Doane Perry an early happy birthday, then stated his age and Barre's, which is 64. Perry, a resident of Woodland Hills, turns 57 today as the tour hits Eugene, Ore. Bassist David Goodier, touring with Tull since 2002, stood in front of Perry's extensive drum set. Keyboardist John O'Hara, with Jethro Tull since 2003, was to Goodier's right. O'Hara was brilliant, switching from electric keyboard to electric accordion throughout the night.
This is one of the world's most talented bands, with one of the world's most talented performers, Anderson, leading the way. Perhaps, sensing a special night was on hand, the band saved the more powerful tunes for the second set, though the first set was plenty dynamic. Anderson reached back to his 1968 debut album, "This Was," for "Beggar's Farm."
"Here is an old blues number I used to play in the pubs," Anderson said.
Then it was on to "Up To Me," the final track on Side 1 of Aqualung. Then an acoustical "Mother Goose," as Anderson stayed with the Aqualung theme. Then "Wond'ring Aloud," the third straight song from Aqualung.
Tull closed the first set with the jazzy "Bouree," from "Stand Up," sounding so fine in what amounted to a Shakespearean setting.
"We're taking a 20-minute break," Anderson said. "Go out and have a drink. They have barrels of wine up there, I've heard."
The second set unfurled the title track from 1977 album, "Song From the Wood," and the wickedly powerful, "Farm on the Freeway," from the 1987 album "Crest of a Knave."
"All I have left is a broken-down pickup truck," the lyrics driving into one's soul.
Back to Aqualung it went with "Cross-Eyed Mary," the crowd now grooving in the seats, though some stood and danced.
"Bucharest," also from "Crest of a Knave," was a sleeper tune with a rousing climax. That paved the way for "Aqualung," the title track. It might be taking the easy way out to say it was best song of the night, but leads by Anderson and Barre shook the house.
"Good night," said Anderson, waving to the crowd.
Not for long. Out came O'Hara to milk the opening notes of "Locomotive Breath." Then Barre sauntered out, joining O'Hara in a bit of back and forth. Last out was Anderson, his flute true to form. The band had some fun, occasionally inserting the main guitar lead of "Teacher," one of their earlier hits off of "Living in the Past," while Anderson rested against the wall behind O'Hara.
It was quite the lesson taught by the master. Jethro Tull showed they can still bring it on, under a mostly full white moon at the Mountain Winery.
Jethro Tull hadn’t released its Aqualung album when it headlined at the Pacific Coliseum 40 years ago, but it previewed many of its songs.
Following a set by the post-Kiln House Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull offered “My God,” “Locomotive Breath,” “Cross-Eyed Mary” and the title track from the still-to-be-released record. These were forceful and laid out leader Ian Anderson’s beef against the inequity of society. He would come back to such themes though Jethro Tull was seldom as direct as it was on Aqualung.
Forty years later, a song such as “Locomotive Breath,” is still a cornerstone of the Jethro Tull repertoire, but when the band is at the Centre Sunday, it will be accompanied by all the songs on Aqualung. For the 40th anniversary of the album, Tull is performing the record in its entirety.
“It isn’t a matter of playing the songs; it is going back,” Anderson stresses. “Like ‘Mother Goose’ or ‘Up To Me’ required me to take myself back to where I was living at the time, or what I was doing. Or, each day I’d pass a homeless character not unlike the character pictured on the cover of Aqualung. I’m not a method actor, it’s me. When I sing ‘My God,’ I’m angry.”
Anderson remembers previewing Aqualung clearly.
“Well, I think we knew from playing the songs live onstage we had some strong material,” he recalls. “From the reaction we got we knew. It was a good way of testing the material. It’s a good way, road testing. We still do it. We’ve done it all our lives. I think we knew it was a good album.”
Aqualung arrived at a pivotal point in the band’s career. It started as a blues band that occasionally mixed in jazz and stood out because Anderson introduced a most un-rock ’n’ roll instrument in the flute, which he’d usually be seen playing on one leg with the second aloft and crossed at the knee. With longtime guitarist Martin Barre providing sturdiness and Anderson acquiring a bizarre but distinctive image, Jethro Tull was ready to make a commercial and artistic leap. Aqualung became that springboard.
“My memory of the time we were making Aqualung was that it gave me a role that was more than this deranged front rock ’n’ roll flute guy.
“Fundamentally, the music holds up to me,” Anderson says now. “On a personal level, and on an intellectual level. The issue of organized religion, population control . . .
“What you do as a songwriter is indulge your whimsy,” he continues. “I don’t [write social commentary] very often. I just write what I fancy. We don’t have a duty, or responsibility, to anyone, but you have to be careful when you’re writing songs about issues.”
After Aqualung there came concepts, lofty statements, the labelling of the band as progressive rock, mergers of folk and classical music. Band members apart from Barre came and went, Anderson long ago took over Tull’s management and, on the side, he became well-known as a fish farmer. By comparison to all that came after, Aqualung seems a simple statement. Though not that simple.
“Some of the songs are pretty rarely played,” Anderson grumbles. “I’m also approaching them as some guy who sits down with a guitar and re-learns them. It does require a bit of homework.”
tharrison@theprovince.com
----------
IN CONCERT: An Evening with Jethro Tull
Where: The Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts, 777 Homer St.
When: Sunday at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $45.50-$89.50 at Live Nation and Ticketmaster
Re: Aqualung 40th Anniversary USA Tour « Reply #69 on Jun 16, 2011, 10:47pm »
RE: "Jethro Tull heats up the Mountain Winery"
I agree with everything written by john reid except I don't remember them playing "Bucharest". Kidding, both COAN songs were excelllant.
Highlights for me were:
1. Beggars Farm. Martin played Mick A's part so well. I never really noticed before how close Martin interpreted the original guitar on that song until Tuesday evening.
2. Songs from the Wood. For it's vocal arrangement. David G's backing vocal. When they hit the chorus "songs from the wo' oood!" David takes the high oood! vocal note, filling in a place were I used to cringe.
3. Last but not least, I sat in Row C which wraps around the stage becoming Front Row. It was like seeing Tull in my livingroom.
By Mike Bell, Postmedia News June 17, 2011 6:02 PM Jethro Tull: When: Sunday, June 19, 8 p.m. Where: The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts Tickets: $82.75-$98.75 at ticketmaster.ca
Car wreck. Overdose. Plane crash. Choking on own vomit.
These are how classic rock stars are supposed to die.
Then again, Martin Barre, lead guitarist for legendary English act Jethro Tull, came close to setting a new standard for the Most. Awesome. Musician. Death. Ever. when he was out for a run a couple of years ago in his part-time home of Fernie, B.C.
“I got chased by a pack of wolves,” Barre says from a tour stop in Oregon. “Five wolves. They followed me, and I was very ‘bear aware,’ but this was in the winter so I thought bears weren’t really a problem, and nobody had ever told me about wolves. I thought they’d probably attack a small animal, but I was quite scared, so I got a big stick and they ran off into the woods.”
But rather than turn his own tail and pack up his Fernie abode for good, the musician is philosophical about his brush with furry, fangy death. And he actually points to it as one of the reasons he bought a home in this part of the western world seven years ago — after being lured there on vacation by his snowboard instructress daughter — noting that the beauty of the area is that “it’s an environment that belongs to nature and we’re the visitors.”
The affable Barre will be returning to this neck of the woods this week as he brings his groundbreaking rock band Jethro Tull to town. The act, which was formed in the late ’60s by frontman and flutist Ian Anderson, is currently on tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their classic album Aqualung, which they’ll perform most of during their stop in Vancouver Sunday.
Barre, who was brought into the British band three years before its release, says it’s satisfying being able to still perform tracks such as Cross-Eyed Mary, My God, Locomotive Breath and, of course, Aqualung, which opens with his signature monster guitar riff.
“At the risk of sounding pompous, I’m quite proud of it. It makes me feel good because I still love it and I’m lucky to be able to still do it,” he says noting it’s less about the number than it is about the material itself and what it did for the band in general, and himself, specifically. “As an album, it’s obviously incredibly important to us in every possible way. For me, I got most of recognition through Aqualung.”
Barre’s signature playing is all over Tull albums such as 1972’s Thick As A Brick, the folkier ’77 release Songs From the Wood and even ’87’s Crest of a Knave, which infamously beat out Metallica for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance at the Grammys. And other than Anderson’s voice and lyricism, his guitar work is considered one of the most important elements of the band. It’s an element he’s also been exploring outside of the Jethro Tull element for the past decade and a half, releasing a couple of well received solo albums, such as 2003’s Stage Left, and he’s now working on another album that will feature acoustic versions of little known Tull tracks.
The latter is something he’s planning to distribute with an autobiography he’s concurrently writing, which he says will be “the normal, boring, everything I’ve ever done” type book, going back to his days in swinging London. In other words, don’t expect a Motley Crue-like tome, or even a Keith Richards mudslinger, especially not about his long-time partnership with Anderson, which, after 43 years, shows no signs of coming to an end.
“We have a very professional relationship,” Barre says. “I was talking to him this morning about it. You know, we’re not best friends, we don’t go to the pub together. If you examine our relationship, we have nothing in common. I go snowboarding in Fernie every year for three months, I go wakeboarding in the summer, I’m a runner, I’m sort of an outdoor person. And Ian doesn’t have any of those hobbies.
“But it’s healthy, I think. And bands that had a very close type relationship, historically they haven’t lasted. Because when you do have an upset, it’s on a very personal level. Whereas for me and Ian, when we have a glitch, it’s professional. . . . We’re all after the same goal, we all love playing music and Jethro Tull is a good medium to play music in.”
Joined: Dec 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 0 Location: Canada
Re: Aqualung 40th Anniversary USA Tour « Reply #71 on Jun 18, 2011, 12:18pm »
Aqualung, Under Harrah's Open Sky By Daniel Knighton | Published Saturday, June 18, 2011 http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/....rrahs-open-sky/ Opening with 1972's “Living in the Past,” Jethro Tull front man Ian Anderson set the tone for the evening by working the stage, giving equal attention to both sides of the theater. And the crowd responded enthusiastically. Moving on, the English prog-rock band launched into a brief version of “Thick as a Brick.” I say brief because even at around 15 minutes it was much shorter than the 44-minute opus released in early 1972 as a follow-up to the band’s biggest hit Aqualung.
Anderson and company didn't quite get around to the whole Aqualung album, but we'll forgive them. (I think only a few diehards such as myself noticed the two missing tracks.) They made up for it in one bunch, with a spectacular acoustic performance of “Cheap Day Return,” “Mother Goose,” and “Wond'ring Aloud.” Drummer Doane Perry lugged a slimmed-down kit — small kick, two cymbals, and a couple bongos — to the front of the stage. And there’s no sweeter-sounding acoustic guitar than Ian Andersons. Even live, when you expect the sound to be less than studio quality, it sounded album-perfect. “Hymn 43” also got special treatment, starting as a laidback, acoustic take, but then it morphed into the hard-rock beast we all loved. Impressive, as was “Bourée,” which started as a jazzy lounge number but sure didn't end that way.
The band delivered a fitting tribute to the legendary songwriting of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull. Aqualung remains a force in the rock-music world after 40 years and will be for 40 more.
Concert: Jethro Tull Date: June 12 Venue: Harrah's Open Sky Theater Seats: 8th row, center, floor
big brother watches over me And the state protects and feeds me And my conscience never leaves me And I'm loyal to the unions who protect me at all levels. I'm a working John and I'm a working Joe.
There is a little-known third alternative to burning out or fading away in rock ‘n’ roll– and that’s just sticking to your guns no matter what anyone says.
Who could’ve imagined such a strange band like Jethro Tull could even exist, let alone last this long? Consider the singer who prances around like a mad stork, twittering and tooting and spitting into his flute, of all unlikely rock ‘n’ roll instruments. Marvel at the dense, complicated songs that skirt the lines between jazz, folk and heavy metal with lyrics that make as much sense as any art rock band – which is to say they don’t, unless you’re an English major, and also high. And goggle in amazement at the whole faux classical gas sound that evokes gnomes and elves scampering around Stonehenge in the moonlight. This band has to have been an inspiration for Spinal Tap. It could be completely ridiculous – and yet amazingly, it isn’t.
The main thing that saves Jethro Tull from becoming a parody of itself –a fourth way to go in rock ‘n’ roll – is that they’re so bloody good at what they do. The stellar musicianship made itself apparent straight away during the band’s show Tuesday night at the Jubilee Auditorium. Ian Anderson’s voice is pretty much shot – he might as well go for spoken word at this point - but he doesn’t seem to care. Nor did the 2,600 fans who sold out the joint. Besides, the showboating, occasionally maniacal flute playing was one of the most memorable things about the night. Five seconds into the show and Anderson’ doing that one-legged stork pose. Why? Who knows? It’s his trademark. And he’ll keep going it until he tips over.
With a show heavy on tracks from Aqualung, to mark the album’s 40th anniversary, the relaxed, elongated arrangements allowed solo sections of such complexity and dynamic range that one might almost forget what song you were in – until Anderson steps to the mic and warbles the closing verse. Oh, yeah, we’re back to Thick as a Brick. It sure was an epic version of that song. Few actually realize Anderson is also quite the guitarist. He had a strange little guitar to strum when he wasn’t flauting, but he knows how to use it.
There were no tricks here, no smoke and mirrors - just a solid set from this latest and one of the best incarnations of Jethro Tull. Yes, the question surfaces again as it does at almost every classic rock event: Who the hell is still in the band now? Anderson still has his right hand man Martin Barre on guitar, with Doane Perry on drums, David Goodier on bass and John O’Hara on keyboards and accordion. Now you know. The interplay, particularly between O’Hara’s piano and Anderson’s funny little guitar, was beautiful. Barre provided the “hard rock” portion of the show – while Anderson couldn’t resist bringing up Jethro Tull’s upset victory at the Grammy Awards in 1987, robbing Metallica from the hard rock award.
Before the inevitable Locomotive Breath in the encore, the band showed many moods. There was a stripped down interlude, call it “unplugged,” if you must, that included some of Aqualung’s lesser-known ballads, and a rendition of Bouree – basically Bach funked up and swung - to end the first set. If it weren’t for bands like Jethro Tull, how would rock fans learn about the great classical masters?
It helped a lot that the frontman was generous with witty self-deprecation. One of Anderson’s best lines came after he accidentally started a song in the wrong key. He laughed and told the crowd, “I do like it when I f--- up. I really do. For a moment, it makes me almost human.”
Well, that makes all the difference, doesn’t it?
4 out of 5
YOU SAID IT: Jethro Tull plays YEG http://www.gigcity.ca/2011/06/22/you-said-it-jethro-tull-plays-edmonton/ Give them this: after four decades of blending folk and hard rock, Jethro Tull still know how to put on a tight show. Edmontonians caught the band Tuesday night at the Jubilee Auditorium.
Jethro Tull was amazing again! CareyNash Jethro Tull was actually pretty awesome. Only Ian Anderson can make playing the flute cool haha. What a guy lol Chucker Ian Anderson still has it! Great Jethro Tull show in #yeg Fab band #hippiemusic Zurawell The Band is best known for the single "Aqualung" but is also famous for beating out Metallica, to much surprise, for the first-ever heavy metal Grammy a few years back. Love them in concert! Love them period! CareyNash: Jethro Tull was amazing again! jaymemontoya Jethro Tull was incredible. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
By Mike Bell, Calgary Herald June 23, 2011 3:02 AM
Jethro Tull performed Wednesday night at the Jubilee. Attendance: 2,400 (sold out). Apt. And perhaps a little too easy, for fans and detractors -not to mention writers assigned the task of reviewing.
But, again, it's remarkably fitting that Jethro Tull should choose to open the show Wednesday night at the Jubilee with their 1969 song Living In the Past for a couple of reasons.
First, there's the fact that the U.K. classic rock mainstays were celebrating the 40th anniversary of their landmark release Aqualung, and, as such were more than happy to rely on songs from that era -including latter evening entries My God and, naturally, the title cut -despite the fact they've kept chugging along, releasing new material, albeit songs that have been virtually ignored, for the past two decades.
There's also the idea that, well, the songs and the sound of the band, led consistently through its lengthy history by frontman Ian Anderson along with guitarist Martin Barre, is so positively quaint, so remarkably antiquated that at times it sounds like parody. Where, for example, will you see someone rocking the flute solo or kicking the mandolin these days, save for reruns of Anchorman and Spinal Tap, than a Tull show? And, obvious skill aside, it's often just as funny, just as ludicrous when it's performed sans irony. (If you can watch a Jethro Tull show without singing Stonehenge or picturing dancing dwarfs, then congratulations on your obliviousness.)
That's not to take away from the incredible musicianship of the act, which, really, is the reason the band is still able to do what it does -perhaps, staking claim to the title of Britain's jam band answer to the Grateful Dead (and, yes, there was the scent of weed in the audience, but it was seemingly cut with Ben-Gay and, perhaps, mead?).
As an oldies act, Tull can still deliver on that level, bringing their proggy, Goddy, classical roots stylings to life. No, it never rocked. Just politely rolled. And was content with that.
The best display of that came early in the evening's first half (the band played two one-hour sets, with a 15-minute intermission) when the quintet played a trio of Aqualung's quieter, more acoustic numbers -Cheap Day Return, Mother Goose and Wond'ring Aloud -and then kicked off the second half with Songs From the Wood. Still Sherwood Foresty in nature, they have a way of making it seem less Kevin Costner than Russell Crowe.
Making it even more palatable is Anderson, who, at 63, is incredibly self-aware and remarkably charming and entertaining, cracking jokes and offering light, easy quips about colonoscopy videos, the collective age of his arse cheeks and the aged bladders of the audience.
He, and the songs and playing were the show -the stage was empty, the lighting minimal -and, well, the success of which depended on where you stand: happily living in the past, blissfully unaware that time and music have moved on, or cognizant of the fact that 40 years is a long time to maintain anything, including a sound that you could ever hope to be considered contemporary.
Whatever the case, Living in the Past aptly summed the evening up for all parties involved.
By Andrew Matte, Leader-Post June 23, 2011 3:04 AM
Jethro Tull 8 p.m., Tonight Casino Regina Show Lounge
Ian Anderson is not your average rock star. Known as an early riser with a penchant for clean living and exercise, Anderson believes he wouldn't be able to earn much of a living in music if he'd been born 45 years later.
The music of Jethro Tull, which is known for its unique blend of blues, rock and folk, would be of no interest to record companies today, he says, because it doesn't fall within today's definition of rock music.
"I most certainly would have never got a record deal," Anderson, 63, said during a 9 a.m. phone interview from a hotel room in Oregon. "Jethro Tull music is a little too esoteric."
Despite Anderson's view, Jethro Tull has sold more than 60 million records over more than 40 years. Aqualung, viewed by many as the band's best album and featuring songs like Aqualung, Cross Eyed Mary, and Locomotive Breath, made it to No. 337 on the list of the best 500 albums by Rolling Stone magazine.
Anderson believes he was born at the perfect time because he was a young man when British bands like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and the Animals were creating the classic rock by putting their slant on American blues and bringing it across the pond. He believes classic rock sounds good today because it's what most current rock made is based upon.
"Classic rock sounds fresh because there is an innocence and simplicity about that," says Anderson.
"There is nothing really new in rock music. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad music. Sometimes it's good music but it's always a new take on something that's been around for a long time."
Anderson also believes that because technology allows artists to produce and distribute music without the help of record companies, Jethro Tull wouldn't have much traction if it emerged on the music scene today.
"The technology is a huge bonus for the kids making music. But the sad reality is that they're not going to get paid for it. Because in the world of Myspace and Facebook and web sites, there are literally hundreds of thousands of new entrants who are putting stuff into the public domain with absolutely no chance of ever receiving any income from it," he says.
Anderson believes the technology means that record companies no longer take chances on bands that are "esoteric" because the value placed on original music has dropped since the invention of the Mp3. The only way for a band to earn a respectable living is to tour lots and sell lots of t-shirts and belt buckles.
"This is the reality of a depressed music business. We're not experiencing a recession like the housebuilding industry or the retail food sector. We are part of an industry that was seriously on the decline 10 years ago. It will never return to an era where making records is profitable enough on its own for record companies or artists," he says.
Anderson is thankful that there is still interest in Jethro Tull music by fans who were in their teens and early twenties when albums like Aqualung and Thick As A Brick were released.
"We see this continued intake of younger audiences, whether they're attending concerts or buying records," he says.
"Suddenly, there is a large section of the audience who are in their teens. And they are waving copies of Thick As A Brick. It's not just happened to me or to Jethro Tull. It's happening right across the board.
"What we know as classic rock from the late '60s and '70s is going to be around for another 20, 30 and 40 years because we can see new audiences picking up on this music."
Joined: Jul 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 286 Location: Brisbane, Qld, Aus
Re: Aqualung 40th Anniversary USA Tour « Reply #75 on Jun 24, 2011, 2:51am »
That review by Mike Bell (Calgary Post) is the strangest thing. I don't think he knows whether he's Arthur or Martha - one moment he pokes fun at the band: "There's also the idea that, well, the songs and the sound of the band, led consistently through its lengthy history by frontman Ian Anderson along with guitarist Martin Barre, is so positively quaint, so remarkably antiquated that at times it sounds like parody" then praises them: "That's not to take away from the incredible musicianship of the act, which, really, is the reason the band is still able to do what it does -perhaps, staking claim to the title of Britain's jam band answer to the Grateful Dead".
He also can't reconcile the band's sound: "He, and the songs and playing were the show -the stage was empty, the lighting minimal -and, well, the success of which depended on where you stand: happily living in the past, blissfully unaware that time and music have moved on, or cognizant of the fact that 40 years is a long time to maintain anything, including a sound that you could ever hope to be considered contemporary."
Joined: Dec 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 0 Location: Canada
Re: Aqualung 40th Anniversary USA Tour « Reply #76 on Jun 24, 2011, 1:29pm »
http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogc....0th-1438898.php Concert Review: Jethro Tull, Aqualung 40th Anniversary Tour, Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver, 6/19/11 By GutterCandy, BLOGCRITICS.ORG Published Friday, June 24, 2011 In a recent interview, Rush drummer Neil Peart commented that stamina and smoothness are the key attributes he feels the 58-year-old version of himself has over the younger models. Jethro Tull, on the Vancouver stop of their current tour commemorating the 40th anniversary of their monumental Aqualung, proved Peart's hypothesis correct.
Working through various tracks from other albums while intermittently working through Aqualung, the 60-plus-year-olds demonstrated a steadiness and resolve that was the foundation of the evening.
Their meter and pacing were hypnotising and showed no sign of slowing down. The hour-and-45 minutes they were on stage rushed by, even with the half hour "pee break AKA intermission," which seemed more for the grey-haired majority in the audience than the musicians onstage.
Starting with "Living in the Past" could have been an ironic move, but its soft-jazz intro blossomed into a driving force complete with heavily articulated off-beats. The statement was clear: this is not your granddad's Tull! An odd sentiment, because the youngest song played was over 20 years old.
Age was a presence but never became an elephant in the room. It was addressed head-on by front man cum comedian Ian Anderson, who acknowledged that after his last colonoscopy he realized his backside housed a great view and was a good place to insert his prog-rocker head.
To confirm his theory, the band wheeled out prog-rock classics, including a truncated 10-minute version of the 40-plus-minute "Thick as Brick" along with other 10-minute opuses including "Budapest" and, of course, the encore, Aqualung's FM hit "Locomotive Breath." With such communal appreciation from the assembled Tull-heads, these epics seemed far from self-indulgent.
This current trend of tours based on seminal albums must be close to running its course, though. While it might have been a great idea at one time - a fitting tribute to a deserving piece of art - two elements are making the practice seemingly less savory: 1) the sheer number of bands jumping on the bandwagon and 2) the tedious predictability of the setlist when the album is played in sequence.
Aqualung, on the other hand, was given its due this night, transcending the monotony of predictability. Tull's homage to "the snotted one" kept the show as fresh as their renditions of most of its 11 songs. Anderson's Behind the Music bon mots added a witty, self-effacing element to many of the featured tracks.
Instead of opting for a boring song-by-song linearity, the band's approach of interspersing Aqualung pieces in no particular order throughout the night kept the evening fresh. "Mother Goose" benefited from the revisitation as did guitarist Martin Barre's riff-heavy version of "Cross Eyed Mary;" second-set opener, the non-snotted "Songs from the Wood," seemed even more invigorated, possibly because it wasn't expected.
The set closer, the title track, and the aforementioned "Locomotive" encore were the only non-surprises, as most of Aqualung had been performed up to this point. While the whole show seemed spry, these two songs in particular were especially rejuvenated with the stamina, smoothness, and focus that can only come with age, experience, humour, and a "colonoscopic" point of view.
Setlist:
Living In The Past Beggar's Farm Thick As A Brick Up To Me Cheap Day Return Mother Goose Wond'ring Aloud Farm On The Freeway Bouree
INTERMISSION
Songs From The Wood Hymn 43 Cross-Eyed Mary My God Budapest Aqualung
Generosity at its finest! Chicago’s very own radio station WDRV (97.1 FM) celebrated their tenth birthday with some legendary musicians at the Rosemont Theatre. The classic rock groups Jethro Tull and America teamed up with WDRV for this amazing Monday evening. The ticket prices were quite reasonable as well as this was a free concert. The amount of fun that was to be had was truly priceless.
The spot on the dial has existed since 1955 when the radio station first came about as WNIB. So many changes to the station were made over the years, but on April 2, 2001 history was made. The air waves first broadcast the call letters of “WDRV.” They have been playing “timeless rock” for so many years that they have become a part of Chicago music scene.
The iconic voice of Steve Downs came out accompanied by Bobby Skafish to introduce the show. Downs discussed WDRV and how they have done this birthday celebration since they started and every year “it’s a free concert.” He handed the microphone over to Skafish who also pumped up the crowd that was ready for this show to start. A group of fans were singing “Happy Birthday” to “W – D – R –V.” As they hit the last line, “…. happy birthday to you,” the lights went out and it was time to start the show.
A classical sounding musical creation was used as an intro for the band America. These folk musicians started the show and went straight for one of their biggest hits, “Tin Man.” They played through every one of their classic hits such as; “Sister Golden Hair,” “Ventura Highway,” and “Lonely People.” Their set even included an incredible version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.” The group has harmonies that were so flawless within every song they did.
Their set seemed to go very fast as it was one hit after another that was being played out for the pleasure of the audience. Before you knew it they were doing the routine of pretending they are done while the crowd cheers for an encore performance. They conveniently left their biggest song until last, “A Horse With No Name.” Everyone within the place was singing along with every word.
Each of the bands had their own sound man for the show and the band America could’ve made a few minor adjustments. During some songs the bass guitar was over powering the acoustics that were strumming, while at other times the vocals couldn’t be heard clearly enough to sing along with. Overall America was a very good opening act and history was made with the two groups. This was the very first time America had shared a stage with Jethro Tull, but it was quite apparent after the intermission why they were the headliner.
The audience ran for the bathrooms and concession stands during the band change up in attempt to fulfill their needs. Crowds of people were there to help in this birthday celebration. The lights dimmed letting everyone know it was almost time to start the second half of the show. As people made it back to their seats Bob Stroud came out to pump up the audience. The voices of Chicago radio were present to witness a great music event.
The lights finally went out for the main act of Jethro Tull. It was time to witness the greatness of a highly underrated band. A spotlight lit up on drummer Doane Perry as he hit his sticks together for a few clicks to count the band in and start out “Living in the Past.” The entire band jumped in and the four musicians played as the man of the hour walked out with flute in hand. The one legged flute playing madman Ian Anderson came out playing the melody line on the flute and the packed house cheered. Ian’s eyes peaked over at the audience making motion that he was embarrassed by applause. Oh yes, he knows how to ham it up.
As soon as the song was over with, Ian started picking out the intro to “Thick as a Brick” on his small half sized guitar. The best show in town was well on its way. With the faithful steed of Martin Barre at stage left, this band couldn’t play a bad note if they tried. The sounds of a distorted six string were raging through the heavy songs and on the slower songs “Lancelot” showed his dynamics as he played with grace. He has been right by Ian’s side since 1969 through everything. Just an amazing individual and a class act that no other guitar player wants to follow.
The man on the skins kept the tick tocks in line all night long playing difficult drum lines from a top his riser. He looked down to the band mates making eye contact during climatic interludes. Doane Perry drove some of the heavier songs from behind the Premier kit with power and has been doing so with this band since 1984. To a lot of the true fans, it would not be a Jethro Tull show without the big-foot of the bass drum.
Off to stage right were the newest members of Jethro Tull, Keyboard player John O’Hara and Dave Goodier. O’Hara duplicated the difficult keyboard parts of his predecessors with precision. Every single piece that he played sounded like the albums within the vast Jethro Tull library. Goodier stepped up and filled the mighty big shoes of the low end masters that came before him as well. The band even played “Bouree” with a newer and more melodic bass solo in the middle. The solo from the record done by Glen Cornick had been swept away and replaced by a newer more intricate piece. WOW!
Jethro Tull had been performing the entire Aqualung album during this U.S. tour that ended at the Rosemont Theatre. Instead of playing the complete album as they had done on this tour, the band compiled a special set list just for this show. As the set included all but three songs from Aqualung anyway, not too much was missed that was seen the night before at The Chicago Theater. Slightly different version of “Mother Goose” and “Up To Me” were a refreshing change to hear.
A white spot light hit the stage and Martin stepped into it to play the six most popular notes from this band. The six notes that put them into a heavier music class than what they really were. The drums joined in and “Sitting on a park bench ….. “ was uttered. The man who was being classified as a dirty old man for years by the unknowing because of the lines in this song was now performing the bands most popular hit. The title track “Aqualung” seemed to be what everyone had been waiting for. The coolest guitar solo, heaviest guitar parts, and thundering drums went on for six minutes during this classic rock song. They finished and the band waved good bye for the first time.
The crowd cheered and John O’Hara finally made his way back to the keyboards for one last song. He made a gesture and played the opening piece to “Locomotive Breath.” Across the stage Martin joins in with his melodic guitar riffs until everything starts to build when the rest of the band comes in and jams the introduction to a heavy classic rock anthem. A chord is held and out comes the leader with flute ready. The song starts and Anderson rides the song all the way to the finish line. Complete with guitar and flute solo in the bridge that was performed to perfection.
The song finished and Ian waved “bye bye – bye bye.” The band took their bow with Ian representing his flute in a phallic like gesture. They took all their bows, waved goodbye one more time and galloped off for their dressing room. One of the coolest bands to ever hit the stage had just played and left a lot of people in shock as to how good they really are. They are a highly underrated band and it was quite clear how awesome they were as the crowd picked up their jaws that been sitting on the floor for the last hour.
The night wound down as the concert goers quietly made it to their vehicles. They walked past the parked WDRV promotion vehicle parked in front of the Rosemont Theatre as they said thanks to the radio station. The tenth birthday celebration was just an amazing time for everyone that attended. This was just a hell of a show to see. Jethro Tull and America? Together? …….. and it’s a free show? This is something that most music fans would have paid to see as it truly was worth the price of admission.
Generosity at its finest! Chicago’s very own radio station WDRV (97.1 FM) celebrated their tenth birthday with some legendary musicians at the Rosemont Theatre. The classic rock groups Jethro Tull and America teamed up with WDRV for this amazing Monday evening. The ticket prices were quite reasonable as well as this was a free concert. The amount of fun that was to be had was truly priceless.
The spot on the dial has existed since 1955 when the radio station first came about as WNIB. So many changes to the station were made over the years, but on April 2, 2001 history was made. The air waves first broadcast the call letters of “WDRV.” They have been playing “timeless rock” for so many years that they have become a part of Chicago music scene.
The iconic voice of Steve Downs came out accompanied by Bobby Skafish to introduce the show. Downs discussed WDRV and how they have done this birthday celebration since they started and every year “it’s a free concert.” He handed the microphone over to Skafish who also pumped up the crowd that was ready for this show to start. A group of fans were singing “Happy Birthday” to “W – D – R –V.” As they hit the last line, “…. happy birthday to you,” the lights went out and it was time to start the show.
A classical sounding musical creation was used as an intro for the band America. These folk musicians started the show and went straight for one of their biggest hits, “Tin Man.” They played through every one of their classic hits such as; “Sister Golden Hair,” “Ventura Highway,” and “Lonely People.” Their set even included an incredible version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.” The group has harmonies that were so flawless within every song they did.
Their set seemed to go very fast as it was one hit after another that was being played out for the pleasure of the audience. Before you knew it they were doing the routine of pretending they are done while the crowd cheers for an encore performance. They conveniently left their biggest song until last, “A Horse With No Name.” Everyone within the place was singing along with every word.
Each of the bands had their own sound man for the show and the band America could’ve made a few minor adjustments. During some songs the bass guitar was over powering the acoustics that were strumming, while at other times the vocals couldn’t be heard clearly enough to sing along with. Overall America was a very good opening act and history was made with the two groups. This was the very first time America had shared a stage with Jethro Tull, but it was quite apparent after the intermission why they were the headliner.
The audience ran for the bathrooms and concession stands during the band change up in attempt to fulfill their needs. Crowds of people were there to help in this birthday celebration. The lights dimmed letting everyone know it was almost time to start the second half of the show. As people made it back to their seats Bob Stroud came out to pump up the audience. The voices of Chicago radio were present to witness a great music event.
The lights finally went out for the main act of Jethro Tull. It was time to witness the greatness of a highly underrated band. A spotlight lit up on drummer Doane Perry as he hit his sticks together for a few clicks to count the band in and start out “Living in the Past.” The entire band jumped in and the four musicians played as the man of the hour walked out with flute in hand. The one legged flute playing madman Ian Anderson came out playing the melody line on the flute and the packed house cheered. Ian’s eyes peaked over at the audience making motion that he was embarrassed by applause. Oh yes, he knows how to ham it up.
As soon as the song was over with, Ian started picking out the intro to “Thick as a Brick” on his small half sized guitar. The best show in town was well on its way. With the faithful steed of Martin Barre at stage left, this band couldn’t play a bad note if they tried. The sounds of a distorted six string were raging through the heavy songs and on the slower songs “Lancelot” showed his dynamics as he played with grace. He has been right by Ian’s side since 1969 through everything. Just an amazing individual and a class act that no other guitar player wants to follow.
The man on the skins kept the tick tocks in line all night long playing difficult drum lines from a top his riser. He looked down to the band mates making eye contact during climatic interludes. Doane Perry drove some of the heavier songs from behind the Premier kit with power and has been doing so with this band since 1984. To a lot of the true fans, it would not be a Jethro Tull show without the big-foot of the bass drum.
Off to stage right were the newest members of Jethro Tull, Keyboard player John O’Hara and Dave Goodier. O’Hara duplicated the difficult keyboard parts of his predecessors with precision. Every single piece that he played sounded like the albums within the vast Jethro Tull library. Goodier stepped up and filled the mighty big shoes of the low end masters that came before him as well. The band even played “Bouree” with a newer and more melodic bass solo in the middle. The solo from the record done by Glen Cornick had been swept away and replaced by a newer more intricate piece. WOW!
Jethro Tull had been performing the entire Aqualung album during this U.S. tour that ended at the Rosemont Theatre. Instead of playing the complete album as they had done on this tour, the band compiled a special set list just for this show. As the set included all but three songs from Aqualung anyway, not too much was missed that was seen the night before at The Chicago Theater. Slightly different version of “Mother Goose” and “Up To Me” were a refreshing change to hear.
A white spot light hit the stage and Martin stepped into it to play the six most popular notes from this band. The six notes that put them into a heavier music class than what they really were. The drums joined in and “Sitting on a park bench ….. “ was uttered. The man who was being classified as a dirty old man for years by the unknowing because of the lines in this song was now performing the bands most popular hit. The title track “Aqualung” seemed to be what everyone had been waiting for. The coolest guitar solo, heaviest guitar parts, and thundering drums went on for six minutes during this classic rock song. They finished and the band waved good bye for the first time.
The crowd cheered and John O’Hara finally made his way back to the keyboards for one last song. He made a gesture and played the opening piece to “Locomotive Breath.” Across the stage Martin joins in with his melodic guitar riffs until everything starts to build when the rest of the band comes in and jams the introduction to a heavy classic rock anthem. A chord is held and out comes the leader with flute ready. The song starts and Anderson rides the song all the way to the finish line. Complete with guitar and flute solo in the bridge that was performed to perfection.
The song finished and Ian waved “bye bye – bye bye.” The band took their bow with Ian representing his flute in a phallic like gesture. They took all their bows, waved goodbye one more time and galloped off for their dressing room. One of the coolest bands to ever hit the stage had just played and left a lot of people in shock as to how good they really are. They are a highly underrated band and it was quite clear how awesome they were as the crowd picked up their jaws that been sitting on the floor for the last hour.
The night wound down as the concert goers quietly made it to their vehicles. They walked past the parked WDRV promotion vehicle parked in front of the Rosemont Theatre as they said thanks to the radio station. The tenth birthday celebration was just an amazing time for everyone that attended. This was just a hell of a show to see. Jethro Tull and America? Together? …….. and it’s a free show? This is something that most music fans would have paid to see as it truly was worth the price of admission.
![[Search This Thread]](http://images.proboards.com/search2.gif "[Search This Thread]")
![[Share Topic]](http://images.proboards.com/new/buttons/share.png "[Share Topic]")
![[Print]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif "[Print]")
Author
Logged![[avatar]](http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/9592/25683674.gif "[avatar]")
![[homepage]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/www_sm.gif "[homepage]")
![[avatar]](http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4113/65482123777217686964100.jpg "[avatar]")
![[image]](http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3848/26018720839157857691481.jpg "[image]")
![[image]](http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/188844_179808015397124_7477087_n.jpg "[image]")
Who's keeping score? 
Just to score two Tulls out of ten. 
![[avatar]](http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4690/699580944270a9904e56n.jpg "[avatar]")
![[yim]](http://images.proboards.com/yim.gif "[yim]")
![[msn]](http://images.proboards.com/msn.gif "[msn]")
![[avatar]](http://francejohn.pagesperso-orange.fr/biggles_feusurlaprovence_2.jpg "[avatar]")
![[image]](http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6624/biggles2031.jpg "[image]")
![[avatar]](http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/27400_1088394357_3454_q.jpg "[avatar]")
![[image]](http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1308542817578_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x "[image]")
![[avatar]](http://static.musicroom.com/img/c/f/SP240.jpg "[avatar]")
