Ian at The City Winery

[Nonfatman]

The Jethro Tull Board has just learned that the 11/23 Stamford Connecticut show has been cancelled and replaced by a NYC show at a very cool venue, The City Winery, in Soho!

This is a very intimate venue which seats no more than about 300 people, so it's going to be almost like a private show, or VIP event! For more info, see:

www.citywinery.com/events/116231

Jeff

[tootull]

By JIM FUSILLI

Anderson Avoids the Late-Career Tull
On a Rare Solo Tour, the Classic-Rock Trailblazer Offers a Less Familiar Sound
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575616551169902466.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

When Ian Anderson takes the stage at Manhattan's City Winery on Tuesday, it's likely he'll face his smallest public audience in decades. The leader of Jethro Tull, out on a rare non-Tull tour, is accustomed to performing in arenas and theaters; in December, he'll perform a concert in the nave of England's vast Canterbury Cathedral. City Winery seats 300.

"I prefer traditional theaters. I love the feeling of a proscenium arch," he said by phone recently. But Mr. Anderson, who's as witty and well spoken as his music suggests, welcomes what he called "tackling a potentially intense and claustrophobic environment" with his new group, the Ian Anderson Band.

That may be because it isn't Jethro Tull, a continuing enterprise that will no doubt soon reconvene. Thus the new band is relieved of having to play the old Tull chestnuts that work well as boozy, big-room sing-alongs: "Aqualung," "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll," "Locomotive Breath" and others from the band's 43-year-old catalog. With flamenco guitarist Florian Opahle on hand, the evening will feature some of Mr. Anderson's knotty folk songs. Such compositions have challenged Tull's reputation as a band rooted in prog rock.

"I wouldn't attempt to manage audience expectations, but maybe confound them," said Mr. Anderson, 63 years old. "The solo shows allow two things. It allows me to get into the great depth and breadth of the Tull catalog, a huge body that deserves to be heard. Also, when it's not a rock show, it keeps the riffraff out. You know, those who get drunk and holler. A benign and listening audience—it's good for them."

If you haven't spent time with Tull lately, you might be surprised how vital much of its music is, thanks to Mr. Anderson's unorthodox approach to contemporary pop. If you'd heard only "Aqualung," the band's best-selling album, you'd think it was merely a classic-rock group. Yet "The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull," released in 2007, presents a band rooted deeply in traditional British folk. Mr. Anderson's flute gives the music a unique texture that hints at the influence of Rahsaan Roland Kirk and the blues. When asked to describe the new composition he's showcasing on the tour, Mr. Anderson called it "a prog folk rock jazz thing," which could just as well describe Jethro Tull.

"I do have very broad tastes," he said. "If I didn't, Jethro Tull would have been a much bigger band. But from where I stand, it's the lifeblood. You don't get bored. It requires musical maturity. We all have to be in fighting trim."

In addition to Mr. Opahle, the new Anderson band includes David Goodier on bass and John O'Hara on keys—both of whom were in the most recent edition of Jethro Tull—as well as Scott Hammond on drums. The current U.S. tour began in late October and concludes Wednesday at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury, in Long Island. When we spoke, Mr. Anderson was calling from Oxfordshire, west of London, having just completed the European leg of the tour. He said he was still rehearsing, trying to get comfortable with songs he hadn't played for years.

By its nature, City Winery may draw the "benign and listening audience" that Mr. Anderson craves. On the outskirts of TriBeCa, it's an upscale wine bar that, along with (Le) Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street, is now the most civilized place to see rock and pop music in New York City, allowing the audience to settle in for an intimate experience with musicians. The last time Mr. Anderson played before such a smattering of people was at his daughter Gael's wedding. She's married to Andrew Lincoln, the lead in AMC's horror series "The Walking Dead." Mr. Anderson said he's a nice bloke. "When he's not killing zombies, he's serving his mother-in-law tea."

Facing a small, attentive crowd, Mr. Anderson said, "can be really terrifying. If it's 1,000, it may as well be 10,000. You can't see anyone beyond the lights. But when you get down to 300 or 400 people, it can be pretty spooky."



Edit add:—Mr. Fusilli is the Journal's rock and pop music critic. Email him at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter: @wsjrock.

[whatottenchu]

Saw the show on Tuesday. I've lost touch with Ian and Tull over the years. I'm now back on board. What a show!

[Nonfatman]

Nov 25, 2010 20:00:55 GMT -5 whatottenchu said:

Saw the show on Tuesday. I've lost touch with Ian and Tull over the years. I'm now back on board. What a show!

What a great way to rediscover Ian and Tull, by attending one of the most unique shows Ian has ever done. That was like a V.I.P. event, or a private party! You were lucky to attend that one, and check out some of The Jethro Tull Board's video from that night, which Paul has uploaded to youtube with our banner splashed across! Great sound on those, Paul!



And welcome here, "whatouttenchu," great to have you aboard!

Jeff

[Blue]

So I turn to a friend and say to her, "So, is Le Poisson Rouge someplace I used to know?" She says, "No. Only the Village Gate." I feel so old.

[Nonfatman]

Nov 27, 2010 18:07:11 GMT -5 Blue said:

So I turn to a friend and say to her, "So, is Le Poisson Rouge someplace I used to know?" She says, "No. Only the Village Gate." I feel so old.

It's not that, Blue, it's just that you don't get to the big City very often these days to see how it all has changed. (I seem to remember that you worked here in the seventies, no?)

Le Poisson Rouge is a similar size venue to City Winery, so if Ian ever decides to play there, we will get you a ticket. In the meantime, you can always return to your old stomping grounds for a War Child gig....Icecreamman and I will treat!

Jeff

[Blue]

I spent weeks every Summer from 1965 to 1970 and then moved there after graduation, spent the bulk of 1970 thru early 1973 there. Then I met Bill the Bear and gave up Bright Lights, Big City and The Stage (gigglegigglegiggle) for Domesticity. (gigglegigglegiggle)
I just may take you up on your kind offer, especially if it includes a tour of all the places I used to frequent in my gloriously misspent youth that are now Boy's and Girl's Clubs and other disgustingly wholesome sorts of ventures.