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Post by Geoff CB on Apr 29, 2014 22:10:23 GMT -5
I don't know, I was upset when Ian said Tull were finished. But (excepting Martin) they haven't! I don't mind if songs like Teacher are played. And there's talk of a tour to our parts. This, and the Passion Play pre-order are making me slightly excited! Geoff
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Post by TM on Apr 29, 2014 22:36:57 GMT -5
I don't know, I was upset when Ian said Tull were finished. But (excepting Martin) they haven't! I don't mind if songs like Teacher are played. And there's talk of a tour to our parts. This, and the Passion Play pre-order are making me slightly excited! Geoff I love Teacher. Wish Ian could sing it. It sounded great played as the encore on their farewell tour.
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Post by Mothfairy on Apr 30, 2014 20:46:16 GMT -5
I like Teacher...didn't Ian say that's a really awkward song to play so he doesn't really like it either? Aren't they rushing his age a bit, he's not 67 yet, right?
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Post by TM on May 1, 2014 11:21:44 GMT -5
I like Teacher...didn't Ian say that's a really awkward song to play so he doesn't really like it either? Aren't they rushing his age a bit, he's not 67 yet, right? I just listened to Teacher from the other night and I agree it is awkward.
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Post by housebrick on May 1, 2014 12:18:34 GMT -5
These guys make Teacher look easy,best version yet!!
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Post by TM on May 1, 2014 13:08:42 GMT -5
Of course it's difficult to judge the sound of someone's bootleg copy but it saddens me to hear Ian trying to sing Songs From The Wood. Looks like Ryan will be singing a good 50% or more on this tour.
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Post by Morthoron on May 1, 2014 16:35:02 GMT -5
As long as he doesn't have to struggle along with the backing vocal recording of "Songs from the Wood", I'm okay. Many of the old songs are agonizing to hear. Perhaps he should just let the other guy sing, and simply do the quieter parts (like the middle section of "Aqualung", rather than the whole thing, for instance). I wouldn't mind a bit.
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Post by TM on May 2, 2014 20:06:02 GMT -5
I don't know Greg - here's the thing. I like Ryan. Nicest guy, with a voice that is no doubt superior to Ian's. The fact is there are Tull fans that are paying good money to see Ian Anderson and that is going to place Ryan in some fan's bulls-eye.
This is NOT confirmed, but I heard that a "fan" walked down to the stage while Ryan was singing Aqualung, ripped up his ticket, and threw it at the stage in disgust.
I have no doubt that guy is a member of our board. Ba dum tsh. But seriously...that's terrible, but can we really blame the Tull fan that came out to see Ian Anderson?
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Post by Bassackwards on May 2, 2014 23:23:20 GMT -5
I don't know Greg - here's the thing. I like Ryan. Nicest guy, with a voice that is no doubt superior to Ian's. The fact is there are Tull fans that are paying good money to see Ian Anderson and that is going to place Ryan in some fan's bulls-eye. This is NOT confirmed, but I heard that a "fan" walked down to the stage while Ryan was singing Aqualung, ripped up his ticket, and threw it at the stage in disgust. I have no doubt that guy is a member of our board. Ba dum tsh. But seriously...that's terrible, but can we really blame the Tull fan that came out to see Ian Anderson? [/quote TM. Are you serious? I assume this "Tull fan" was a grown man. How could anyone be so childish? And how could anyone even consider this remotely justifiable.
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Post by Mothfairy on May 2, 2014 23:34:25 GMT -5
I don't know Greg - here's the thing. I like Ryan. Nicest guy, with a voice that is no doubt superior to Ian's. The fact is there are Tull fans that are paying good money to see Ian Anderson and that is going to place Ryan in some fan's bulls-eye. This is NOT confirmed, but I heard that a "fan" walked down to the stage while Ryan was singing Aqualung, ripped up his ticket, and threw it at the stage in disgust. I have no doubt that guy is a member of our board. Ba dum tsh. But seriously...that's terrible, but can we really blame the Tull fan that came out to see Ian Anderson? [/quote TM. Are you serious? I assume this "Tull fan" was a grown man. How could anyone be so childish? And how could anyone even consider this remotely justifiable. TM, know we discussed this earlier, yes I can blame that guy. It's no secret that Ryan is playing with Ian and if this person had done their homework they'd already know that and if they don't like it, they should stay home. And Ryan's just doing the job he was hired to do. This guy should take it up with Ian if he's got a problem (which I'm sure would go over well).
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Post by Preston Platform on May 3, 2014 0:38:08 GMT -5
Went to see Ian Anderson at Liverpool yesterday. The new tunes were vibrant and suited live performance. Enter the Uninvited was a highlight. Even the poorer songs came over well. Very impressed. The second half was a revelation...I was not expecting much having heard the audio of the opening night. I was wrong ..visually stunning , musically adept. No discernible mistakes. Totally energised performance..it has been many years since I have seen musicians associated with Tull /Ian Anderson have so much fun on stage. Spoken monologues by band members were an unwanted and unnecessary distraction. Video introduction not great , video ending cheesy , that apart visualisations worked magnificently.
Sharing of vocal duties worked well and brought to life the back catalogue. Embarrassing croaking replaced by thoughtful vocal harmonies. Mix was excellent throughout. Unpalatable though it may be to some ,but Florian Opahle was totally outstanding ..his Aqualung solo was performed and executed in a way that others can only dream of. Will be at a few more shows during this tour and will report back.....but the performance at Liverpool has raised the bar to a level that I doubt will be matched or beaten in this leg of the tour.
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Post by TM on May 3, 2014 9:35:50 GMT -5
I don't know Greg - here's the thing. I like Ryan. Nicest guy, with a voice that is no doubt superior to Ian's. The fact is there are Tull fans that are paying good money to see Ian Anderson and that is going to place Ryan in some fan's bulls-eye. This is NOT confirmed, but I heard that a "fan" walked down to the stage while Ryan was singing Aqualung, ripped up his ticket, and threw it at the stage in disgust. I have no doubt that guy is a member of our board. Ba dum tsh. But seriously...that's terrible, but can we really blame the Tull fan that came out to see Ian Anderson? [/quote TM. Are you serious? I assume this "Tull fan" was a grown man. How could anyone be so childish? And how could anyone even consider this remotely justifiable. That's what I was told, but I haven't confirmed it. The thing is, and this reply goes out to Holly too - let's say your a Tull fan who hasn't seen Ian in years and you decide it's time to revisit your old friend, but then you find someone else singing half the lyrics. I can totally understand the frustration. Especially when it comes down to a classic like Aqualung. Of course I'm not condoning the supposed behavior, just that I could understand the frustration.
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Post by TM on May 3, 2014 9:37:50 GMT -5
Went to see Ian Anderson at Liverpool yesterday. The new tunes were vibrant and suited live performance. Enter the Uninvited was a highlight. Even the poorer songs came over well. Very impressed. The second half was a revelation...I was not expecting much having heard the audio of the opening night. I was wrong ..visually stunning , musically adept. No discernible mistakes. Totally energised performance..it has been many years since I have seen musicians associated with Tull /Ian Anderson have so much fun on stage. Spoken monologues by band members were an unwanted and unnecessary distraction. Video introduction not great , video ending cheesy , that apart visualisations worked magnificently. Sharing of vocal duties worked well and brought to life the back catalogue. Embarrassing croaking replaced by thoughtful vocal harmonies. Mix was excellent throughout. Unpalatable though it may be to some ,but Florian Opahle was totally outstanding ..his Aqualung solo was performed and executed in a way that others can only dream of. Will be at a few more shows during this tour and will report back.....but the performance at Liverpool has raised the bar to a level that I doubt will be matched or beaten in this leg of the tour. That's great to Pres. It's great when you get one of those special performances that really goes off well.
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Post by Mothfairy on May 3, 2014 10:23:52 GMT -5
That's what I was told, but I haven't confirmed it. The thing is, and this reply goes out to Holly too - let's say your a Tull fan who hasn't seen Ian in years and you decide it's time to revisit your old friend, but then you find someone else singing half the lyrics. I can totally understand the frustration. Especially when it comes down to a classic like Aqualung. Of course I'm not condoning the supposed behavior, just that I could understand the frustration. I would argue that if that person was such a big fan, then they'd already know about Ryan and he should've put on his big boy pants for the show. Aqualung is so tired and overrated. I bet that guy was one of those who goes to the show and yells, "C'mon, Play Aqualung!" the whole time because that's probably the only song they've ever heard to begin with. ( You're going to divorce me now, aren't you)
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Post by TM on May 3, 2014 19:03:07 GMT -5
I would argue that if that person was such a big fan, then they'd already know about Ryan and he should've put on his big boy pants for the show. Aqualung is so tired and overrated. I bet that guy was one of those who goes to the show and yells, "C'mon, Play Aqualung!" the whole time because that's probably the only song they've ever heard to begin with. ( You're going to divorce me now, aren't you) So you're saying I'm wrong yet again? Go figure.
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Post by Mothfairy on May 3, 2014 20:47:46 GMT -5
I would argue that if that person was such a big fan, then they'd already know about Ryan and he should've put on his big boy pants for the show. Aqualung is so tired and overrated. I bet that guy was one of those who goes to the show and yells, "C'mon, Play Aqualung!" the whole time because that's probably the only song they've ever heard to begin with. ( You're going to divorce me now, aren't you) So you're saying I'm wrong yet again? Go figure. No! I didn't say that. Except I did. I thought when it came to you, me and stuff, we both agreed to disagree on the fact that more or less I was always right at least 60% of the time. Maybe.
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Post by TM on May 4, 2014 10:01:23 GMT -5
So you're saying I'm wrong yet again? Go figure. No! I didn't say that. Except I did. I thought when it came to you, me and stuff, we both agreed to disagree on the fact that more or less I was always right at least 60% of the time. Maybe. There you go making sense again. whistle
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Post by Mothfairy on May 4, 2014 11:03:12 GMT -5
No! I didn't say that. Except I did. I thought when it came to you, me and stuff, we both agreed to disagree on the fact that more or less I was always right at least 60% of the time. Maybe. There you go making sense again. whistle I thought I was perfectly clear in the fact that I'm right 5 out of every 4 times.
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Post by Mix on May 4, 2014 11:06:41 GMT -5
Birmingham Symphony Hall 3rd May 2014
Was at the gig last night, a mixture of delight and awkwardness. Here’s my quick thoughts as I’m tired. First off, venue was fairly sold out, probably at least 80% full, pretty good. Before show they had artists playing a song each on the big screen. Fairport, Seth Lakeman, that Violinist married to the newsnight guy and a couple of others, each one spoke a moment about how they had played with Ian and it was a really novel alternative to support, especially as it was filmed, I guess specially. Great idea.
Ok, show time. Loved the intro and theatrical film footage of Ian in bed. He really could of made a great actor. First minor niggle. I don’t expect Ian to wear the tights and boots anymore but he did sort of look like an accountant, or grandad. The bandana is gone, the glasses are on….. all kind grey/black. Just not very Ian I guess but no biggy.
The entire new album was played back to back. I like that kinda of thing, it takes balls and a lot of hard work to get all the changes and sequences right. Clearly a lot of rehearsal went in. Loved all the images and footage. The Homo character on the front of the album appears a lot. I kinda wish Ian had dressed up as him for the show, that would have added something but I guess singing and playing flute with your face covered is tricky. Its such a strong image though, as strong as any Ian has ever come up with. Very clever how the films were in time with the band. Biggest disappointment? Ian voice wasn’t good. I thought his best vocal was on Pax Britannica. First time seeing Ryan, I liked his contribution. When he and Ian sing together it works really well and I had no issue with Ryan singing Ian’s parts, in fact I would welcome a lot more of it!!! My last gig was 2011 and it had been ten years since my previous one. My biggest concern then was Ian’s voice but he sang brilliantly that night. So I can only conclude he has good and bad nights. We all know his voice isn’t what it used to be, last night it really wasn’t good. It just kinda hurts to see him because he was once an outstanding singer. Having said that, I think his vocals on the album are excellent, best in years. So I do conclude he has good and bad days, I suspect more bad than good. The band was very tight, Flute playing was as always worth the price of the ticket alone. Musicianship top notch. Ian didn’t speak at all in the first half, it was straight down to business and that felt kinda cold though I know not deliberate, to have chatting between numbers would have spoiled it. It ended with the feeling of awkwardness if I'm honest.
Second Half - The Best Of Tull
Just when I thought it was lost, wham! Ah ha, I thought, this is more like it and the audience responded. I like the clock thing that moved back and forth through time between numbers. And the vintage footage of Ian was lovely to see, again in time with the band. How did they do that? Slightly better vocals from Ian, again sharing duties with Ryan. Ian seemed more relaxed. I really think the first half takes so much concentration, now he just got down to business. The change was very noticeable. Personally, I would really like to see Ryan take on more singing, the songs speak for themselves and I think it would work really well to have Ian sing 30%, Ryan 70% - again when they sing together it works really well because you have the character of Ian’s voice but you have the clarity and dynamics of Ryan’s. I just saw the comment about some guy ripping up his ticket at the front of the stage when Ryan was singing. What a fucking C**T thing to do. Fuck that guy.
Set list was good. Great to hear Sweet Dream, again in time with the Slip Stream footage of Ian as Dracula/Aqualung. Farm on the freeway was good, Ian’s vocals were hard work but the music was so fucking good and I loved the footage to go along with it. It really adds to the show. Loved to hear the snippet of A Passion Play. Never could understand the fascination with Teacher but it was played, Ryan mainly sang it. All in all, 2nd half was excellent. I expected the first half to be challenging and it was but fucking fair play to Ian for pushing the boundaries and challenging his audience, most of whom are old enough to be my parents. If it wasn't for the voice, it would have been a stunning show. Its clear Ian is getting on now. He's nowhere near as energetic these days and its kinda sad to see that but unfortunately that is the reality of being human, we all get old. One sad moment at the very end…… a few guys got up to have a boogie at the front and were promptly told to sit down by the bouncer. I found that pretty pathetic, fuck sake, its not like everyone is in a wheel chair with a colostomy bag and it was at the end. First time seeing Flo too. I enjoyed his playing and his bits in the films. I like him but…….. He’s no Martin Barre. For me the band were tight and the music was excellent, no really excellent, but that icing on the cake that is Martin Barre was very obviously missing to me. I accept, most folks won’t miss it, Guitar is Guitar, but Martin’s playing has an energy. That stuff can’t be learnt, its like magic. But its ok, I’m cool with Flo.
Probably missed a load more details but I’m tired and need to chill. Happy to answer any questions. I still think the albums is great BTW.
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Post by housebrick on May 4, 2014 14:45:16 GMT -5
Birmingham Symphony Hall 3rd May 2014 Was at the gig last night, a mixture of delight and awkwardness. Here’s my quick thoughts as I’m tired. First off, venue was fairly sold out, probably at least 80% full, pretty good. Before show they had artists playing a song each on the big screen. Fairport, Seth Lakeman, that Violinist married to the newsnight guy and a couple of others, each one spoke a moment about how they had played with Ian and it was a really novel alternative to support, especially as it was filmed, I guess specially. Great idea. Ok, show time. Loved the intro and theatrical film footage of Ian in bed. He really could of made a great actor. First minor niggle. I don’t expect Ian to wear the tights and boots anymore but he did sort of look like an accountant, or grandad. The bandana is gone, the glasses are on….. all kind grey/black. Just not very Ian I guess but no biggy. The entire new album was played back to back. I like that kinda of thing, it takes balls and a lot of hard work to get all the changes and sequences right. Clearly a lot of rehearsal went in. Loved all the images and footage. The Homo character on the front of the album appears a lot. I kinda wish Ian had dressed up as him for the show, that would have added something but I guess singing and playing flute with your face covered is tricky. Its such a strong image though, as strong as any Ian has ever come up with. Very clever how the films were in time with the band. Biggest disappointment? Ian voice wasn’t good. I thought his best vocal was on Pax Britannica. First time seeing Ryan, I liked his contribution. When he and Ian sing together it works really well and I had no issue with Ryan singing Ian’s parts, in fact I would welcome a lot more of it!!! My last gig was 2011 and it had been ten years since my previous one. My biggest concern then was Ian’s voice but he sang brilliantly that night. So I can only conclude he has good and bad nights. We all know his voice isn’t what it used to be, last night it really wasn’t good. It just kinda hurts to see him because he was once an outstanding singer. Having said that, I think his vocals on the album are excellent, best in years. So I do conclude he has good and bad days, I suspect more bad than good. The band was very tight, Flute playing was as always worth the price of the ticket alone. Musicianship top notch. Ian didn’t speak at all in the first half, it was straight down to business and that felt kinda cold though I know not deliberate, to have chatting between numbers would have spoiled it. It ended with the feeling of awkwardness if I'm honest. Second Half - The Best Of Tull Just when I thought it was lost, wham! Ah ha, I thought, this is more like it and the audience responded. I like the clock thing that moved back and forth through time between numbers. And the vintage footage of Ian was lovely to see, again in time with the band. How did they do that? Slightly better vocals from Ian, again sharing duties with Ryan. Ian seemed more relaxed. I really think the first half takes so much concentration, now he just got down to business. The change was very noticeable. Personally, I would really like to see Ryan take on more singing, the songs speak for themselves and I think it would work really well to have Ian sing 30%, Ryan 70% - again when they sing together it works really well because you have the character of Ian’s voice but you have the clarity and dynamics of Ryan’s. I just saw the comment about some guy ripping up his ticket at the front of the stage when Ryan was singing. What a fucking C**T thing to do. Fuck that guy. Set list was good. Great to hear Sweet Dream, again in time with the Slip Stream footage of Ian as Dracula/Aqualung. Farm on the freeway was good, Ian’s vocals were hard work but the music was so fucking good and I loved the footage to go along with it. It really adds to the show. Loved to hear the snippet of A Passion Play. Never could understand the fascination with Teacher but it was played, Ryan mainly sang it. All in all, 2nd half was excellent. I expected the first half to be challenging and it was but fucking fair play to Ian for pushing the boundaries and challenging his audience, most of whom are old enough to be my parents. If it wasn't for the voice, it would have been a stunning show. Its clear Ian is getting on now. He's nowhere near as energetic these days and its kinda sad to see that but unfortunately that is the reality of being human, we all get old. One sad moment at the very end…… a few guys got up to have a boogie at the front and were promptly told to sit down by the bouncer. I found that pretty pathetic, fuck sake, its not like everyone is in a wheel chair with a colostomy bag and it was at the end. First time seeing Flo too. I enjoyed his playing and his bits in the films. I like him but…….. He’s no Martin Barre. For me the band were tight and the music was excellent, no really excellent, but that icing on the cake that is Martin Barre was very obviously missing to me. I accept, most folks won’t miss it, Guitar is Guitar, but Martin’s playing has an energy. That stuff can’t be learnt, its like magic. But its ok, I’m cool with Flo. Probably missed a load more details but I’m tired and need to chill. Happy to answer any questions. I still think the albums is great BTW. hey Mix glad you enjoyed the show ,sounds like a good night was had. The more i think about it im beginning to think Ian is possibly signing off with this HE tour. He does look like hes' aged a lot in the last few years to me unfortunately. Ive watched couple of youtubes and yes musically they sound decent. but your right his voice is absolutely gone now. Sweet Dream sounds like a different song its keyed down that much to enable him to get through it. I just dont think he can sing any of the songs now and as someone else said its quite sad to watch. Maybe with the last year of Tull he thought he needed help vocally and could you really add another singer to Tull after all this time? Maybe Martin and Doanne were loud players also and that was also becoming a problem. Ive noticed Florian only has a small Fender combo on stage where a Martin had quite a beast of a Soldano/Marshall setup Doanne also played behind a shield and used very light sticks. Anyway hope anyone going enjoys this tour Im personally going to see Martins show later in the year
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Post by Preston Platform on May 4, 2014 17:15:18 GMT -5
Thanks for your fine review Mix .I was also at the Birmingham show. I agree with the observations about the vocals. They were marginally better at Liverpool. The band / production realises that this is an issue and every opportunity is used to help disguise this. For example in TOTRNR Ian is pretending to sing much of this ...Ryan does the vocal parts in the higher registers ...but Ian still mimes the words or whispers them ...To the back of the hall it seems as if he is singing ....this is not the case I was on the front row at Birmingham and he did not sing at times . Overall the show musically was excellent.....vocally it was what I expected , .........I don't have an issue with altering songs / evolving songs to suit vocal limitations .... Ryan's contribution added to the show and helped make the unpalatable nature of Ian's 2014 voice palatable. I have no problem with Martin Barre ,indeed I have written reviews praising his contribution www.dprp.net/concrev/jethrotull20050721.php I thoroughly admire and appreciate what he contributed to Ian Andersons music over the years ..but I do not miss him ......for me Florian adds much more to the show. He is a talented player and I thought his contributions to My God and Aqualung were very impressive in this show The use of people below the age of 40 also gives the music a vitality that was missing in the best of tours of the 2000 era
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Post by TM on May 4, 2014 18:40:10 GMT -5
I don't know Greg - here's the thing. I like Ryan. Nicest guy, with a voice that is no doubt superior to Ian's. The fact is there are Tull fans that are paying good money to see Ian Anderson and that is going to place Ryan in some fan's bulls-eye. This is NOT confirmed, but I heard that a "fan" walked down to the stage while Ryan was singing Aqualung, ripped up his ticket, and threw it at the stage in disgust. I have no doubt that guy is a member of our board. Ba dum tsh. But seriously...that's terrible, but can we really blame the Tull fan that came out to see Ian Anderson? [/quote TM. Are you serious? I assume this "Tull fan" was a grown man. How could anyone be so childish? And how could anyone even consider this remotely justifiable. Just to confirm, I'm not justifying the behavior, only acknowledging the feeling of displeasure. Van Morrison had some young kid singing years ago when I saw them and I have to say it was the worst show I had ever been to.
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Post by TM on May 4, 2014 18:46:00 GMT -5
There you go making sense again. whistle I thought I was perfectly clear in the fact that I'm right 5 out of every 4 times. As I just mentioned, yes ago I went to see Van Morrison. Not only did he have some young kid singing most of his music, when he sang he sounded like crap. It seemed as if his mic was purposely distorted because you couldn't understand a word the man said. And no, I didn't familiarize myself the "current" VM prior to going as you suggested. I just went to enjoy an artist I casually liked from the past. I'll now prepare the dog house.
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Post by TM on May 4, 2014 18:52:31 GMT -5
Birmingham Symphony Hall 3rd May 2014 Was at the gig last night, a mixture of delight and awkwardness. Here’s my quick thoughts as I’m tired. First off, venue was fairly sold out, probably at least 80% full, pretty good. Before show they had artists playing a song each on the big screen. Fairport, Seth Lakeman, that Violinist married to the newsnight guy and a couple of others, each one spoke a moment about how they had played with Ian and it was a really novel alternative to support, especially as it was filmed, I guess specially. Great idea. Ok, show time. Loved the intro and theatrical film footage of Ian in bed. He really could of made a great actor. First minor niggle. I don’t expect Ian to wear the tights and boots anymore but he did sort of look like an accountant, or grandad. The bandana is gone, the glasses are on….. all kind grey/black. Just not very Ian I guess but no biggy. The entire new album was played back to back. I like that kinda of thing, it takes balls and a lot of hard work to get all the changes and sequences right. Clearly a lot of rehearsal went in. Loved all the images and footage. The Homo character on the front of the album appears a lot. I kinda wish Ian had dressed up as him for the show, that would have added something but I guess singing and playing flute with your face covered is tricky. Its such a strong image though, as strong as any Ian has ever come up with. Very clever how the films were in time with the band. Biggest disappointment? Ian voice wasn’t good. I thought his best vocal was on Pax Britannica. First time seeing Ryan, I liked his contribution. When he and Ian sing together it works really well and I had no issue with Ryan singing Ian’s parts, in fact I would welcome a lot more of it!!! My last gig was 2011 and it had been ten years since my previous one. My biggest concern then was Ian’s voice but he sang brilliantly that night. So I can only conclude he has good and bad nights. We all know his voice isn’t what it used to be, last night it really wasn’t good. It just kinda hurts to see him because he was once an outstanding singer. Having said that, I think his vocals on the album are excellent, best in years. So I do conclude he has good and bad days, I suspect more bad than good. The band was very tight, Flute playing was as always worth the price of the ticket alone. Musicianship top notch. Ian didn’t speak at all in the first half, it was straight down to business and that felt kinda cold though I know not deliberate, to have chatting between numbers would have spoiled it. It ended with the feeling of awkwardness if I'm honest. Second Half - The Best Of Tull Just when I thought it was lost, wham! Ah ha, I thought, this is more like it and the audience responded. I like the clock thing that moved back and forth through time between numbers. And the vintage footage of Ian was lovely to see, again in time with the band. How did they do that? Slightly better vocals from Ian, again sharing duties with Ryan. Ian seemed more relaxed. I really think the first half takes so much concentration, now he just got down to business. The change was very noticeable. Personally, I would really like to see Ryan take on more singing, the songs speak for themselves and I think it would work really well to have Ian sing 30%, Ryan 70% - again when they sing together it works really well because you have the character of Ian’s voice but you have the clarity and dynamics of Ryan’s. I just saw the comment about some guy ripping up his ticket at the front of the stage when Ryan was singing. What a fucking C**T thing to do. Fuck that guy. Set list was good. Great to hear Sweet Dream, again in time with the Slip Stream footage of Ian as Dracula/Aqualung. Farm on the freeway was good, Ian’s vocals were hard work but the music was so fucking good and I loved the footage to go along with it. It really adds to the show. Loved to hear the snippet of A Passion Play. Never could understand the fascination with Teacher but it was played, Ryan mainly sang it. All in all, 2nd half was excellent. I expected the first half to be challenging and it was but fucking fair play to Ian for pushing the boundaries and challenging his audience, most of whom are old enough to be my parents. If it wasn't for the voice, it would have been a stunning show. Its clear Ian is getting on now. He's nowhere near as energetic these days and its kinda sad to see that but unfortunately that is the reality of being human, we all get old. One sad moment at the very end…… a few guys got up to have a boogie at the front and were promptly told to sit down by the bouncer. I found that pretty pathetic, fuck sake, its not like everyone is in a wheel chair with a colostomy bag and it was at the end. First time seeing Flo too. I enjoyed his playing and his bits in the films. I like him but…….. He’s no Martin Barre. For me the band were tight and the music was excellent, no really excellent, but that icing on the cake that is Martin Barre was very obviously missing to me. I accept, most folks won’t miss it, Guitar is Guitar, but Martin’s playing has an energy. That stuff can’t be learnt, its like magic. But its ok, I’m cool with Flo. Probably missed a load more details but I’m tired and need to chill. Happy to answer any questions. I still think the albums is great BTW. Hey Mix, thanks for your review. Sounds like Ian is reinventing himself yet again as gone is the do-rag and colored vest which is now replaced with a smarter image. The new album continues to grow on me and the clips I've seen of Liverpool look pretty good. Too bad you got him on an off night. I'm also a bit concerned but not surprised to hear he's struggling to sing HE. It seemed rather obvious he would have trouble with it. For those who want to see a piece from the current show....
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Post by Mix on May 6, 2014 8:42:45 GMT -5
For example in TOTRNR Ian is pretending to sing much of this ...Ryan does the vocal parts in the higher registers ...but Ian still mimes the words or whispers them ...To the back of the hall it seems as if he is singing ....this is not the case I was on the front row at Birmingham and he did not sing at times . Hi Preston, not sure what to make of that statement. Seemed pretty obvious who was singing at any one time so I can't see why Ian would mime along with Ryan. Its obvious Ryan is there to help with the singing, it works how they share the songs, Ian does a verse or part of a verse, then Ryan takes the next bit. Its been a few days now so I've been thinking about the show. I don't have the buzz I had after the 2011 gig but that's just how gigs go, I wish I could see another show of this tour in a few months to compare. I was just in the car and had a few tracks from the album playing. Again, Ian's voice is superb on the album, its far beyond my expectations. Clearly he does have days when he can sing. Granted, in the studio he can take his time, working each sentence till he get's a good take. I know some have mentioned studio trickery, beyond doubling up with Ryan, a bit of padding with the tone and effects, I can't detect anything fancy. Despite common belief, studio trickery on the whole cannot polish a turd. Tuning can be fixed and unless its subtle its obvious to me because auto tuning tools damage the tone of a natural voice. It works well when used very sparingly such as on a single word/note. Many of today's pop records are tuned to fuck and its pretty obvious to me. Ian's problem isn't really a tuning issue. Granted those high notes he struggles to reach, but its more of a dynamic range and tonal issue. Beyond EQ there really isn't much you can do to fix bad tone. So I stand by my comment that Ian gave a good vocal performance on the album. He was good when I last say him live in 2011. What's of concern is Birmingham was date 5 after 5-6 month off of touring. If his vocal issues were caused by too much singing, one would have thought his voice would have been rested. I can't imagine how Ian must feel about it all. He is at his core a songwriter, in many ways he must feel a great sense of loss for his unique gift. And he rarely comments on his vocal problems. Which is odd considering how open he is on most subjects. Going forward, I'd love to see him record more. To continue to play live, I think further changes need to be made to use Ryan much more, limiting Ian to double up with Ryan more, or perhaps restricting his solo singing to just good nights. One does wonder if Ian has seeked professional help for his voice. As MRS. Mix commented, you can see the tension and stress around his neck as he reaches for the notes, I find it rather upsetting to see. Like an old dog struggling to get up on its feet. Its a similar feeling. Musically of course, the shows are first class and Ian's still a great entertainer. My gut feeling is these might just be the final tours.
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