Post by marvell on Jul 24, 2012 8:59:56 GMT -5
I've rarerly, if ever been to a gig in such spectacular surroundings. Having seen a superb Alan Parsons Project concert in Munich a couple of nights earlier, we arrived into a small town nestling in the Black Forest wondering what to expect.
The venue was Kloster Hirsau, and the concert was actually in the ruins of the 11th Century Abbey - stunning, simply stunning. They lit the arches up in red which added to the ambience.
There was a crowd of around 1500 - 2000 ijn attendance and from the start we had to put up with a miserable 45 mins of intense rain, which also seemed to affect the band as well. Luckily for many who has come in shirt sleeves as only an hour earlier there had been brilliant sunshine, the origanisers had thought to provide plastic ponchos for a couple of Euros.
Whether planned or not - the band did an abridged version of TAAB 1 - and had finished it in around 25 mins. This did not bode well as I thought they may be looking at shortening the concert due to the inclement weather. When Ian Anderson said "that was TAAB1 and we are going to do some of TAAB2 for you as well" I feared the worst.
2 songs into TAAB2 the weather cleared up and whether by accident or design the band played TAAB2 in its entirety. This then left us feeling a little hard done by at a concert a little over an hour.
Without warning though, Anderson's hybrid Tull then continued with a selection of the Tull back catalogue. There was "My God" which was powerful, including some extemporisations by the band. Then we had "Budapest" and a sensational version of that track it was too. This was followed by a really refreshing "Variations on an Aqualung Theme" which again highlighted the virtuosity of the musicians. A rollicking version of Locomotive Breath to end the show and a standing ovation was nothing short of what they all deserved.
One thing I noted was that Anderson's voice got enormously better as the set proceeded. At the end he was virtually as good as his "Bursting Out" performance. Given that the last time I saw Tull was in York, UK and Andersons vocals were an utter disgrace this was really heartwarming.
All in all - an unforgettable night in unforgettable surroundings.
The venue was Kloster Hirsau, and the concert was actually in the ruins of the 11th Century Abbey - stunning, simply stunning. They lit the arches up in red which added to the ambience.
There was a crowd of around 1500 - 2000 ijn attendance and from the start we had to put up with a miserable 45 mins of intense rain, which also seemed to affect the band as well. Luckily for many who has come in shirt sleeves as only an hour earlier there had been brilliant sunshine, the origanisers had thought to provide plastic ponchos for a couple of Euros.
Whether planned or not - the band did an abridged version of TAAB 1 - and had finished it in around 25 mins. This did not bode well as I thought they may be looking at shortening the concert due to the inclement weather. When Ian Anderson said "that was TAAB1 and we are going to do some of TAAB2 for you as well" I feared the worst.
2 songs into TAAB2 the weather cleared up and whether by accident or design the band played TAAB2 in its entirety. This then left us feeling a little hard done by at a concert a little over an hour.
Without warning though, Anderson's hybrid Tull then continued with a selection of the Tull back catalogue. There was "My God" which was powerful, including some extemporisations by the band. Then we had "Budapest" and a sensational version of that track it was too. This was followed by a really refreshing "Variations on an Aqualung Theme" which again highlighted the virtuosity of the musicians. A rollicking version of Locomotive Breath to end the show and a standing ovation was nothing short of what they all deserved.
One thing I noted was that Anderson's voice got enormously better as the set proceeded. At the end he was virtually as good as his "Bursting Out" performance. Given that the last time I saw Tull was in York, UK and Andersons vocals were an utter disgrace this was really heartwarming.
All in all - an unforgettable night in unforgettable surroundings.