Journal of Tull

[Nonfatman]

Let's keep a journal of any interesting, strange and/or unexpected little Tull-related things that happen to us, or that we see, during the course of a day!

I know things like that happen to me here in NYC all the time. Just last week something like that happened, which I posted previously in a thread entitled Aqualung Plays Aqualung, and today something else happened, which I will describe a little later and it's really pretty good.

But first, here is a re-posting of Aqualung Plays Aqualung in case you misssed it, and also as an example of what I mean. I think it's a good format to follow, documenting the time and place, like a diary entry, and also adding a little title for the vignette.

This promises to be fun, because we will keep a running record for each particular city or location!
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NYC diary, Episode #1 - "Aqualung Plays Aqualung"

Tuesday, April 13th, northwest corner of 53rd and 3rd. Went out with law school buddies for drinks and dinner. Afterward, walked with one of them to the subway at said corner. We are talking there. Traffic, sirens, street noise.

Homeless black guy arrives, pushing shopping cart, with large clear Hefty bag attached. He starts picking through the trash bin for empties. I see he's got a cassette player in the cart, and I hear flute, but couldn't make it out due to noise. I remark to Bruce, that sounds like Tull. Street noise abates, and I realize it IS Tull, it's the flute solo from Locomotive Breath!

I look with amazement as this Aqualung character picks through the garbage, with Locomotive Breath playing, but here's where it gets really strange. We're saying goodbye as the song fades out, which is immediately followed by the opening bars of Cross-Eyed Mary. But nowhere on any compilation or greatest hits album does Mary ever follow Breath!

Which means that this homeless guy, this real-life black Aqualung character, had made a Tull mix tape with some of the songs from Aqualung on it!

I realized only later that I should have talked to the guy, although that's not always such a good idea in NYC.

Jeff

[Nonfatman]

NYC Diary, Episode #2 - "Tull Tins for Sale"

This evening, April 19th, 5:50 p.m., Columbus Circle, by Central Park. I leave my office, going to walk home, not take the bus, so I'm following a route I would not ordinarily take.

I cross Central Park West, and I'm walking by the park entrance, across from the obelisk of Christopher Columbus, first constructed at that location in the 1890's, now situated within the re-designed Circle, with flowers, fountains and stone benches, across from the magnificent AOL Time Warner Building.

There are hotdog carts, bicycle boys and vendors who line up hoping to sell their wares, usually framed photos of Manhattan landmarks, antique signs, NYC drawings, etc., etc., things that are of interest to tourists.

As I'm following the Circle around, I spot from the corner of my eye a vendor selling these little tin rock concert signs, with the psychedelic artwork from the old Fillmore posters.

They are in a crate, with the first one being a Who tin, and I almost didn't stop to bother, figuring it would be the usual, Beatles, Who, Doors, etc., but I thought, what the heck, I'll take a look.

So I'm going the through the crate, not expecting to find any Tull, and I see The Who, Hendrix, Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and then, to my surprise, this:



It's from the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, year unknown, withTull headlining, and Chuck Berry and others as the supporting acts, and underneath, ads for upcoming shows featuring MC5 supported by Pink Peech Mob and Tiffany Shade, with Family Dump Truck (!) opening.

And it wasn't just one, he had five or six of these Tull tins. He was asking $10.00 but I was able to get him down to five, because none of them were in perfect condition, but they were good enough. The guy told me he's got a bunch more at home, but like I said, all of them are just a little dented at the corners, maybe with a little chrome showing. I just found them online for $10, presumably in better condition.

But the point is, the guy is not going anywhere, he's two blocks from my office, and if I buy a bunch of them, maybe I can get them for $3 or $4 apiece.

Is anyone interested? They are like these little tin signs, about 9 x 12. I can pick some up for folks here, upon request.

Jeff

[Nonfatman]

Here are some photos of Columbus Circle area, site of my latest Tull find:

If you look closely you can see the vendors' tables. The one I stopped at was at the center left of the photo.



Columbus Circle, with Time Warner Buidling in background.



To really complete the picture, I should get a photo of the vendor with his tins! Maybe tomorrow....

Jeff

[Deleted]

Hey Jeff if that guy still got any of those posters and tins Ill buy some... let me know.......

[Nonfatman]

NYC Diary, Episode #3 - "Kissing the Brick"

This is not a new episode, but one that dates back to 1987, when I first moved into NYC. I've told this story before on the old board, and should have included it here when I started this thread, but I had forgotten about it.

Tower Records, corner of Broadway & 72nd Street, circa Summer of 1987. This was the era of CD longboxes, but record stores still carried vinyl albums. The Tower store at this location sold the new CD longboxes, vinyl LPs and cassette tapes in a roughly 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 ratio.

On this night, way back then, I was browsing in the record department and, out of force of habit, started heading over to the Tull section. But before I could get there a young black guy got there first and started excitedly flipping through the vinyl Tull albums. I was surprised because I didn't think that Tull had very many black fans, and this guy seemed really into them.

I was even more surprised when he withdrew a copy of the Thick as a Brick album, and kissed it with a look of sheer joy on his face, before rushing over to the cashier to buy it!

Jeff

P.S. I just realized that two out of the three strange Tull-related episodes I have had in NYC involve black guys who love Tull! (See Episode #1, "Aqualung Plays Aqualung")

[Nonfatman]

NYC diary, Episode #4 - "Biting the Barker"

Yesterday, Times Square, near 45th Street. I'm going to Toys R Us to buy some presents for my kid, and as usual, there are all these annoying young males, who work as barkers for the many comedy clubs in the area, offering purportedly discounted tickets to comedy shows.

Their shtick is to continually yell out the name of the club to the throngs of tourists passing by, and then to approach their indivdual prey, with their dubious tickets in hand. So yesterday, one of these annoying little bastards approached me with the following query: "Do you like stand-up?" My response, feigning innocence: "Are you kidding, that's my favorite Jethro Tull album!"

Ignoring what I said, he obliviously continued with his sales pitch.

Jeff