After 35 years, Jethro Tull is alive and well and living in music theaters around the world. Lead singer and chief songwriter Ian Anderson saw the release of his fourth solo album about a week before this show and a new Tull album is due in this fall. With so much new music, it only made sense to hit the road.
It was a gorgeous summer evening when Tull came to town. While the Crystal Grand isn't a bad place to see a band, I wished that this had been an outdoor gig. My minor complaint aside, the boys put on an excellent performance that proved that they are most certainly not too old to rock 'n' roll.
Bluesman Guy Davis opened the show with a fantastic set that lasted 45 minutes or so. His upbeat take on traditional acoustic blues got the crowd clapping and, at his insistence, singing. Ian Anderson joined Davis for a couple of songs, adding harmonica and flute. A great extended take on Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" with Anderson was the highlight of Davis' set.
After a short intermission, the lights dimmed and a snippet of "Aqualung" emerged from the speakers. But this was a brief interlude as the band came out and launched into "Living in the Past." It was a muscular version that combined the arrangements of the song from the 1987 tour and that of the early 1990s. Despite Anderson being in is his mid-50s, Mad Dog Fagin continues to take to the stage as a mad minstrel. Sure, he no longer leaps around like he did 30 years ago, but he still prowls around clutching his flute and sticking it in odd places -- such as between guitarist Martin Barre's legs during the opening song.
Continuing to mine the late 60s vein, the bluesy "Nothing is Easy" followed. The band paused to let Anderson greet the crowd with his own brand of humor. "Thank you! That was 'Nothing is Easy' from the Stand Up album from back in 1969. We're gonna do something more modern, something from 1970." They continued with a great version of "With You There To Help Me" From the much neglected Benefit album.
The set continued with a spate of newer songs that started with a version of the traditional "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" which appears on the forthcoming Tull album. Though a great melody, it was hampered by a jazz-lite arrangement, which was like a bowl of plain white rice -- tastes OK but bland. "Beside Myself" From 1995's Roots to Branches redeemed them. Aside from this and the title track of Dot Com, Tull's last two efforts were ignored. I can only presume that the band kowtows to a perceived audience desire for older material. This is a great shame as they are each great albums and deserving of larger roles in the set list.
One thing that surprised me about the show was how loud it was. Someone had the volume knob cranked up to 11. I think more than a few of the aging Baby Boomers in the audience thought it too much but I liked it. The sound was quite clear as everyone was mixed well. The guitar pierced my ears and made them ache just a bit while Jonathon Noyce's bass made my body reverberate -- I could feel the music. Hey, that's what rock 'n' roll is all about.
After "A Week of Moments" from Anderson's new solo album Rupi's Dance, the band went back to 1969 with "Fat Man". Always fun live, its bouncy melody lightened the show up a bit while setting the stage for the fast-paced and prurient "Hunting Girl", which featured some thunderous bass drumming from Doane Perry. Barre showed off his chops with "Count the Chickens" from his new solo album Stage Left while a medley including "Songs From the Wood" and "Heavy Horses" sampled Tull's folksier side.
A few women sitting around me began to get impatient and yelled out for "Aqualung". Their cries were heeded as that riff echoed throughout the theater. About eight minutes later, the band walked off stage to rousing applause. While I personally wouldn't mind if they never played "Aqualung" in concert again, I still get goose bumps as the trickling piano and sustained guitar fuzz fade to silence only to return and clobber you over the head in the standard encore "Locomotive Breath". It got the mostly middle-aged crowd to its feet and moving. Considering the volume level, how could it have failed? As the band churned out "Protect and Survive", Anderson brought out the obligatory over-sized balloons and tossed them into the crowd.
I don't care what anyone says, Jethro Tull is not a bunch of washed-up has-beens. They continue to put out albums of new material and don't rest on a parade of greatest hits albums. As this performance showed, they can still cut the mustard live. Perhaps best of all, they genuinely look like they're having fun up there and this excitement is transferred to the audience. Add a few more newer songs and all is forgiven for not having played A Passion Play for nearly 30 years.
(This was originally published at The Green Man Review back in 2003-08.)
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