Looking For a Sign That The Universal Mind Has Written You Into The Passion Play
Just got back from the Jethro Tull show at the Keswick theater, which I enjoyed in the company of revsaintmichael, yagathai, caudelac, notshakespeare, and shellefly, who is the biggest Tull fan I know. The band played for about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours, with a 20 minute intermission, and the show featured classical violinist Lucia Micarelli as a special guest. There was no opening act, and both halves of the show started without any intro or fanfare. The first half of the show was a more mellow, semi-acoustic set, while the second half was a more high energy and hard rock.
The show began with "Life is a Long Song," a mellow piece that seems like an odd choice to start a concert with, but which set the mood for the rest of the first half, and then followed that with one of their hits, "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" (and one of my favorites). Over the course of the whole show, they performed the entire "Aqualung" album. This also struck me as an unusual choice; why do every song off of one album? It's an interesting choice though, since not only did they do the big hits, but also all the obscure songs like "Slipstream" and "Cheap Day Return," which, as Ian Anderson said, they hadn't done since they first recorded the album. Mixed in with this was a smattering of other Tull songs, mostly older, and some solo Ian Anderson pieces including the instrumental "Griminelli’s Lament" which was originally a flute duet that was re-interpreted as a flute & violin duet (I'd never heard this song before, and I liked it). They even performed a few non-Tull songs, including a couple of solo pieces by Lucia Micarelli. One of the more interesting choices was "The Love Theme From the Godfather" interpreted as a flute/violin duet between Anderson and Micarelli with guitarist Martin Barre playing gypsy guitar. The first half of the show finished with "Bouree," a Tull classic (which is actually a Bach piece that, as Ian Anderson put it, they've turned into a "horrible jazz cocktail number.") The second half of the show started with Micarelli playing a solo, "Nocturne" which then segued into an instrumental rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with the whole band. This was followed with Jethro Tull and Micarelli doing a rocking instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir that was one of the highlights of the show. The second half also included "Cross-Eyed Mary," "My God," and "One Night In Budapest," (the latter two of which featured extensive solos), and ended with "Aqualung." The encore was a semi-medley featuring "Wind Up," "Locomotive Breath," and "Cheerio."
This is the third time I've seen Jethro Tull, and it was probably the best of the three. The Keswick is a small theater, so even though our seats were near the back, we weren't all that far away from the stage. Now, granted, Ian Anderson and most of the rest of the band is getting on in years (I say most because, except for Anderson and longtime guitarist Martin Barre, the line-up changes frequently), so the show is a little more mellow and a little less flashy than your average rock concert. However, that doesn't diminish their talent one bit. It was a pleasure to hear and see them play, and once the band warmed up, Anderson delved into his signature style, which includes capering around the stage while playing the flute in a manner that could best be described as "exuberant" (if not "aggressive.") Lucia Micarelli was an excellent guest; not only was she amazingly talented, but she played with as much gusto as Anderson, both in the classical and the rock pieces. Their duets were fantastic, and I liked that Anderson was willing to share so much of the spotlight with her (and the fact that she kinda looks like River Tam from Serenity didn't hurt either).
So, in closing, I had a great time at a great show. Good night!
The show began with "Life is a Long Song," a mellow piece that seems like an odd choice to start a concert with, but which set the mood for the rest of the first half, and then followed that with one of their hits, "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" (and one of my favorites). Over the course of the whole show, they performed the entire "Aqualung" album. This also struck me as an unusual choice; why do every song off of one album? It's an interesting choice though, since not only did they do the big hits, but also all the obscure songs like "Slipstream" and "Cheap Day Return," which, as Ian Anderson said, they hadn't done since they first recorded the album. Mixed in with this was a smattering of other Tull songs, mostly older, and some solo Ian Anderson pieces including the instrumental "Griminelli’s Lament" which was originally a flute duet that was re-interpreted as a flute & violin duet (I'd never heard this song before, and I liked it). They even performed a few non-Tull songs, including a couple of solo pieces by Lucia Micarelli. One of the more interesting choices was "The Love Theme From the Godfather" interpreted as a flute/violin duet between Anderson and Micarelli with guitarist Martin Barre playing gypsy guitar. The first half of the show finished with "Bouree," a Tull classic (which is actually a Bach piece that, as Ian Anderson put it, they've turned into a "horrible jazz cocktail number.") The second half of the show started with Micarelli playing a solo, "Nocturne" which then segued into an instrumental rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with the whole band. This was followed with Jethro Tull and Micarelli doing a rocking instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir that was one of the highlights of the show. The second half also included "Cross-Eyed Mary," "My God," and "One Night In Budapest," (the latter two of which featured extensive solos), and ended with "Aqualung." The encore was a semi-medley featuring "Wind Up," "Locomotive Breath," and "Cheerio."
This is the third time I've seen Jethro Tull, and it was probably the best of the three. The Keswick is a small theater, so even though our seats were near the back, we weren't all that far away from the stage. Now, granted, Ian Anderson and most of the rest of the band is getting on in years (I say most because, except for Anderson and longtime guitarist Martin Barre, the line-up changes frequently), so the show is a little more mellow and a little less flashy than your average rock concert. However, that doesn't diminish their talent one bit. It was a pleasure to hear and see them play, and once the band warmed up, Anderson delved into his signature style, which includes capering around the stage while playing the flute in a manner that could best be described as "exuberant" (if not "aggressive.") Lucia Micarelli was an excellent guest; not only was she amazingly talented, but she played with as much gusto as Anderson, both in the classical and the rock pieces. Their duets were fantastic, and I liked that Anderson was willing to share so much of the spotlight with her (and the fact that she kinda looks like River Tam from Serenity didn't hurt either).
So, in closing, I had a great time at a great show. Good night!