Jethro Tull!!!!!

This last Tuesday, My friend and his wife and I went to go see Jethro Tull. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was for this concert. I have always been a fan of the band but over the last two years, for whatever reason, I began to really gain a great appreciation for the talent of Ian Anderson. We bought our tickets for the show way back in March and it has been a long wait. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jethro Tull they are a band that formed in the late sixties (first album produced in 68) and early on had a very "bluesy rock" kind of sound. Their front man Ian Anderson (pictured right) Is known for his fast paced flute playing which is featured in most Jethro Tull songs. This flute sound gives the band a very unique feel. Much of their music also has a very "folksy" and even "Renaissance" feel to it

I actually bought two tickets with the intent of finding a date to take with me. But, as I usually do, I put off finding a lady friend until the last moment. Unfortunately with the concert being on a Tuesday night, I was unable on short notice to acquire a date, which was actually fine with me because there aren't really any girls I know (other than my friends wife) who even know who Jethro Tull is. I didn't really want to take someone who didn't appreciate the music. So I decided in the to just scalp my ticket at the show. Which I did and put the money towards a sweet concert T.

We had great seats on the third balcony up but in the front row. The venue was Abravenal (spelling?) Hall. While we were high up we were still not very far away. He started with a Harmonica solo that totally rocked!! They then went into "Living in the Past" which is probably their most popular song (the one that gets the most radio play at least), Again it rocked. I wouldn't be able to list all the songs they played but here are some of the highlights;

Bouree, AquaLung (a very different version of the song with a lot more flute and a lot less guitar), I don't want to be a Fat Man, Velvet Green, Thick as a brick (about the first ten minutes or so), Witch's Promise, Budapest, The Whistler, and of course Locomotive Breath (played as the encore). There were a few songs I did not recognize and one that is not yet published but I cannot remember the name of them.

All I can say it that this was definitely one of the best concerts I've been to. It was amazing to see the band so energetic considering their age. The only downsides were that the concert seemed fairly short (2 hours) for $50 a ticket and they did not play some songs I would have really liked to hear songs such as Broadsword, A Song For Jeffery, Too Old to Rock and Roll Too Young to Die. But I can live with that. Ian Anderson was incredible on the flute and never slowed down. Martin Barre was also amazing on the guitar and actually played a little flute himself. Another slight disappointment was that Ian Anderson had lost the wild hair and beard. At first I was a little concerned that he would not have the crazy and hyper stage presence that he's known for but I was not disappointed.