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Post by nonrabbit on May 17, 2014 16:09:45 GMT
"With you there to help me"...WTF?! With a song with that title and Ryan there, you should expect a killer version...oh but no. This is Ian Anderson in charge after all...."let's not get it right, even though I easily could...". Why Ian is not singing lead on this, is beyond me. Ryan should NOT sing the lead and in the highest key, but take the low harmony. Ian has way more prescense as a singer for the chorus. I know he could still do it. He did this one super on the montreaux jazzfestival 2003 dvd....so why this $h1tty arrangement? Ryan doesn't come through as a good lead singer on this one , and the chorus never lifts the song as it should...What a waste of oppurtunity. The way Ryan also "out of the blue" suddenly sings a line in "My god" is also just silly and confusing. Not to mention that SFTW probably could have been sung superb with a smarter arrangement. Ian sucks mighty wildcat balls when he tries to sing the lower harmonies with other singers. This is my impressions from recent youtube clips, but also from having heard him live in recent years. There are reasons to belive that he doesn't realise how important the vocals are for his own music, his voice is mixed annoyingly low on some of the HE songs. Why did he let that pass? May be he doesn't like his own voice? He has probably ended up believing that the f&%"g flute is the most important part of the whole. I don't know. Ian sometimes, I suspect, is his own worst enemy as far as the quality of the music goes. I mean, let that flute rest a bit.... The flute is just a little part of why I like his music....Ok, he does what he wants, obviously. I still admire his work, but I just got a bit pissed as a fan hearing how he have wasted some possibly fantastic redentions of classic tull, by stupid vocal arrangements. Excuse any poor english language and grammar, but I am besides being dissapointed in Ian, just a Norwegian who wants to tell Ian how he should do it! God damn! ;-) I must get in touch with Shona....he probably listens to her..... Sorry Pondus not laughing at the whole post just the last bit. In fact I agree with most of your points although this is from the nonrabbit banished to a far flung land who can't see any concerts so I can't give an informed opinion on this tour. I can only surmise that maybe Ryan is a bit too theatrical to take on the vocals of some of the songs especially the older classics and I think it might be a good idea for a more mature special guest or just the one ( costs costs costs) to take on some of the vocals too.
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pondus
Prentice Jack
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Post by pondus on May 17, 2014 17:14:07 GMT
Glad to hear I made you laugh nonrabbit! My post was indeed written while laughing a bit myself. I have learned NOT to write on the net when I am REALLY angry! This was just blowing off some steam over my old hero, who once again......almost does it right, but never seems to make it to perfect, or doesn't do it wrong in the right ways....Ian's reasoning and the choices he makes are a bit of a mystery to many people I guess. However I must give him credit for TAAB2 and HE and all that, after all that is pretty good stuff for an old guy or indeed anybody. I just don't quite buy his reasons for NOT calling it Jethro Tull....Like giving the original Jethro Tull his name back....yeah right..... I think it was just a way of not having to play with Martin anymore, who probably was getting on his nerves or something, without actually sacking him. One of many strange solutions done by our by Ian. I guess he would have been a more easy to understand rockstar had he just done drugs like the rest of them....then again...maybe not. I am glad that he still writes great music and performs. Sometimes he is excellent. He is just a bit full of himself and the importance of the flute. Now, I'll let you get back to the topic....
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pondus
Prentice Jack
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Post by pondus on May 17, 2014 17:24:52 GMT
I can only surmise that maybe Ryan is a bit too theatrical to take on the vocals of some of the songs especially the older classics and I think it might be a good idea for a more mature special guest or just the one ( costs costs costs) to take on some of the vocals too. Ouch.....just one more thing then....I hope Ian will once ask a certain Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden for some help with the vocals! I remember Ian stating in a norwegian magazine how he hated seeing people with Iron Maiden shirts at JT concerts, because "chances were great that they had misunderstood what Jethro Tull was all about"....Jeeezzz....Ian at his most stupid arrogant mode, saying garbage like that! Now he is buddy with Bruce Dickinson....That's probably why I can't get REALLY upset over the choiced Ian does anymore...He has blown his cover, he is indeed human after all....NOW....that was it!
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Post by Equus on May 17, 2014 17:25:28 GMT
Glad to hear I made you laugh nonrabbit! My post was indeed written while laughing a bit myself. I have learned NOT to write on the net when I am REALLY angry! This was just blowing off some steam over my old hero, who once again......almost does it right, but never seems to make it to perfect, or doesn't do it wrong in the right ways....Ian's reasoning and the choices he makes are a bit of a mystery to many people I guess. However I must give him credit for TAAB2 and HE and all that, after all that is pretty good stuff for an old guy or indeed anybody. I just don't quite buy his reasons for NOT calling it Jethro Tull....Like giving the original Jethro Tull his name back....yeah right..... I think it was just a way of not having to play with Martin anymore, who probably was getting on his nerves or something, without actually sacking him. One of many strange solutions done by our by Ian. I guess he would have been a more easy to understand rockstar had he just done drugs like the rest of them....then again...maybe not. I am glad that he still writes great music and performs. Sometimes he is excellent. He is just a bit full of himself and the importance of the flute. Now, I'll let you get back to the topic.... I must say that I don't believe him either. It's just too weird... Maybe he just wanted to get rid of the "Hideous Martin Barre..."
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Post by JTull 007 on May 17, 2014 18:54:15 GMT
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spenny
Prentice Jack
Posts: 39
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Post by spenny on May 17, 2014 19:58:08 GMT
Travelling from Glasgow both days so probably two round trips of approx 230 miles. If I had the money I would be doing Aberdeen and Inverness as well.
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Post by bunkerfan on May 17, 2014 20:20:21 GMT
Travelling from Glasgow both days so probably two round trips of approx 230 miles. If I had the money I would be doing Aberdeen and Inverness as well. I'm certain the 230 miles will be well worth it. Enjoy the two shows spenny.
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spenny
Prentice Jack
Posts: 39
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Post by spenny on May 17, 2014 21:36:50 GMT
Oh I know it will be worth every mile. Been looking forward to this for so long. Front row seats at both gigs too. Only downfall of that is its harder to get photos. I'll do my best though.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 17, 2014 22:15:57 GMT
More Miles Than Money ! ( the story of my life) Congratulations on great seats and great priorities !
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stevep
Master Craftsman
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Post by stevep on May 18, 2014 13:29:54 GMT
Talking about fights at a Tull concert.. I very nearly got into one myself years back at the Hammersmith Odeon. Not sure if I have written about the before, apologies if I have but the brain cells are starting to go
What happened was that I got held up very late in a meeting at work on the night of the concert. I did not have time to change so ended up looking like an out of place bank manager. To make matters worse I also got soaked to the skin running in the rain to the concert. I got into my seat just before the lights went down and noticed three large gentlemen in denims and leathers sitting in front and a bit below me. They all looked a bit older than me and, to be honest, not the type of folk you would want to mess with. One of them was sitting forward reading his Tull programme and showing quite a big expanse of backside (builders bum) as he leaned forward.
I decided to take off my wet jacket and tried to fold it up and as I did so I heard money jingling as it fell out my jacket pocket. Suddenly the builders bum guy in front of me shoots out his seat shouting and swearing saying things like 'what the f*** did you do" and such like. It turned out that all my small change that had fallen out my jacket had gone down the back of the jeans of this very large bearded man. Poor guy got a real shock as the change was probably quite cold and not at all comfortable. To make matters worse his mates were in stitches laughing as were the folk beside me who saw what had happened.
Fortunately the guy realised it happened by mistake (I don't think i could have thrown it there even if I tried) and he starting digging down the back of his jeans trying to get the coins out. I very tactfully said he could keep the change and buy himself a beer after the concert (despite being a canny Scot I decided I did not want it back for all sorts of reasons). The guy counted it up and it came to something just over twenty pence, mostly made up of 1p and 2p coins. It was maybe enough to buy a few penny chews.. His friends made all sorts of crude jokes about some of it being silver when it went down there.
The concert was excellent though I must admit to leaving slightly early to keep the peace....
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Post by JTull 007 on May 18, 2014 13:55:17 GMT
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Post by JTull 007 on May 18, 2014 14:05:31 GMT
Talking about fights at a Tull concert.. I very nearly got into one myself years back at the Hammersmith Odeon. Not sure if I have written about the before, apologies if I have but the brain cells are starting to go What happened was that I got held up very late in a meeting at work on the night of the concert. I did not have time to change so ended up looking like an out of place bank manager. To make matters worse I also got soaked to the skin running in the rain to the concert. I got into my seat just before the lights went down and noticed three large gentlemen in denims and leathers sitting in front and a bit below me. They all looked a bit older than me and, to be honest, not the type of folk you would want to mess with. One of them was sitting forward reading his Tull programme and showing quite a big expanse of backside (builders bum) as he leaned forward. I decided to take off my wet jacket and tried to fold it up and as I did so I heard money jingling as it fell out my jacket pocket. Suddenly the builders bum guy in front of me shoots out his seat shouting and swearing saying things like 'what the f*** did you do" and such like. It turned out that all my small change that had fallen out my jacket had gone down the back of the jeans of this very large bearded man. Poor guy got a real shock as the change was probably quite cold and not at all comfortable. To make matters worse his mates were in stitches laughing as were the folk beside me who saw what had happened. Fortunately the guy realised it happened by mistake (I don't think i could have thrown it there even if I tried) and he starting digging down the back of his jeans trying to get the coins out. I very tactfully said he could keep the change and buy himself a beer after the concert (despite being a canny Scot I decided I did not want it back for all sorts of reasons). The guy counted it up and it came to something just over twenty pence, mostly made up of 1p and 2p coins. It was maybe enough to buy a few penny chews.. His friends made all sorts of crude jokes about some of it being silver when it went down there. The concert was excellent though I must admit to leaving slightly early to keep the peace.... LMFAO This is priceless too. Well done Steve !!!!!
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Post by maddogfagin on May 18, 2014 14:59:37 GMT
Ian Anderson @ Symphony Hall, Birmingham – Saturday 3rd May 2014May 17, 2014 Review by Paul H BirchlinkTonight’s show started promptly, part old school British work ethic and partly so that the musical performance would work in time with the films projected on stage behind the band. The show will also come in two halves, the first a full recital of Ian Anderson’s new album Homo Erraticus and the second a collection of Jethro Tull’s greatest hits. Sloppy sixties tabloid journalism might have mislead the public back then into thinking Anderson himself was Jethro Tull, rather than its prime architect, however unlikely in proceeding decades. But even with Tull now put to bed the singer/flautist has himself set up another foil to misdirect his faithful audience by reintroducing the character of Gerald Bostock (first introduced on Thick As A Brick) as proscribed narrator of his recent albums. The premise behind Homo Erraticus is that a middle-aged Bostock has uncovered an unpublished manuscript by an amateur historian called Ernest T. Parritt and thereafter adapts the tome to music and we are offered the opportunity to hear about the various comings and goings of folk on this Blessed Isle, from our first footsteps as Neolithic hunter-gatherers to our excursions back out as we sought to build an empire, fast forwarding to our growing sense of isolation upon the world’s theatre, and the xenophobic or real fears that we may have for our future. Not having heard the album itself yet, I am reliably informed that the live show with its various projections aid in clarifying and extrapolating on the recorded themes. Certainly we get a vast array of visuals, including animations and films encompassing Celtic crosses, Queen Victoria, Jim Fitzpatrick’s iconic Che Guevara poster and Billy Bunter illustrations from The Magnet boys’ story paper of yesteryear, among scenes of war and green belt landscapes being devastated. While I also might not have picked up on the political and philosophical nuances being espoused purely by the music alone, I must say I found it quite charming, veering between prog, folk and rock, much as one might expect, but generally flowing as a harmonious piece of work, the exception being those parts narrated where if you didn’t hear what was said clearly it tended to leave you blank. Anderson did not narrate the work complete himself, a large part was left to Ryan O’Donnell who also dressed up, acted out parts, sang some of the higher pitched lines (including Tull numbers later), and banged a tambourine. Personally, I was never quite sure if I was comfortable with him on stage save for the singing. The band however were exceptionally cohesive and played with a light touch, adding atmosphere and leaving spaces for Anderson himself to be more extrovert during his flute solos. The Symphony Hall was the perfect venue as the first few numbers filtered through intermixing rock theatrics and unexpected sensuality, then after a shred of fuzzed guitar feedback from Florian Opahle, the lady sitting beside me is tapping her feet thunderously along with the drums as the uptempo rock of ‘The Turnpike Inn’ ensues and Anderson recites the tale of highway men and pistols at dawn even as John O’Hara switches from keyboards to accordion for themes reminiscent of military jigs, fairground carnivals, classical scores and Welsh mining songs to mesh through the next couple of numbers. As Opahle sets up a soft funky guitar sound Anderson takes to his flute once more for a long melodic solo of questioning notes creating a dichotomy as horrible scenes of bloodshed and war are expressed visually on screen. ‘In For A Pound’ begins as a heavy guitar shuffle and progressive flute excursion moving onto a bouncy rocker as Opahle plays a tasty distorted wah-wah solo with O’Hara’s synthesiser lines playing in and around the tune. On screen what looks to be Dan Dare’s arch-nemesis The Mekon takes over Homo Erraticus’ narration, my mind then seems to recall scientists, John Merrick the Elephant Man being in space, then Anderson himself, before we return to the film’s recurring theme of feet seen walking (perhaps inferred literally from William Blake’s Jerusalem) and this time as if on Mars, the red planet of war as heavy drums and loud guitar chords issue forth for the concluding song of the first set, ‘Cold Dead Reckoning’. During the interval I’m sure TV chef and Hairy Biker Si Williams walks by me, and if so I trust the excitement of the second half wasn’t what caused him to end up in hospital shortly after. With the band’s return Anderson informs us that the digital clock on the screen behind him will be spinning chronologically back through time to when the Tull songs due to be played were first recorded, and include vintage TV and film footage along with new pieces. Fittingly they begin with a well received ‘Living In The Past’ briskly reaching its climax with heavy metal styled solo from Opahle, supported by drummer Scott Hammond sitting at his kit side-on stage left, always seeming to hit the minimum amount of percussion required for each song but always effect the right sound. They then change pace for the instrumental ‘Bourée’ as Anderson’s flute takes the Bach tune on a mellow jazz journey, underpinned by David Goodier’s walking bass line before he himself takes a solo. Back to the rocking past with hit single ‘Sweet Dreams’, the singer picking up an acoustic guitar and relating how he used a 12 string owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green on the original recording. A tad slower and more orchestrated, Opahle still poses legs astride soloing as both Godzilla and a nun romp around on the screen behind him, before they move they move into the less strident blues rock with a hippy bent that is ‘Teacher’. Progressive rock classics follow before Anderson once more takes up his acoustic to play the beginning of ‘Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll (Too Young To Die)’ and it’s worth noting here that Mr Anderson no longer resembles the manic long-haired tramp we recall him as, rather – save for the trim beard – the casually dressed spectacled man on stage looks surprisingly similar to fellow vintage rocker Roger Daltrey. However, while his famous standing-on-one-leg minstrel pose was not much in evidence during the first half of the show, it is during the Tull section as he prowls and prances about the stage delivering an impressive musical performance. Harmonies abound on the folk rocking ‘Songs From The Wood’, propelled by Hammond’s rim shots. Cool jazz gives way to rhythm & blues with Cornish vocals over the top building up to stadium rock epics then shifting into bluesy prog-heavy rock beats as I sit back to enjoy the show. Then loud cheers go up for ‘Aqualung’ and the guys who’ve been sitting clapping along in the front rows can take it no more and want to get up for a little bop, only for security to make them sit down again. The mind boggles at what harm blokes wavering round the sixty years of age mark are going to do, apart from to themselves. It spoils the moment for those watching, whereas those keeping an eye on the stage watch it culminate as Anderson and band jumping forward collectively before swiftly exiting the stage. Applause ensues and Anderson’s voice is heard over the PA reintroducing each member of the band as they return to the stage. I didn’t turn round to look back at the circles, but pretty much the whole of the stalls are standing now as the music played moves from jazz chord textures to a brief classical overture and they then ride out the show with ‘Locomotive Breath’ and again folk move to the aisles intent on doing their daddy-dance only to be rebuked by security. I remain perplexed by such overreactions, and they tend to mar what’s been a very pleasant, musically diverse and entertaining evening. One once more where I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone to listen to a musical artist I’ve rarely paid much attention to previously, but will fill in the gaps in my aural experiences accordingly during the ensuing years, hoping never to be too old to rock ‘n’ roll. Set List (First Half) Doggerland Heavy Metals Enter The Uninvited Puer Ferox Adventus Meliora Sequamur The Turnpike Inn The Engineer The Pax Britannica Tripudum Ad Beilum After These Wars New Blood, Old Veins In For A Pound The Browning Of The Green Per Errationes Ad Astra Cold Dead Reckoning Set List (Second Half) Living In The Past Bourée Sweet Dream Teacher With You There To Help Me A Passion Play Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll (Too Young To Die) Songs From The Wood Farm On The Freeway My God Aqualung Encore: Locomotive Breath
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Post by Tull50 on May 18, 2014 15:40:42 GMT
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Post by ash on May 18, 2014 18:57:34 GMT
Nice, didn't see you there
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Post by maddogfagin on May 19, 2014 13:55:15 GMT
Dave Rees has posted the following on the AND Facebook page: IAN ANDERSON Homo Erraticus Tour. I keep reading that a lot of long-standing Tull fans are boycotting Ian's tour due to (a) No Martin Barre (b) Ian's treatment of Martin Barre (c) Concerns about Ian's voice (d) disappointment with the new album.
All I can say is that I've now seen 5 shows; it started off well and a week on it is even better, and in my opinion it's the best show from Ian/Tull in many, many years, even better than the TAAB 1/2 tour. Ian's voice is good (not like old Ian of course, but considerably better than in 'recent' years), the production is superb, and it's a real return to theatrical concerts rather than simply running through a "best of" selection. OK, the second half IS a "best of Tull" but it's augmented by great screen backdrops, perfectly synced, and the first half is the new album in its entirety - sounds better live than on CD to me. Ryan has found his feet and adds a welcome new dimension to the sound, taking the pressure off Ian and definitely improving things. The band are tight and yes, we all miss Martin but Florian is a fine guitarist himself.
Basically, I urge you doubters / waverers / procrastinators to rethink, give it one more go, and grab yourself a ticket to a show. I really don't think you will be disappointed. Of course, if 6 months down the line Ian's voice is shot to pieces I accept no responsibility for a bum steer, but I think it'll be fine en-gb.facebook.com/pages/A-New-Day-The-Jethro-Tull-magazine/122753201127669
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Post by JTull 007 on May 19, 2014 16:23:10 GMT
Dave Rees has posted the following on the AND Facebook page: IAN ANDERSON Homo Erraticus Tour. I keep reading that a lot of long-standing Tull fans are boycotting Ian's tour due to (a) No Martin Barre (b) Ian's treatment of Martin Barre (c) Concerns about Ian's voice (d) disappointment with the new album.
All I can say is that I've now seen 5 shows; it started off well and a week on it is even better, and in my opinion it's the best show from Ian/Tull in many, many years, even better than the TAAB 1/2 tour. Ian's voice is good (not like old Ian of course, but considerably better than in 'recent' years), the production is superb, and it's a real return to theatrical concerts rather than simply running through a "best of" selection. OK, the second half IS a "best of Tull" but it's augmented by great screen backdrops, perfectly synced, and the first half is the new album in its entirety - sounds better live than on CD to me. Ryan has found his feet and adds a welcome new dimension to the sound, taking the pressure off Ian and definitely improving things. The band are tight and yes, we all miss Martin but Florian is a fine guitarist himself.
Basically, I urge you doubters / waverers / procrastinators to rethink, give it one more go, and grab yourself a ticket to a show. I really don't think you will be disappointed. Of course, if 6 months down the line Ian's voice is shot to pieces I accept no responsibility for a bum steer, but I think it'll be fine en-gb.facebook.com/pages/A-New-Day-The-Jethro-Tull-magazine/122753201127669 I've seen some ridiculous stuff said by some who call themselves Tull Fans lately. David Rees is not one of them. I agree with everything he says. 3 cheers for TULL .
Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah! Homo Erraticus / Best of TULL
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Post by JTull 007 on May 19, 2014 17:28:31 GMT
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Post by Equus on May 19, 2014 17:29:48 GMT
Dave Rees has posted the following on the AND Facebook page: IAN ANDERSON Homo Erraticus Tour. I keep reading that a lot of long-standing Tull fans are boycotting Ian's tour due to (a) No Martin Barre (b) Ian's treatment of Martin Barre (c) Concerns about Ian's voice (d) disappointment with the new album.
All I can say is that I've now seen 5 shows; it started off well and a week on it is even better, and in my opinion it's the best show from Ian/Tull in many, many years, even better than the TAAB 1/2 tour. Ian's voice is good (not like old Ian of course, but considerably better than in 'recent' years), the production is superb, and it's a real return to theatrical concerts rather than simply running through a "best of" selection. OK, the second half IS a "best of Tull" but it's augmented by great screen backdrops, perfectly synced, and the first half is the new album in its entirety - sounds better live than on CD to me. Ryan has found his feet and adds a welcome new dimension to the sound, taking the pressure off Ian and definitely improving things. The band are tight and yes, we all miss Martin but Florian is a fine guitarist himself.
Basically, I urge you doubters / waverers / procrastinators to rethink, give it one more go, and grab yourself a ticket to a show. I really don't think you will be disappointed. Of course, if 6 months down the line Ian's voice is shot to pieces I accept no responsibility for a bum steer, but I think it'll be fine en-gb.facebook.com/pages/A-New-Day-The-Jethro-Tull-magazine/122753201127669 I've seen some ridiculous stuff said by some who call themselves Tull Fans lately. David Rees is not one of them. I agree with everything he says. 3 cheers for TULL .
Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah! Homo Erraticus / Best of TULL Good to hear, Jim! I will be there no matter what... but it's good to hear that the concerts are going well. I also just love Dave Rees... Still hoping that Ian/Tull will come to Denmark... That would be cool...
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spenny
Prentice Jack
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Post by spenny on May 19, 2014 23:23:04 GMT
Was at Edinburgh last night and just got home from the Perth gig tonight. Lots of thoughts which I will share soon. My bed is calling. One thing on my mind is that there were a LOT of empty seats tonight. The upper stalls was almost empty. Last time I saw the band in Perth was the TAAB2 tour which I think was sold out. I've read similar reviews where empty seats get a mention. Could this be worrying times? As long as IA is touring then I'll be paying for a ticket. Goodnight folks.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 20, 2014 0:37:33 GMT
Great...spenny goes to sleep after a great gig ( and I am glad of that) and I stay awake, worrying about empty seats.
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Post by JTull 007 on May 20, 2014 3:19:53 GMT
Was at Edinburgh last night and just got home from the Perth gig tonight. Lots of thoughts which I will share soon. My bed is calling. One thing on my mind is that there were a LOT of empty seats tonight. The upper stalls was almost empty. Last time I saw the band in Perth was the TAAB2 tour which I think was sold out. I've read similar reviews where empty seats get a mention. Could this be worrying times? As long as IA is touring then I'll be paying for a ticket. Goodnight folks. Great...spenny goes to sleep after a great gig ( and I am glad of that) and I stay awake, worrying about empty seats. Thanks for the update spenny.
There is light ahead "Send to us a guiding symbol, tiny bird upon the wing, as we navigate this desert by our cold, dead reckoning."
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Post by maddogfagin on May 20, 2014 7:39:22 GMT
rushonrock.com/2014/05/19/review-ian-anderson-2/REVIEW – IAN ANDERSONPosted by simon On May - 19 - 2014 Ian Anderson 14@ The Sage Gateshead, May 16 2014 The release last month of Homo Erraticus caused something of stir, with a headline in The Independent proclaiming ’8,400 years of history in a 50-minute album: this year’s surprise hit’. Really nothing should surprise us when it comes to prog legend Ian Anderson, certainly not a concept album in three acts featuring 13 songs – sorry, ‘chapters’ – telling the history of Britain. It’s as close to the spirit of 70s prog rock as you’re likey to find in the 21st Century. The one downside of the success of this latest Anderson solo project has been the demise of Jethro Tull – a fact more-or-less confirmed by Anderson in the album’s sleevenotes. For those of us who believe something magic happened when Anderson and long-time Tull sidekick, the wonderful, criminally underrated, blues-rock guitarist Martin Barre, collaborate, there’s more than a degree of sadness that this has come to pass. However, it’s the billing of ‘Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson’ that has virtually filled all three levels of the Sage’s Hall 1 come the gig’s early start time of 7.30pm. The first part of the show features Homo Erraticus performed in its entirety. It’s pressaged by a film of a bed-ridden Anderson in a continental sanatorium, attended by his bandmates dressed as doctors and nurses, with the patient bemoaning the aging process and the need to eat muesli. Then the spry, 66 year-old frontman bounded onto the stage to launch into Doggerland, with John O’Hara’s swirling keyboards, Anderson’s trademark flute, and Florian Ophale’s Les Paul all to the fore. Throughout the hour long set the tapestry formed by Anderson’s lyrics weaves Brittishness, whimsy, satire and gentle social commentary, themes he’s been exploring since the early 70s. The highlight was Puer Ferox Adventus (Wld Child Coming) - a seven-minute epic telling how Pagan Britain gave way to Christianity, which references Lindisfarne (the Holy Island, not the band) in the lyrics. However, the near continuous nature of the song suite meant there was no space for applause from the attentive audience as Ryan O’Donnell, who partly shared Anderson’s vocal duties, immediately launched into a poem (doubtless penned by Anderson’s alter ego Gerald Bostock) linking to the next song – shame. Considering the complexity of Homo Erraticus and fact that is such a recent release, one might have excused the Sage audience for affording it a reserved response. In fact the entertaining performance was received warmly by those in attendence, although that particular reception was to be put into the shade after the interval. We were promised some classic Tull and that’s exactly what we got, with Anderson rolling back the years for a musical jaunt through Tull’s history starting with Living In The Past, naturally. Most pleasingly this second set featured several vintage songs that had not been played on stage for some time, most noticeably Sweet Dream and Critique Oblique, the latter being a rarely heard except from A Passion Play. Sweet Dream, a song written at behest of Tull’s management who wanted a hit single, was accompanied by its original, chucklesome film promo featuring a youthful and hirsute Anderson being chased by a vampire, also played by the frontman, interspersed with vintage back and white horror and sc-fi film clips. One can imagine young Tull fans Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson taking notes for future reference when the promo originally aired. The advantage of having Ryan O’Donnell on stage for this older material is that it allows Ian to sing in a lower register while the young actor/singer tackles the higher notes. Anderson is never going to sound like he did in 1970 but his voice, though limited, was the strongest I’ve heard it for some time. The Sage’s renowned acoustics and a good sound mix may have also helped in this regard. This second set also allowed Anderson to induldge in his renowned banter between songs, along with plenty of flute playing whilst standing on one leg. It wouldn’t be a Tull/Anderson gig without both. As the night wore on it was obvious he was having a ball, doubtless buoyed by the increasingly loud cheers and bouts of applause that greeted the end of every song. German guitarist Ophale is probably the only man who would give Barre some stiff competition in a Martun Barre soundalike contest. By the time Aqualung rolled around he was begining to look, as well as sound, like a young Martin Barre. I wonder if his middle name is ‘Lancelot’? No prizes for guessing that a stirring version of Locomotive Breath was saved for the encore. Jethro Tull my be no more but Ian Anderson rocks on.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 14:26:11 GMT
louderthanwar.com/ian-anderson-palace-theatre-manchester-live-review/Ian Anderson: Palace Theatre, Manchester – live review Posted on May 18, 2014 by Michael Ainscoe Ian Anderson Palace Theatre, Manchester 14 May 2014 Jethro Tull – 17th Century agriculturalist and inventor of the patent seed drill. Ian Anderson – singer, acoustic guitarist, flute player and leading light of the rock band who share the same name – definitely not one and the same. Anderson’s new album is out and his new show comes with a full multimedia feast – Manchester is the latest stop. What’s in a name? After over forty years as frontman of blues/folk/hard/prog (insert your own genre) rockers Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson has recently stepped out from Tull to appear under his own name. As not only Tull’s front man, he’s been at pains to point out in interviews how he’s also been the writer, arranger, producer and most things under the sun when it comes to it. So it’s understandable that he holds some claim to the brand that is Jethro Tull. However, it’s as Ian Anderson (or, as the sticker on the slip case of the album states, ‘Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson’) that he released the ‘Thick As A Brick 2’ in 2011 as a follow up to the 1972 Tull original and the current ‘Homo Erraticus’ album. A song cycle which makes a chronological attempt to record a musical narrative through the guise of the travelling man and his journey through the development of civilisation in Britain and into the future – penned again by Anderson’s alter ego/collaborator with the nom de plume of Gerald Bostock. It was a full performance of the ‘Homo Erraticus’ album which took up the first half of the show. Accompanied by actor/singer Ryan O’Donnell who took a lead role in sharing vocals with Ian throughout the show and the musicians who have been his most recent band – Florian Ophale on guitar, John O’Hara sporting a mad professor look on keyboards, David Goodier on bass and drummer Scott Hammond, it was a full return to the type of production values which carry the ‘rock theatre’ tag. Not quite musical theatre, but with the band members taking narrative roles both live and on screen to link the songs and with a constant feed on the video backdrop, the audio visual presentation of the whole album gave the show as strong an enactment as you could get from an hour of uninterrupted music. From the opening ‘Doggerlands’ and Neolithic man of 7000BC through Jesus as ‘wild child’, the highwayman’s turnpike as a super highway and the grammar school system (a favourite topic of Anderson/Bostock) the skilfully worded epic unravelled until the optimism of the closing ‘Cold Dead Reckoning’. And that was ‘Homo Erraticus’. With the promise of the best of Jethro Tull still to come, it was an impressive Act One. Act Two was pretty much business as usual for the ‘Homo Erraticus’ band . With the exception of the exceptional Martin Barre, Tull has always been pretty much a band of interchangeable musicians – the revolving door policy revolving around him and naturally Ian Anderson. In some eyes, Anderson’s current band might just be the most recent incarnation, in all but name, of Jethro Tull. But, as someone once said, the song(s) remain the same, so perming an hour and a bit of classic Tull songs was a relatively straightforward task. The usual chestnuts were there of course, maybe not even warranting a mention of the song titles – think of Jethro Tull, you think of ‘Aqualung’, ‘Living In The Past’, ‘Locomotive Breath’ and Anderson’s flute playing, notably in ‘Bouree’. There were a couple of most pleasant surprises amongst the predominantly 70s selection, with only ‘Farm On The Freeway’ breaking the barrier into the 80s. Ryan O’Donnell’s choice of ‘Teacher’ was most welcome and accompanied by visuals of Anderson going through his routine performing the song in his earlier wilder days on the video screen. There was also the much appreciated willingness of Anderson to acquiesce to fan opinion and deliver ‘Critique Oblique’ – a short extract from 1973′s ‘Passion Play’ album, much maligned by the critics yet held in high reverence by the discerning fans and which has been notable by its absence from live performances – until now. In the long run, some might question how well Ian Anderson’s latest outing sits with long term Tull fans -maybe they’re just grateful that the musical genius that is Ian Anderson is still writing and evolving. It would be a little clichéd to quote the old Tull song title, too old to rock and roll (cue the eyes rolling) but for a musician in his mid sixties to be out and touring extensively with a splendid new album, why not make hay while the sun shines?
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 14:34:29 GMT
I've seen some ridiculous stuff said by some who call themselves Tull Fans lately. David Rees is not one of them. I agree with everything he says. 3 cheers for TULL . Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah! Homo Erraticus / Best of TULL Ridiculous stuff said by some who call themselves Tull Fans has been going on for decades. Really, I'll think of something before noon.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 15:32:24 GMT
instrumentali.com/2014/05/20/last-man-standing-ian-anderson-live-at-perth-concert-hall-19-5-14/Last Man Standing – Ian Anderson Live at Perth Concert Hall 19.5.14 May 20, 2014 Ian Anderson Band August 2013 - One of the forgotten tenets of progressive rock is the imperative to move on from past endeavours. It wouldn’t be very progressive otherwise – now would it? Ian Anderson knows better than anyone how difficult it can be disengage from an identity that has long ceased to be representative of who you are and what you do. Last night, über-survivor Anderson presented his latest solo rock album Homo Erraticus and gave fair warning that Jethro Tull is now the lesser of his split personalities. Homo Erraticus is a suite of music, song and spoken verse that maps the history of civilization from a particularly English perspective. It also dwells heavily on matters of the human condition, not least our species’ rapacious capacity for wanton destruction. It’s appropriate too that he should want to deconstruct the concept of progress in terms of movement, migration, exploration and discovery. Our achievements are more random than we care to admit, and the results are often an admix of triumph and disaster. That could easily describe the history of prog-rock. It’s clear from the huge backdrop projections that this is going to be a theatrical presentation, albeit one more measured in tone and delivery than the manic displays of yore. What follows is a series of stunning visual tableaux that illustrate and punctuate across the piece. Homo Erraticus is presented in a single continuous performance beginning with Doggerland and ending with Cold Dead Reckoning. In between, Anderson chronicles pre-Christian migration, early settlement, invasion, industrialization, expansion, commerce, trade, war, over-population, environmental destruction and space exploration. Any one of these themes would do for a concept album but this a piece of modern musical theatre and Anderson, in black waistcoat and white shirt, wears the uniform of the narrator rather than the Yorick-like duds of the protagonist/antagonist of vintage Tull. The overall impression that Homo Erraticus leaves is one of deep regret for the simple pleasures of a pastoral existence and skepticism of the dubious benefits of progress. Anderson is under-valued as a songwriter, and these new songs are happily less obscured by the smoke and mirrors of the rock show dynamic. The whole band plays with plenty of bright steps, but the material dictates more containment than the wild Tull tales of old. Meliora Sequamur has a psalm-like quality to it and features a clever video of Anderson pontificating with mock piety to the strains of a churchy organ. These are stories of Tom Brown’s dysfunctional school days and and a potted history of Bunter’s bemused misery. Nevertheless, the arrangements still favour the pick and drive impact of a formidable front row. Ian Anderson is incapable of being uninteresting. There is inspired use of gigantic visuals interspersing the history of life, the universe, and everything with his own personal history as rock music’s foremost showman. And it’s rock guitar that signals a step up in pace and an extra edge to Andersen’s acid vocal on The Turnpike Inn; serving up a heady brew for this audience of mature headbangers. Andersen’s trademark flute flourishes beautifully, but it’s often mistaken for baroque. I feel his music mines an earlier seam than that, and on tunes like this especially it makes sense of the slender linkage to folk music in his songs. On New Blood, Old Veins, he presents a satire of holidays in the sun and euro bad manners and mores. He can’t resist a jibe at the hypocrisy of Brit xenophobia either with his reference to all-inclusive vacation time “in the land of Johnny Foreigner.” Similarly, on The Browning of the Green, he seems despairing of exponential population growth and concentrated living , and uses the rather obvious visual cue of sardines in a tin on backdrop, while the futility of space race is presented in Per Errationes Ad Astra as something of a cosmic joke as we drift inevitably towards oblivion of our own making. There is near the end of this first half, a great image of “man the wanderer” floating like a lost shadow in the vast indifference of the heavens. He returns with a stroll rather than a sprint though the formidable Jethro Tull back catalogue picking out the usual suspects (My God, Aqualung), the hidden gems (With You There To Help Me, Teacher) and the guilty pleasures (Sweet Dream) along the way. Living in the Past in particular is given a lighter vocal touch in the September years of Ian Anderson, although he can still strike some poses in this, his sixth age of man. Even the pump-primed ritual of the Locomotive Breath encore chugs along rather than careers out of control. Overall though, the Jethro Tull vehicle of choice may now be more cruiseliner than juggernaut, but it’s still a powerful piece of engineering. Anderson is built for comfort not speed these days, and he’s a much more candid and reflective character, “Time just seems to fly by when you get older….then you die”, he quips, but he is far from being a fatalist. I thought it rather telling that he employed the discreet skills of actor/singer Ryan O’Donnell to wander in and out of his storytelling. It’s a witty piece of self-referencing, and it further helps to separate the persona from the person by creating a fictional figure based very loosely on his younger self. Homo Erraticus may yet help him to put Jethro Tull up in the attic, while he gets on with the business of being Ian Anderson. But the brisk trade in Tull t-shirts at the merch stand suggests that the fans aren’t ready to let Jethro go just yet Michael S. Clark
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Post by steelmonkey on May 20, 2014 16:12:14 GMT
"Send to us a guiding symbol, tiny bird upon the wing,"
He means the Twitter logo, for sure...but it also brings to mind the Woodstock logo.
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Post by JTull 007 on May 20, 2014 16:31:48 GMT
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Post by jackinthegreen on May 20, 2014 18:41:27 GMT
Was at Edinburgh last night and just got home from the Perth gig tonight. Lots of thoughts which I will share soon. My bed is calling. One thing on my mind is that there were a LOT of empty seats tonight. The upper stalls was almost empty. Last time I saw the band in Perth was the TAAB2 tour which I think was sold out. I've read similar reviews where empty seats get a mention. Could this be worrying times? As long as IA is touring then I'll be paying for a ticket. Goodnight folks. Hi Spenny, We were at the Perth gig last night, and we were row K downstairs and some rows behind us were empty, as well as upstairs. A great pity, because as I'm sure you are going to say, this was a fantastic gig The best I have seen and heard from the guys in a long time, Ian's voice sounded a lot better on most of the songs, and Florian played the best solo on Aqualung I have ever heard, he is just an amazing musician. The first half, the new album was great, it works as a live piece really well. The second half, the best of Tull, was absolutely superb Highlights for me, Sweet Dream, and Farm on the Freeway...........absolutely awesome....... If any of you are waiting for the gig coming to you, it's well worth the wait...... Well done Ian and the band, wonderful entertainment, thank you all.....
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Post by jackinthegreen on May 20, 2014 22:10:37 GMT
I forgot to say, something strange happened at one point, to Ian's flute.... ....a key got stuck (my guess), because the note he was playing was well off the mark, and he knew it, I saw him looking at the instrument... ...this happened twice within a few seconds, luckily whatever was wrong fixed itself... ...only Ian will know!!!!!!!!! Also, at the Perth gig, a young lady was running about like a mad thing, up and down the isle, shining a torch on anyone trying to take pics or vids, she was ferocious... ....but a pain in the buttocks.......
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