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Post by steelmonkey on Nov 23, 2010 3:41:40 GMT
All things considered...emphasis on set lists and innovations of the last 4 tours: 2 Tull, 2 Ian...I would rather see Ian 'solo' at this point....on one side of the scale we have the very formidable, amazing, unique, beloved and previously irreplacable MARTIN BARRE...on the other side: highly superior song selection, much deeper catalogue surprises, new life in old songs, Ian's overall better mood and attitude on the solo tours vs Tull tours, drummers not without talent and unique contributions and smaller, fanicier venues.
Martin is a huge loss...but the whole picture, sad to say, adds up to better gigs on the 'solo' tours. In a perfect world a Tull tour WITH MARTIN and Doane would feature the plusses of the Ian shows...and the bookers would realize the audience and demand for Tull vs ian is negligible...memories of 70s riots should not inhibit anyone from booking Tull into the places Ian plays...face it: same audience minus a dozen or so drunks demanding Aqualung all night on the ian shows ( presumably).....but set lists don't lie...the ian tours are better at this point...there is word of Tull coming to the west coast next summer...I'd rather see the current shows from the east coast winding down this week....The wine bar gig for a couple hundred lucky New Yorkers is killing me...I SUFFER>>>>I SUFFER IN SILENCE AAAAAAGGHH
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2010 4:52:42 GMT
Don't suffer too much. By JIM FUSILLI Anderson Avoids the Late-Career Tull On a Rare Solo Tour, the Classic-Rock Trailblazer Offers a Less Familiar Sound online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575616551169902466.html?mod=googlenews_wsjWhen Ian Anderson takes the stage at Manhattan's City Winery on Tuesday, it's likely he'll face his smallest public audience in decades. The leader of Jethro Tull, out on a rare non-Tull tour, is accustomed to performing in arenas and theaters; in December, he'll perform a concert in the nave of England's vast Canterbury Cathedral. City Winery seats 300. "I prefer traditional theaters. I love the feeling of a proscenium arch," he said by phone recently. But Mr. Anderson, who's as witty and well spoken as his music suggests, welcomes what he called "tackling a potentially intense and claustrophobic environment" with his new group, the Ian Anderson Band. That may be because it isn't Jethro Tull, a continuing enterprise that will no doubt soon reconvene. Thus the new band is relieved of having to play the old Tull chestnuts that work well as boozy, big-room sing-alongs: "Aqualung," "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll," "Locomotive Breath" and others from the band's 43-year-old catalog. With flamenco guitarist Florian Opahle on hand, the evening will feature some of Mr. Anderson's knotty folk songs. Such compositions have challenged Tull's reputation as a band rooted in prog rock. "I wouldn't attempt to manage audience expectations, but maybe confound them," said Mr. Anderson, 63 years old. "The solo shows allow two things. It allows me to get into the great depth and breadth of the Tull catalog, a huge body that deserves to be heard. Also, when it's not a rock show, it keeps the riffraff out. You know, those who get drunk and holler. A benign and listening audience—it's good for them." If you haven't spent time with Tull lately, you might be surprised how vital much of its music is, thanks to Mr. Anderson's unorthodox approach to contemporary pop. If you'd heard only "Aqualung," the band's best-selling album, you'd think it was merely a classic-rock group. Yet "The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull," released in 2007, presents a band rooted deeply in traditional British folk. Mr. Anderson's flute gives the music a unique texture that hints at the influence of Rahsaan Roland Kirk and the blues. When asked to describe the new composition he's showcasing on the tour, Mr. Anderson called it "a prog folk rock jazz thing," which could just as well describe Jethro Tull. "I do have very broad tastes," he said. "If I didn't, Jethro Tull would have been a much bigger band. But from where I stand, it's the lifeblood. You don't get bored. It requires musical maturity. We all have to be in fighting trim." In addition to Mr. Opahle, the new Anderson band includes David Goodier on bass and John O'Hara on keys—both of whom were in the most recent edition of Jethro Tull—as well as Scott Hammond on drums. The current U.S. tour began in late October and concludes Wednesday at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury, in Long Island. When we spoke, Mr. Anderson was calling from Oxfordshire, west of London, having just completed the European leg of the tour. He said he was still rehearsing, trying to get comfortable with songs he hadn't played for years. By its nature, City Winery may draw the "benign and listening audience" that Mr. Anderson craves. On the outskirts of TriBeCa, it's an upscale wine bar that, along with (Le) Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street, is now the most civilized place to see rock and pop music in New York City, allowing the audience to settle in for an intimate experience with musicians. The last time Mr. Anderson played before such a smattering of people was at his daughter Gael's wedding. She's married to Andrew Lincoln, the lead in AMC's horror series "The Walking Dead." Mr. Anderson said he's a nice bloke. "When he's not killing zombies, he's serving his mother-in-law tea." Facing a small, attentive crowd, Mr. Anderson said, "can be really terrifying. If it's 1,000, it may as well be 10,000. You can't see anyone beyond the lights. But when you get down to 300 or 400 people, it can be pretty spooky." Edit add—Mr. Fusilli is the Journal's rock and pop music critic. Email him at jfusilli@wsj.com or follow him on Twitter: @wsjrock.
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Post by maddogfagin on Nov 23, 2010 8:46:38 GMT
In many ways I tend to agree with you Steel. Having now heard four of the solo shows I think they are much better in content that the earlier Tull shows this year and I never thought for one moment I'd ever say that. Also IA's voice seems to suit the set list that they are using and I hope they bring the same over to the UK in 2011.
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tullist
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Post by tullist on Nov 23, 2010 15:31:54 GMT
Still, having had to miss this tour, though I have downloaded 4 or 5 shows, when I recall how nicely Tull was firing this summer, admittedly at such a splendid venue, Ravinia north of Chicago, versus what I have heard, moreso than what was played on this current tour, its difficult for me to make that assessment. Although there has never been an Ian Anderson performance that I don't find some merit in, and usually deep at some point, it probably depends which show you are referring to. The gold standard for me this time is Wondring Again being played, and about halfway thru the tour I believe Ian is finding the proper angle to attack this from. I still believe A Change of Horses is the best of the new material, not quite as gobsmacked by Adrift and Dumbfounded as some, though I might be! An easy comparison for me is the Grateful Dead, who would frequently pop out an obscurity, but often their best performances were with a seemingly bland setlist, its all about the level of team play, execution. The various Dead aggregations post Jerry have all had set lists to weep over, featuring lots of things that Senor Garcia simply did not want to play, but even for all the wonderful players who have attempted to man his spot, all doing wonderful work, finally a case in part of Jerry's gone. But as a final contradiction, delighted with the current set lists, but mostly delighted that this is Ian Anderson vibrant in 2010, something i was so very certain of in 1973, he was a musician, in the game for the long haul. Viva baby. (I mean dig the look in his eye in that picture at the top of this page)
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Post by steelmonkey on Nov 24, 2010 4:19:57 GMT
I have yet to attend any post Jerry death configuration of the survivors that was worth 25% of a real GD concert....and after years of countless JG solo shows...Legion of mary, reconstruction, JGB bands of all shapes and sizes...I never once, for a millisecond, would have preffered a Jerry solo show to a GD concert...the Tull/Ian thing is all ian's fault...and part of it is flawed thinking or refusal to face up to his stubborn mistake....all those years of insisting Tull has to do the Beach Boys hits set...and now he knows better but is covering his tracks by burying it in the Tull/Ian tour issue...We Tull fans...who buy Tull and ian gig tickets...have been ready for the diverse, non Tull-101 sets for ages....maybe, slowly but surely, the ian setlist correctness will merge into Tull and this question will go away...or maybe there is some reason that Doane and Martin inhibit ian...but I doubt it....I think it's ian having it both ways....knowing it was time to upgrade the setlists but reluctant to embrace that fact....a smart man like him should know you never learn and evolve without sometimes saying...'uh...that's what I used to think'
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Post by futureshock on Nov 24, 2010 6:37:41 GMT
Interesting points but I'm out of lures and worms. I think the old topic died a slow death in the frog pot. Going forward, whatever happens happens. I'm burnt out on what ifs.
You want a new Tull album? Tell Ian to join an NGO and you'll have your new album.
Oops. I guess I TOTALLY MISS THE POINT. Dang nab it!
Looks like North Korea's been smoking too many hot peppers!
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Post by steelmonkey on Nov 24, 2010 16:40:06 GMT
You go to a concert like you go to a pris-fixe restaraunt...you trust the chef and that's why you keep coming back.....but that doesn't mean you can't sitting around discussing what you would like to see on the menu or which plat-du-jour brought spasms of joy.....
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