Jethro Tull 26.9.2021 Poole Lighthouse
I can’t do justice to Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull with my blog notes but I will just put a marker down to acknowledge I dipped my toe into this mysterious water one evening. I was offered a couple of tickets for free that were not going to be used; it’s walking distance away and it’s live music. Why not eh? An educational visit.
A month or so ago I knew nothing more than the name and that a flute might be involved. I had a read and listen but you can’t cram five decades into a few hours of listening.
I was amongst a substantial audience – a full seated Lighthouse concert hall – of largely older men who had clearly absorbed the five decades of Jethro Tull material duligently and lovingly. Everyone seemed very pleased with the whole evening although I understand, from bumping into an experienced Tull-ite outside later, that voice and performance have both seen better times – Ian Anderson is 74 for goodness sake. (Born in Dunfermline I see….. hometown of The Skids, Big Country and Nazereth.)
He is a strong 74, still full of energy and partial to an occasional gallop around the stage playing his flute – a flute which at times he growls into and also uses more aggressively like an electric guitar than the gentle uses my ears are more familiar with.
I witnessed the one legged stance with the other leg bouncing to the beat, that has become his trademark. I didn’t get to see the mane of wild hair that I’d seen in photos and YouTube clips – he’s cut it all off.
The film backdrop featured some good old footage and prog rock nostalgia at various points. Some prog rock tunes beforehand and we settled for a dose of Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in the interval of the 90ish minute show, while others raided the merch stand and took part in the predictablely futile attempt to get an interval drink here.
I could only recognise one song for sure – Thick as a Brick – and that was helped by the film backdrop and the obvious ending. I think they played Aqualung but I can’t be sure. It’s fair to say I was lost, lost in flute solos, less frequent guitar solos and some excellent Hammond keyboards.
Again I couldn’t take any photos here during the performance, given the no phones or cameras policy which seems to be standard for the Lighthouse concert hall. One to park in my memory anyway but no use in sharing the experience eh 🙄.
YouTube: Aqualung live in 1977.
I will be dipping my toe into the world of prog rock once more later, at the end of the year…plenty of gigs between now and then though 😎. Rock on.
Gigs with Ivan 