Live Review: Jethro Tull By Ian Anderson

While a lot of blues bands in the '60s seemed to mainstream themselves by reaching towards rock and pop, Jethro Tull distinguished themselves from the pack by embracing prog. The outfit, despite line-up changes, has largely been driven by Ian Anderson. Tonight's Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson show suggests that Anderson has trained himself a band that helps him serve up a Jethro Tull experience. The talk in the foyer comes from men in their 70s who reminisce about the time they saw Jethro Tull back in the summer of '69 or '72. The crowd are dyed-in-the wool fans who seem to relish every minute of the set, which is interrupted only by a short interval. It's hard not to feel like a philistine in the company of such hardcore fans.

Living In The Past kicks off the show with Anderson capriciously prancing about the stage while delivering those famous flute riffs. No longer lithe, he still manages to pull off the court minstrel pose that made him famous back in the '60s, which also serves as the band's logo. Anderson is perhaps the only person in rock music to have glamourised and popularised the flute. It's not long before his guitarist starts to become the focus of attention on an extended solo. Competing for attention, Anderson briefly sticks his flute into his groin and suggestively strokes the end of it. While it's one of those things you cannot actually unsee, Anderson embraces eccentricity and tends towards the comical throughout the show. Playing tunes from '69's Stand Up, Anderson acknowledges that it was a pretty good year. It's with a glint in his eye that he tells us that 69 is a pretty good number until, of course, you are 69 years old and soon to turn 70.

They deploy all the usual Jethro Tull standards across the setlist. Anderson's band are capable players but sadly his vocals are completely shot. The range and tone of his voice seems to have completely faded away and the tattered remains are tuneless and irritating. The fans gathered here tonight are so hardcore that they barely seem to notice this little detail that sends the mix crashing. The baroque pieces by Bach and King Henry's Madrigal provide amusing instrumental flourishes. Anderson and the band fire up for decent renditions of Aqualung and Locomotive Breath, which round off the evening.