Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Kasemattenbühne / Graz / Austria
Concert date: 01.07.2010
Attendance: 1200
Ticket price: 49,00€
Spending an evening with the progressive folk rock legends Jethro Tull, who under the leadership of the indomitable flautist and singer Ian Anderson are one of the last leading bands from the golden years of prog rock still out on the road, took place this year at a more than impressive location. For a band that for a brief spell in the mid-seventies played the part of veritable rock troubadours, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting stage than the castle walls of the famous Schlossenberg in Graz, which was originally built in the 15th century as a massive imperial fortress.
For most of the crowd, who know how pedantic and disciplined the legendary English band usually is, it came as quite a surprise when the members hit the stage twenty minutes after the announced start time. Ian, his loyal guitar squire Martin ” Lancelot” Barre and the other three members of this sly bunch of prog rock forefathers more than made up for it with a very pleasant surprise, giving the set list a proper refresh before the show. They opened in the safest, most tried-and-true way with the ancient classic “Nothing Is Easy”, which comes from Ian’s favorite Tull album “Stand Up” (1969) and turned out to be a fine opener, since after all these years its hard-rocking pulse still gets things moving fast and lifts the mood. A neat version of “Beggar’s Farm”, a classic from the debut “This Was” (1968), delivered that still-convincing mix of dramatic folk and blues, while keyboardist John O’Hara slipped in a short jazzy piano interlude.
Fortunately, Jethro Tull keep up their long-standing tradition of always trying to add something new to the old songs, whether by bringing in new instruments like the accordion or through inventive solo improvisations. There was plenty of the latter again, and Ian once more took the lead, throwing in some of his trademark humorous flute bits that would leave most other flautists out of breath in no time. Ian bowed to his favorite album with the ancient blues rock classic “A New Day Yesterday”, a firmly rooted part of the Tull repertoire. Luckily, this was the last “Stand Up” number, since they celebrated that album’s fortieth anniversary for almost two years and played nearly every track from it, which means those of us who had a chance to catch a Tull show during that time are already slightly saturated with songs from Ian’s main studio love.
Those of us who were hoping they might play something from “Benefit” (1970) that night went home empty-handed, or rather empty-eared. The album turns forty this year, and for reasons that aren’t entirely clear they’ve been more or less dodging it for ages, even though it’s among their best work. That’s also the only real criticism of the Graz show. With the Renaissance instrumental “Pastime With Good Company” they took the audience back for a moment to the days of the red-bearded tyrant, England’s King Henry VIII, who loved to dance to the rhythms of his madrigal. Most of the prog fans in the crowd were waiting most eagerly for one of the sections of the immortal classic “Thick As a Brick”, which was originally conceived as a parody of their favorite genre and of concept albums. This time too, the roughly ten-minute version of one of the peaks of their career was one of the best moments of the night, even though Ian once again had a tough time with the vocal chasing.
The first of the evening’s three bigger surprises was the performance of the prog folk rock classic “Songs From the Wood” from the album of the same name, which they presented so successfully in the second half of the seventies in their new folk rock guise. In recent years they’ve usually played it as part of a medley that also included “Too Old to Rock’n’Roll Too Young to Die” and “Heavy Horses”, but this night it was finally performed in full. Full credit to Ian for his courage here, since vocally it’s one of the hardest Tull songs, one he’s usually avoided for years. Anyone familiar with his vocal troubles, which go back to the mid-eighties, wasn’t too bothered that this version of “Songs From the Wood” was undoubtedly not among his better singing performances, which was true of the vocals on most of the other Tull classics that night too. Even though he was clearly struggling, especially in the chorus, where he had to improvise his way around the higher notes, he managed with the excellent instrumental backing to keep hold of the song’s red thread and lift the mood in the crowd by at least a notch.
On the other hand, Ian is still a proper tough guy when it comes to his “gymnastic” moves, above all that trademark one-legged stance. Plenty of men ten years younger would envy his vitality. To give his vocal cords a bit of a rest, they moved on to their best-known instrumental, “Bourée”, with which they always bow to the legendary composer J.S. Bach. After that they played two brand-new songs that they haven’t yet managed to put out in a studio version, since we’ve been waiting for a new Tull studio album for more than ten years. Both turned out to be pleasant surprises and, structurally, could easily have fit on the last two albums, where they’d have counted among the better pieces.
That goes above all for “Hare in The Wine Cup”, where, alongside an effective chorus, they also showed off a good dose of folk rock tendencies, while “A Change Of Horses” continues Ian’s long-running flirtation with world music, especially that of the Near and Far East, which can also be heard on his latest solo work. This was the first time they played the song live with a special guest, the renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the legendary Ravi Shankar. As Ian colorfully put it, Martin Barre transformed into Anoushka for the evening, and Martin was, as usual, the main target of Ian’s jokes, though he got off a bit lighter than usual. Before the song started, drummer Doane Perry sat down behind the bongos, while keyboardist O’Hara set up an African drum in front of him, which he only played for a short while. Apart from being slightly drawn out, they managed to conjure a truly authentic Eastern atmosphere that strongly recalled some of the pieces from the album “Roots to Branches” (1995). Still, plenty of fans hope this won’t be the (renewed) dominant direction on a possible new Tull album.
Before launching into the “Aqualung” classic “My God”, they played a short instrumental snippet of the “Songs From the Wood” classic “The Whistler”, leaving quite a few people wishing they’d played that excellent song in full, but that would really have been a bit too much of a challenge for Ian’s vocal abilities. During the always slightly creepy anti-church showstopper “My God” they once again worked in plenty of solo improvisations, peaking with Ian’s deliberate straining on the flute at the end, which in all its humorous juiciness sounded like the wheezing of a walrus with a cold. Another smaller surprise before the end of the main set was a solid performance of “Crest Of a Knave”‘s hard-rocking standard “Farm On the Freeway”, as they usually steer clear of songs from the eighties, which are justifiably “famous” as their worst period.
To close the main set they served up “Aqualung”, as always, while in the “extension” for the big finale they heated up the air with “Locomotive Breath”. So the concert ended with both of the best-known Tull classics, which, despite Ian’s usual vocal troubles, came off more than decently and even warmed up the proverbially cool Austrian crowd. The atmosphere, thanks to the castle surroundings, was exceptional, but there was still something missing, a little dot on the i, between the stage and the reserved audience. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Jethro Tull to bring back their years-long tradition of tossing giant balloons into the crowd at the end of the show, which would surely wake up even the biggest sleepyheads in the audience, the most worn-out ones, and get a more euphoric response. Apart from a slightly too reserved crowd and the fact that they still stubbornly avoid the album “Benefit”, the concert was a complete success in every other respect, from the choice of songs to the performance itself and the sound, and it thrilled most of the longtime fans as well as the somewhat younger ones who came to admire the antics of these sly prog folk rock old-timers, who under Ian’s indomitable leadership obviously won’t be saying their last word anytime soon, at least as far as convincing and consistent live shows go.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1. Nothing Is Easy 2. Beggar’s Farm 3. A New Day Yesterday 4. Pastime With Good Company (King Henry’s Madrigal) 5. Thick As A Brick 6. Songs From The Wood 7. Bourée 8. Hare In The Wine Cup 9. A Change Of Horses 10. The Whistler (insert) 11. My God 12. Farm On A Freeway 13. Aqualung —encore— 14. Locomotive Breath
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