Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson rocks a flute solo during Tuesday’s Red Rocks concert. Photos by
In my many years of attending concerts, I’ve seen a lot of strange things. The naked guy running around at a Grateful Dead show trying to elude security is probably still tops, but seeing middle-aged guys play air flute at show at on Tuesday night is up there somewhere. I can almost understand air guitar, but air flute?
For many people, Jethro Tull may still be the answer the worst joke ever in rock ‘n’ roll: what band beat Metallica to win the first-ever Grammy awarded for heavy metal? In Tull’s long career, I don’t think they’ve ever claimed to be metal. They had some hard rock touches, but flute has no business in heavy metal.
Nevertheless, Tull still has a loyal fan-base, judging from the near-capacity crowd at Red Rocks. There were even some younger fans, perhaps dragged there by their parents, but nevertheless enjoying some of the hits from Tull’s aging catalogue.
At the heart of Jethro Tull is vocalist/flute player Ian Anderson. In concert, he projects an unusual disposition. He sings in a nasally voice, and appears part carny-barker, part stage actor, prowling the stage with his flute during songs and playing to the crowd. In his many introductions Tuesday, he made no bones about playing on the nostalgia that many might feel hearing Jethro Tull in concert, frequently mentioning the year an album came out, or making a joking reference to guitarist Martin Barre getting lessons from J.S. Bach.
During the concert, every song had a video montage with photos from Tull’s long career, part of the celebration of their 40th year in the business — which is why they are on the road. Most of the favorites were played during the show, and Tull got things going early with “Living in the Past.”
Much of the middle of the show was taken up with more obscure Tull songs like “Serenade to a Cuckoo” and “A Song for Jeffrey,” while they threw in the occasional nugget like “Bouree,” a jazzy version of a Bach composition. During the long instrumental, Anderson’s flute provided a strong counterpoint to Barre’s electric guitar.
In light of the Grammy incident, hearing Barre’s playing live is jarring. There were times Tuesday where his solos definitely had a heavy metal edge to them. While the songs themselves aren’t metal, Barre definitely seems to prefer more distortion in his solos.
Given Tull’s long career, some of the choices in Tuesday’s set were puzzling. There was no “Cross Eyed Mary,” no “Hymn 43,” no “Teacher,” no “Bungle in the Jungle” or “Skating Away.” There were a lot of pieces however, that were too self-indulgent, like “Heavy Horses,” which seemed interminable and had me wishing for a radio edit.
Tull ended their set with two of their biggest hits, a full version of “Thick as a Brick,” and “Aqualung,” which brought the crowd to its feet. On the latter, the transition between the heavy part and the acoustic part was done well, and John O’Hara’s smooth piano built well on Anderson’s acoustic guitar and Barre’s electric solo.
On the encore of “Locomotive Breath,” opening act Steve Lukather, the guitarist for Toto, joined the band. Barre stepped back and allowed Lukather to take a heavy solo midway through the song, and all the musicians were clearly enjoying themselves.
Candace Horgan is a Denver-based writer and regular Reverb contributor.
is a Denver-based photographer and regular Reverb contributor.
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