Jethro Tull @ Terra Vibe quite a few years ago

I remember Jethro Tull since I was a kid. A little kid. Even before I started reading POP + ROCK (a Greek music magazine). I had seen pictures of the covers of their Heavy Horses, Aqualung and Thick As A Brick albums on the inner sleave of Saturday Night Fever (well, you do have to start your music listening lifetime experience from somewhere) where Phonogram (later Polygram and now Universal) used to advertise its other releases.

There were considered one of the pioneers of progressive rock, a genre all Greek "serious" rockers used to listen to during the seventies even though the band themselves claim that only one of their albums can be classified as prog. On the other hand we had the Greek disco listeners (called "kareklades" by the rockers) and the punks.

Of course  Jethro Tull had a peculiarity! Their frontman and singer, Ian Anderson, played the flute! And a phenomenally unusual instrument in a rock group always clicked with the Greek music listeners. (East German band City with their violin and Street Boys with their accordion and their Some Folks hit come to mind)

There weren't a lot of people at Terra Vibe, and combined with the fact that the music of Jethro Tull is not suited to dancing, made the organizers bring the stage higher up and the VIP section consisted of theatre-like seats. Even in the standing section where I was there was good visibility. The concert was very good with Ian Anderson often playing his flute in his characteristic posture (with one leg lifted) as well as all their songs that are popular in Greece (Thick As A Brick, Aqualung, Locomotive Breath)

Of course this was not the first time they had come to Greece. I remember a few years back they had played the Lycabettus theatre and I did not go, so this was a great chance to finally see them.

Setlist:
01. Nothing Is Easy
02. Beggar's Farm
03. Life Is A Long Song
04. Serenade To A Cuckoo (Rahsaan Roland Kirk cover)
05. A New Day Yesterday
06. Back To The Family
07. Thick as a Brick
08. Hare In The Wine Cup
09. A Change Of Horses
10. Cross-Eyed Mary
11. Farm on the Freeway
12. Dharma For One
13. My God
14. Aqualung
Encore:
15. Locomotive Breath