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

The best of Jethro Tull performed by Ian Anderson

Six years after seeing Jethro Tull live I had the chance of seeing Ian Anderson again, this time as a solo artist, accompanied by session musicians, but mostly playing the band's songs, as the event's title "The Best Of Jethro Tull Performed By Ian Anderson" informed us. I had been to another gig the night before, but I was adamant I was also going to go to this one. You see, when I saw him with Jethro Tull at Terra Vibe I went because I had wanted for years to see "that band featuring the only frontman in rock whose trademark instrument was the flute". But, more importantly, on that day 6 years ago, a certain period of my personal life was ending. In the autumn of this year however, a new period was just beginning. So, I thought, what better way was there to welcome this new era in the same way I had said goodbye to that old one: With Ian Anderson and the music of Jethro Tull!

As I entered Technopolis, the first thing that caught my attention was the restaurant high up in the air that has become a semi-permanent feature there in the last few years.

I then went in search of my seat. Yes, there were also seats this time around, so I chose a seating ticket and I've read elsewhere that the artist himself requested them. It is also possible that it was he who requested that photographs and videos were not allowed. I remember back in Terra Vibe how relieved he was when the photographers had finished taking photos and had moved away from the front of the stage. 

This is the reason why there is a lot to be desired concerning the quality of the videos featured here and that's why I decided to make a video of my audio recording of "Think As A Brick" superimposed with a photo of Ian in his classic posture. 

That rule was not strictly enforced but instead politely requested by the event personnel. There was only one incident of a person being removed from the venue but that was not because he was taking photographs (he was), but due to the fact that he was not just rude, but downright insulting to the people working there that night. Aside from that, the average age of the people in the audience was relatively high to put it mildly, but that is something that is probably expected of Jethro Tull fans.

The structure of the setlist was quite similar to the one in Terra Vibe ("Nothing Is Easy" at the beginning, "Thick As A Brick" relatively early in it, "Aqualung" and "Locomotive Breath" at the end. 

All this featuring stories (with strong English undertones) ranging from the 70's all the way back to the era of Henry VIII. In fact they even played a song fron that era. There were even some new songs played. I particurarly enjoyed "Banker Bets, Banker Wins" from "Thick As A Brick II" but I wasn't too keen on "Fruits On Frankenfield" (as far as music was concerned, because its lyrical content was particurarly interesting and valid in the world we currently live in)

As the concert was ending with "Aqualung" I decided to ignore the "no photos and videos" rule. 

By then nobody really minded. Especially during the encore with "Locomotive Breath" when that rule was completely forgotten, people were off their seats taking photos and videos and even some headbanging took place! And Ian didn't seem to mind.

The show was over before 11 with some Benny Hill music coming out of the speakers.

A friend of mine who was at the concert with me, told me that seeing Jethro Tull, or at least Ian Anderson was something that was on her bucket list. For me it was an experience that had already been fulfilled once, but did not mind dipping into it a second time as an added bonus...

SETLIST:
01. Living In The Past
02. Nothing Is Easy
03. Thick As A Brick
04. Pastime With Good Company
05. Sweet Dream
06. Mother Goose
07. Bouree
08. Banker Bets, Banker Wins
09. Songs From The Wood
10. Fruits Of Frankenfield
11. Dharma For One
12. Farm On The Freeway
13. My God
14. Aqualung
ENCORE
15. Locomotive Breath

Jethro Tull στο Terra Vibe

Τους Jethro Tull τους θυμάμαι από πιτσιρίκι. Μιλάμε για πολύ πιτσιρίκι. Πριν καν αρχίσω να διαβάζω ΠΟΠ ΚΑΙ ΡΟΚ. Φωτογραφίες των εξωφύλλων των δίσκων τους Heavy Horses, Aqualung και Thick As A Brick είχα δει στο εσώφυλλο του Saturday Night Fever (από κάπου πρέπει να ξεκινήσει κανείς) όπου η τότε Phonogram (μετέπειτα Polygram και τώρα πια Universal) διαφήμιζε τους υπόλοιπους δίσκους της.


Θεωρούνταν από τους πρωτοπόρους του progressive rock που όλοι οι Έλληνες "σοβαροί" ροκάδες άκουγαν στα seventies αν και οι ίδιοι ισχυρίζονται ότι μόνο ένας από τους δίσκους τους ανήκει στο συγκεκριμένο μουσικό είδος. Στον αντίποδα υπήρχαν οι καρεκλάδες που άκουγαν φυσικά disco και βέβαια τα πανκιά. (Για τους Έλληνες - ο Θεός να τους κάνει - punks εκείνης της εποχής τί να πει κανείς, τα έχει πει καλύτερα η ephee, εδώ.)
Βεβαίως οι Jethro Tull είχαν και μια ιδιομορφία! Ο τραγουδιστής τους, ο Ian Anderson, έπαιζε φλαόυτο! Και στον Έλληνα πάντα έκανε κλικ ένα φαινομενικά αταίριαστο μουσικό όργανο σε ένα ροκ συγκρότημα. (Θυμηθείτε τους City με το βιολί και τους Street Boys με το ακκορντεόν και το Some Folks)

Λοιπόν, στο Terra Vibe, ο κόσμος δεν ήταν πολύς και σε συνδυασμό με το γεγονός ότι η μουσική των Jethro Tull δεν ενδείκνυται για χοροπήδημα, έκανε τους διοργανωτές να φέρουν τη σκηνή πιο ψηλά και ο χώρος των VIP εισητηρίων να έχει διαμορφωθεί με καθίσματα σαν θέατρο. Και στα απλά εισητήρια όμως, στο χώρο των ορθίων που ήμουν λι εγώ υπήρχε εξαιρετική ορατότητα. Πολύ καλή και η συναυλία με τον Ian Anderson να παίζει συχνά το φλάουτο στη χαρακτηριστική του στάση (με το ένα πόδι ψηλά) καθώς και όλα τα κομμάτια τους που είναι δημοφιλή στην Ελλάδα (Thick As A Brick, Aqualung, Locomotive Breath)

Φυσικά δεν ήταν η πρώτη φορά που ήρθαν στην Ελλάδα. θυμάμαι ότι είχαν έρθει πριν απο μερικά χρόνια στον Λυκαβηττό και δεν είχα πάει οπότε η φετινή ήταν μιας πρώτης τάξεως ευκαιρία για να τους δω επιτέλους.

Setlist:
Nothing Is Easy
Beggar's Farm
Life Is A Long Song
Serenade To A Cuckoo (Rahsaan Roland Kirk cover)
A New Day Yesterday
Back To The Family
Thick as a Brick
Hare In The Wine Cup
A Change Of Horses
Cross-Eyed Mary
Farm on the Freeway
Dharma For One
My God
Aqualung
Encore:
Locomotive Breath