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THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC FLUTE!
IAN ANDERSON Live Review - Cyprus February 2011 (International Special Edition)
It is a strange feeling when you are about to experience for the first time ever a live performance of a true rock pioneer, who also happens to be one of your favorite artists of all times! You have been listening to his recordings practically since the day you were born, so, unconsciously, you have elevated him into a god-like status. This situation creates a "buzz" of anticipation, combined with a little bit of stress generated by the fear of a potentially "unfulfilled promise". Nowadays of course, all sorts of "tubes" allow you to experience an artist's performance literally seconds after it has taken place! However, this never is, and never will be the same as the live event itself! A mobile phone, or even a professional camera cannot capture the true concert feeling as this is felt by your eyes, ears, mind and soul. From walking or driving to the venue, until devouring the classic post-event takeaway sandwich ... it's all part of the show! I arrived on 'Tassos Papadopoulos' stadium around 8.30pm on the eve of the 19th of February, half an hour earlier than the scheduled start of the concert. The promoter had adopted an american-style policy for tickets' pricing: There were a number of ticket zones, differentiated by their relative position with respect to the live stage. Another interesting arrangement was the total lack of festival-type seating. Everyone attending the show was seated on a chair! This choices had various effects on the concert itself, which will become apparent later in this article.
My first view of the stage and the people inside the stadium calmed an unspoken fear that I had of not many people attending the concert. Especially the ticket zones situated right in front of stage, i.e. the best and most expensive ones, were almost sold out! Overall, the event was attended by approximately 1000 people (personal on-the-spot calculation), which was a good number, considering that the timing of the event did not allow a large section of the Cyprus rock audience that studies abroad to participate. I do think that Ian Anderson deserved a much bigger audience though, as Alice also deserved two years ago in Limassol. The passionate rock audience which will appreciate the "unmissable" status of these events is still "in the making" on this island! I joined some of my friends in the middle area of the venue, from where I had excellent visibility of the entire stage. It also allowed to me to experience the sound as it was meant to come out, since our seats were situated right in front of the master console! I helped myself to the "compulsory" beer and gazed at the beautifully constructed stage, which was ready to be rocked by the flute-man and his company!
At 9.15, the venue lights dimmed, and Mr. Ian Anderson entered the stage! Along him, David Goodier on bass, John O'Hara on keyboards and accordion (both Goodier and O'Hara are also current Jethro Tull members), Scott Hammond on drums, and the young German protégée Florian Opahle on guitar! It is fascinating that Ian Anderson has trusted guitar work in his solo concerts to the young hands of Florian, given that the Jethro Tull solos of Martin Barre regularly feature in the typical '100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time'! It just shows what unbelievable talent this kid is! More on this later!
The five-piece ensemble walked on stage, led by the calm authority of a man who has played in thousands of concerts over the period of the last fifty (!) years, and who still tours extensively up to this date. Fittingly, they started the concert with the song 'Living In the Past'. Ian Anderson immediately took the initiative and proved that he was really the man that we had all come to experience. The notes from his flute filled the stadium with all the sweetness of a "Tull" chocolate, and his legendary flute-playing "pose" was performed in all its glory several times. The sound quality was great, although I would have loved it to be just a "touch" louder, since, let's face it, my ears have already been destroyed after listening to some "quiet" thrash metal bands for extended periods of my life!
While it was evident (and expected) that his voice was not as powerful as it has been during his youth days, it was still excellent. More importantly, he did not try to stretch it beyond its current limits at any point during the concert. He knows exactly what he is able to perform and he gives a 100% of it. 1% more would have made it sound like a forced and artificial effort to sound like the 60s Ian. As it was, it was great, and all credit to him for his self-knowledge, which has always been on of his many celebrated elements of his personality ...
... with another one being his down-to-earth approach to music and life in general! The end of 'Living ...' provided the first opportunity for Ian to show us all why he is considered to be such a great character. The words coming out of his mouth where words of a humble man, but a confident man. A man that he just "happened" to play the flute well, a man that just "happened" to be one of the leaders of the folk-rock movement (and the creator of folk-rock in particular!), a man that just "happened" to write some of the most important "nonsense" classic rock songs, a man who stands on the stage not because he is one of the greatest musicians of his generation, but because he plays among friends on a Saturday night!
He joked about 'Nothing is Easy', one of the 'hits' of the sophomore Jethro Tull album 'Stand Up', as it was like a song from a local band which was barely trying to make its "break"! The only thing being that this song was one of the highlights of the legendary Isle of Wight festival back in 1970! The performance was much more orchestral and symphonic than those early rock 'n' roll days of the band, but allowed plenty of room for both Ian and Florian to showcase their solo capabilities on flute and guitar respectively! The audience, while appreciative, was not extremely participative during the songs, at least in the first part of the show. This was basically due to the fact that the expensive front-seat tickets were predominantly occupied by people from older generations. All of them enjoyed their chance to relive some of the magic of their youth days, but it was evident that most of them had not attended a rock concert for a very long time! They were a little bit ... "rusty"!
The band continued with 'Life Is A Long Song', and 'Up To Me', one of my favorite tracks from the legendary 'Aqualung' album, that we presented here a couple of years ago. It was funny to hear Ian Anderson repeating on stage the comments that he has made about this song in his interviews. In his own unique style, he informed us that this was nothing but a nonsense song, in terms of its lyrical interpretation. He couldn't even remember why he has written it for, after all these years!
It was time for Ian Anderson and his band to delve into some lesser-known material. 'In The Grip of Stronger Stuff', from his 2003 solo work 'The Secret Language of Birds', was amusingly dedicated to the alcoholism issues of Jethro Tull's former bassist Dave Pegg! It was a real treat to listen to all Ian Anderson's comments between the songs during that night. The guy is intuitive beyond belief! He possesses the gift of irony, an irony that stems naturally from his life philosophy, rather than an artificial attempt to be funny! It's amazing that this kind of irony really connected well with the younger generation, who were laughing their guts out. It's probably because they experience so many "fake" and "forced" things in their lives nowadays, that when they encounter something pure, they "drink" it like water from a spring fountain!
'Hare in the Wine Cup' followed, an unreleased piece which Ian Anderson has been regularly performing with his band during the last year. It featured nice solos from Scott Hammond and John O' Hara, and it provided a clear indication of the direction that Ian Anderson's band is following. It is much more a musician's band, with the compositions allowing space for all individual players to shine. The emphasis on vocals is minimal. Intelligent arrangements, and top-notch musician's work is at the forefront of the sound. The same approach is also followed during the performance of the Tull "classics", which are "treated" in a similar manner, using new arrangements. It was back to basics with the blues gem 'A New Day Yesterday' the opener from the 1969 'Stand Up' album. It was the time when Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull were more a blues-driven band than anything else! This is why I feel that last year's performance of the song, with Joe Bonamassa singing and Ian Anderson playing the flute as a guest, was truly magical!
Ian Anderson revealed the famous nano-sized guitar of his to the great enjoyment of the audience, and reminded us that Jethro Tull was one of the first (if not the first) "environmentally aware" bands in the history of rock 'n' roll music! What better way to prove this than to perform the classic 'Songs From The Wood' track from the same-titled classic 1977 album, which established the reputation of Jethro Tull as one of the biggest folk-rock bands ever! The opening lyrics "Let Me Bring You Songs From The Woods", combined with Ian's extraordinary flute playing, really send shivers down the spine! The end of the song was "buried" underneath the crowd's response in appreciation!
The atmosphere had become livelier, and it was about to get even better with the last couple of songs before the intermission. First, a return to the 'Aqualung' album with 'Mother Goose', which was another song written about ... "nothing" according to Ian! Nothing or anything, he really enjoyed playing this, moving in front of the entire band to perform his solo, and then coming back to join O'Hara and perform with him together on the accordion (watch the following clip!).
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One of the highlights of Jethro Tull's live set over the last forty years has always been the performance of Ian Anderson's take on Sebastian Bach's 'Bouree'! Ian introduced the song by apologizing (in his unbeatable self-ironic style!) to the man himself, for shamelessly covering the famous original! Well, I am the last person on earth who can get into Bach's shoes, but I have a feeling that he would be extremely proud to listen to his composition humbly performed hundred of years after it was originally conceived, by a great man and his band in a small Mediterranean island! Judge for yourselves by watching the following clip! David Goodier performed the famous bass solo to its perfection, and Ian Anderson ended the piece by performing his "mad" flute-playing solo, and by striking once again ... "the pose"!
The orchestral nature of the concert was underlined by the existence of a 15-minute intermission, which could not get through quickly enough for me, since I did not want to loose the brilliant "vibe" that the first part had generated! The second part started with the "mother" of all progressive rock spoofs: Ian Anderson's attempt to satirize the making of extremely long concept progressive rock albums in early 70s! It ended up in Jethro Tull making ... the best one of all: 'Thick As A Brick'! The only question was how much of it he would be playing, since the original clocks up to the forty five minute mark! I imagined that they were going to play the short five minute version, but I was about to get stunned by an EPIC fifteen-minute version containing most of the tricks & twists of the original! The entire band really shined during the performance of the song, and Florian in particular was gradually becoming the centre of attention with his solid, uncompromising guitar playing! His interplays with Ian Anderson was something to be treasured! It was amazing to watch a young guy in his 20s to accompany brilliantly, without a shred of fear, or a suspicion of stress, one of the iconic rock 'n' roll personalities, who is now in his 60s! And full credit goes to Ian Anderson for recognizing his talent and picking him up at such a young age! Unsurprisingly, Ian left it to us to sing the last word of young Gerald's now famous poem ... simply magic!
It was time for the young lad to shine even more! Ian Anderson made all sorts of jokes on his young age, looks and his Les Paul, before allowing him to proceed with a show-stopping guitar interpretation of Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'! Unfortunately, I could not find a clip of the song from the Nicosia concert, but you can get an idea of what was this was all about in this YouTube clip. It's evident that Florian can easily fill the boots of any major metal band's guitarist position, his resemblance with Malmsteen making him an even more obvious choice! And his "hit" with the girls ehm ... no need to further comment on that, is it? Some of them were screaming like mad! But Florian seems to be a "down to earth" guy, classically trained and having Gary Moore and Carlos Santana as his major influences! His tenure alongside Ian Anderson will just galvanize him as a player and as a personality. The future is bright for the young lad! Expect to see much more from him!
The orchestral "vibe" was restored to all its glory with the performance of another unreleased song entitled 'A Change of Horses'. The song has been composed by Ian Anderson in cooperation with Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of Indian master of sitar playing Ravi Shankar! No need to mention that the "Shankar" connection allowed Ian Anderson to joke about the infamous trendy encounters of pivotal rock bands during the late 60s with eastern philosophy in general and sitar playing in particular! The highlight of the song was the excellent accordion performance of Tony O'Hara!
It was only natural that 'A Change of Horses' would be followed by 'Budapest', since their melodies blend so well together! 'Budapest' is one of the most famous Jethro Tull hits, and perhaps the only one which is not "Jethro Tull" at all! It's been well documented that this could have been easily been a Dire Straits song. Even when you hear Ian Anderson singing it, you can still "feel" that a Mark Knofpler backing vocal is somewhere "out there"! An intriguing piece of music from the 'Crest of Knaves' album, which is now considered to be a classic, even though it was composed almost two decades after Jethro Tull's "classic" phase! An 11-minute theatrical performance that left everyone simply in awe.
The moment that the overwhelming majority of the audience had been waiting for, finally arrived. Whether we like it or not, Jethro Tull, despite having composed jazz, blues, folk rock and hard rock music, will forever be associated with shaping the classic rock sound ... in this album! So, in these times, when classic rock sound seems to be passing its "Renaissance" phase, it is only natural for the crowd to expect the performance of two particular songs! The first one, 'Aqualung', completed the scheduled setlist of the band. The famous tale of the dirty old ramp who goes after little schoolgirls was performed in an extended new orchestral arrangement, which followed the spirit of the band's aesthetics described earlier in this article. The audience (especially the younger ones in the back seats ... helped by some adequate alcohol consumption!), participated heavily during that song, bringing a rock 'n' roll vibe to the overall experience! Florian once again paid Martin Barre's parts a great tribute, not overdoing them, but applying his own unique 'continental' style!
Needless to say, everyone was caught in the occasion by that point, so the brief farewell message of Ian and his band was not really taken seriously, since we were all expecting the band to return to the scene (bar the ones who had never been to a rock concert before!) for one of the most famous encore songs in rock history! Six epic minutes of 'Locomotive Breath', in which some young lads broke their way to the front of the stage, dancing around and providing some much needed rock concert atmosphere! The crowd was clapping along the song rhythm, and a small party fittingly erupted! It was a great end to a great concert!
The obvious question that springs to mind after experiencing all this can only be one: "How does he do it?" How does a person who is 63 years old maintain the technical ability needed, and where does he find the "drive" to produce such top-notch performances after all these years? How can he still be the one who is running around the stage and strikes his poses with the same ease as he did in the late 60s and early 70s? How can he still play the flute with same youthfulness as Florian plays his guitar?
The life story of Ian Anderson is another one of this great rock 'n' roll stories which tell us so many things about life. Ian attitude to life has always been "stoic". He never regarded himself as something special ... as being a "rock star" of sorts. In the early 70s, when Jethro Tull started making loads of money as a an arena-rock act, he did not spend them on "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" paraphernalia. He bought some land in Scotland, and he developed his salmon-farming business, personally overlooking its operations and physically working in it! This business has won him great accolades over the years, and allowed him to live a peaceful life in the countryside! "Celebritism" was never an issue which troubled Ian's life ... he was far busier living the real life!
There is also his approach to music in general. Ian always downplays his Tull or solo works. This is not only an exhibition of humbleness. His appreciation of classical music clearly makes him believe that his works (in terms of compositional greatness) will never reach the heights of the mythical composers of the past. Having this in mind he plays his music freely, without "posing" his abilities, despite his famous flute-playing "pose"! We, of course, as recipients of his music, regard him as one of the most important musicians of the 60s - 70s era, for all the reasons that have already been discussed in this article. Because music is not only about compositional greatness, otherwise we would have been "stuck" in the era of classic composers, and music history would not exist! Music is also a form of expression of someone's experiences in a specific time and a specific place. And there exist very few artists who have "captured" their times better that this great flute player from Dunfermline!
Last, but not least by any means, Ian Anderson and the Jethro Tull, possess a "recipe", which have allowed them to become one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands in the world. Their "recipe" is not a secret one, but is a tough one. And in the process of using it, they significantly and decisively helped a band that we all love and appreciate, to establish a new musical genre! Young artists, please do pay attention to the words of a legendary man: Mr Tony Iommi, lead guitarist of Jethro Tull for only one and a half month in the late 60s, explains it all in the following clip!
Beyond and above all these, it is an extra-terrestrial characteristic which Ian Anderson possesses that makes all the difference. His body and soul are "blessed" with a natural "extension", which scientists have not yet encountered in any other living organism on this planet ...
It's called the flute! The editor
All credit for this issue goes to Myrto, for sharing her beautiful pics of the concert with us! |
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The CyRock Team (rockcyprus at gmail.com - rockcyprus at hotmail.com) |
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